Music Theatre Students at WAAPA have been involved in their biggest performance since they were asked to open the Perth Convention/Exhibition Centre. WAAPA sold over 4,500 tickets to 42nd Street at The Regal Theatre in the centre of Perth.
Marketing manager Anton Mazandarani said it was an unusual enterprise for WAAPA.
"Usually the mid-year musical is staged on campus in the 250 capacity Geoff Gibbs Theatre. This has always left many disappointed members of the public as the ten show run sells out so quickly," he said. "By moving the mid-year musical to The Regal we doubled capacity, so more Western Australians were able to experience a WAAPA musical, but also it allowed for a bigger show with bigger dance numbers, bigger sets, more costumes, etc … It gave us the room to produce a more lavish production, which had fantastic teaching and learning outcomes for our students but also positioned the Academy very much in the public eye.”
The cast was made up of all second and third year Music Theatre students, the twenty piece orchestra consisted of second and third year jazz and classical music students, while first, second and third year production and design students were involved in the design, costuming, lighting, sound, props and scenery construction and stage management of 42nd Street.
"Over 100 students were directly involved and WAAPA employed the services of renowned theatre director, Terence O’Connell and lighting designer Trudy Dalgleish,” he said. “Their work was amazing and their involvement not only resulted in a very professional production, but gave our students the opportunity to work with some of the industry’s best talent."