 Marian Street Theatre for Young People are proud to present a dramatic retelling of one of the world’s best-loved stories THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE from Saturday 22 September to Saturday 24 November. This adaptation for Marian Street has been created for the stage in MSTYP’s unique, warm-hearted style, including a captivating array of fascinating characters, music and percussion. (Limelight 2012)
Following an identified need for musical theatre productions of irony and wit in Australia, director Katherine Sharpham and musical director Imogen Coward were tasked with bringing the work to Sydney some 50 years after it had debuted on Broadway. While there were initial concerns that the American dialogue might fail to resonate with Australian audiences, shrewd early casting decisions saw Rosie Fitchett cast as Rosemary, AIM graduate Sarah Dolan as Smitty and Sam Hile as Finch, all of whom had significant local followings. The experienced Dion Jaeschke and Georgia Kokkoris were also additions to a strong principal cast as J.B.Biggley and Miss Jones, respectively. In a surprise appearance, operatic tenor Michael Handy took on the role of Tackaberry to deliver impact in the cameo role; Handy had just completed several roles in the Gilbert & Sullivan operettas and this role saw a different side to the actor. Tom Burt made his professional debut in the production as Toynbee.
[...] The show ran for two months over October and November to near packed houses, aware of the shorter seasons experienced by productions in Sydney. (Wikipedia) |
