Broadway Bound

A cabaret style contemporary musical theatre showcase, featuring up-and-coming 18 - 25 year old musical theatre performers and writers, Broadway Bound featured contemporary musical theatre songs, including new work from local musical theatre writers.

An exciting initiative, the brainchild of young producer Anna Colless, Broadway Bound was presented for two nights at the Sound Lounge of Sydney’s Seymour Centre, with the support of the University of Sydney Union. The vision is that it will become an annual event.

The showcasing of new musical theatre work is certainly something we need more of in Sydney. In this environment writers and composers were able to present their songs, accompanied by a terrific five piece band.

Without checking my program, for much of the night I wasn’t quite sure which songs were new local works - some overseas songs I had heard, though others by up-and-coming American composers were as new to me as the local songs. Connecting patter was mostly unrelated Broadway trivia which bore no relationship to the songs, American or local, a little context would have been far more rewarding. Even looking at the program, there’s no real context provided for the new local songs we heard.

For the record, new Australian songs by Owen Elsley, Sarah Gaul, Olga Solar and Zac Threadgold were presented.

I was keen to find out more, and discovered that two songs by Elsley and Gaul belong to a musical they are currently writing, with the working title Sharehouse!: The Musical, which we may see as soon as 2015. Based on their own experiences, it follows the lives of three twenty-somethings in their trendy, inner city apartment in search of a fourth housemate.

Elsley and Gaul themselves performed the duet Love (But Not Really) between two of the housemates, Hugo and Shelley, subverting the expectation that the two leads will get together romantically. Brave, performed by Madeline Swan, is sung by Shelley to Hugo, epitomising the strength and longevity of their friendship, with several musical and lyrical references their previous duet.

Maryann Wright’s sparkling rendition comic of ‘Junior String Group’ made it clear what a talent Sydney Composition student Olga Solar is. She is looking at expanding the song, which amplifies her real experiences as a junior string group teacher to create the neurotic Miss Wellington, into a mini 10 to 15 minute musical.

Recent WAAPA Grad Jessica van Wyk delivered Zac Threadgold’s contemporary pop styled lament ‘Please, Don’t Forget My Name’ to tremendous advantage. The song is part of an as yet un-named new musical theatre project centring on themes of minorities through the contemporary musical theatre genre.

The evening was filled out by eleven songs from rising American musical theatre writers Kerrigan and Lowdermilk, Pasek and Paul, Kooman and Dimond, Guenther and O’Keefe,  Alexander Sage Oyen and Adam Gwon, possibly the most familiar thanks to Ordinary Days, with performers Marcus Skeggs, Jamie Leigh Johnson, Charlotte Snedden, Jessica Hoffmann and Gavin Brown also getting a chance to showcase their talents.

I look forward to future editions Broadway Bound, and to seeing much more of the new writing talents fostered in this well-presented evening.

Neil Litchfield