LATEST
Dear Bloom
Your director, Dean Bryant, has done it again. Turned a depressing topic into an uplifting musical. Last year we had…
Dear Guys & Dolls
If we were any other musical, we’d be stomping our feet and throwing our toys out of the cot right now. You see – it’s…
Dear Annie
Aww gee, you’ve got heart. There’s a reason your story has endured since the days of being a comic book strip first…
Reviews and Features
Dear MJ
When we see a show, we’re accustomed to hearing the ushers remind us: ‘no filming or photography during the show.’ YOUR ushers, however, need to add ‘and no singing.’ That’s how much you know we want to. But ushers be damned, your audience are breaking into spontaneous song anyway. Even more of us…
Dear Pirates of Penzance
For nearly 150 years your comedic story has endured: part operetta, part musical. You made John English synonymous with the late eighties and early nineties. You’ve enjoyed being a send-up of politics and contemporary culture – and popular culture has enjoyed featuring send-ups of you….
Dear Hadestown
It’s your first trip to Australia. Very few of us have seen you in the flesh before, and yet, you’ve already gathered a cult following. Impressive work. You combine the mythological story of Orpheus and Eurydice, with that of Hades and Persephone. The setting is a grim world where the cycle of the…
Dear Wuthering Heights
You’re grim. Bleak. Dark. We expected this. Your Director, Emma Rice, had explained that your story has been ‘dressed up as a romance by Hollywood over the years, but it’s really not. It’s a revenge tragedy.’ Heck, your content warning lists ‘strong language, violence, firearms, whips, death and…
Dear Lord of the Rings
We had all been wondering – how do you translate to the stage a story that takes 1,216 pages to tell in a book, and 9 hours to tell on the screen? (11 hours if it’s the extended version). After all, there are so many dedicated fans who know and love your story inside out. The very concept is…
Dear Six
Oh you are so cheeky. With your catchy, kick-ass anthems, dazzling punk rock costumes, and punchy dance moves. Your creators, Lucy Moss and Toby Marlow, described you as being all about ‘the six wives of Henry VIII, but – like – a pop group’. And that’s all that needs to be said, really. You give…
Dear Jesus Christ Superstar
Have we ever really seen musical theatre if we haven’t seen you? For 50 years, you’ve been the godfather of musicals. When it comes to describing you in this latest production, sentences fail. We can only really conjure up a string of adjectives. Seismic. Intense. Emotive. High-energy. Loud….
Dear Evan Hansen
Holy dooly, are you trying to scare the bajeezus out of parents everywhere? If so, you’ve thoroughly succeeded. Right from your opening number, Anybody Have a Map? you’ve left us all slightly shell shocked. Is this what we have to look forward to? The summary of your plot line doesn’t sound like a…
Dear MJ
When we see a show, we’re accustomed to hearing the ushers remind us: ‘no filming or photography during the show.’ YOUR ushers, however, need to add ‘and no singing.’ That’s how much you know we want to. But ushers be damned, your audience are breaking into spontaneous song anyway. Even more of us…
Dear Pirates of Penzance
For nearly 150 years your comedic story has endured: part operetta, part musical. You made John English synonymous with the late eighties and early nineties. You’ve enjoyed being a send-up of politics and contemporary culture – and popular culture has enjoyed featuring send-ups of you….
Dear Hadestown
It’s your first trip to Australia. Very few of us have seen you in the flesh before, and yet, you’ve already gathered a cult following. Impressive work. You combine the mythological story of Orpheus and Eurydice, with that of Hades and Persephone. The setting is a grim world where the cycle of the…
Dear Wuthering Heights
You’re grim. Bleak. Dark. We expected this. Your Director, Emma Rice, had explained that your story has been ‘dressed up as a romance by Hollywood over the years, but it’s really not. It’s a revenge tragedy.’ Heck, your content warning lists ‘strong language, violence, firearms, whips, death and…
Dear Lord of the Rings
We had all been wondering – how do you translate to the stage a story that takes 1,216 pages to tell in a book, and 9 hours to tell on the screen? (11 hours if it’s the extended version). After all, there are so many dedicated fans who know and love your story inside out. The very concept is…
Dear Six
Oh you are so cheeky. With your catchy, kick-ass anthems, dazzling punk rock costumes, and punchy dance moves. Your creators, Lucy Moss and Toby Marlow, described you as being all about ‘the six wives of Henry VIII, but – like – a pop group’. And that’s all that needs to be said, really. You give…
Dear Jesus Christ Superstar
Have we ever really seen musical theatre if we haven’t seen you? For 50 years, you’ve been the godfather of musicals. When it comes to describing you in this latest production, sentences fail. We can only really conjure up a string of adjectives. Seismic. Intense. Emotive. High-energy. Loud….
Dear Evan Hansen
Holy dooly, are you trying to scare the bajeezus out of parents everywhere? If so, you’ve thoroughly succeeded. Right from your opening number, Anybody Have a Map? you’ve left us all slightly shell shocked. Is this what we have to look forward to? The summary of your plot line doesn’t sound like a…