John Foreman’s Australian Pops Orchestra provides luxurious accompaniment as Rob Mills, Paulini, and Casey Donovan are collectively celebrated as The Idols of Musical Theatre. 

Contestants from the very first season Australian Idol, Mills and Paulini join forces with second season winner Donovan for a vibrant, energetic concert of richly orchestrated pop hits with a smattering of musical theatre selections along the way. 

Maestro Foreman leads the 40-strong orchestra with expertise and flair, also capably serving as gregarious MC, sharing snappy repartee with each of the three featured singers. As music director of those early seasons of Australian Idol, Foreman has a natural connection and extensive shared history with each of the artists. Nostalgia and insights are happily shared, taking the audience back to the heady days of the start of Idol and putting the musical theatre selections in context with the successful careers each singer has enjoyed in the theatre. 

The stage of Melbourne Recital Centre is transformed into a glossy night sky, with a multicoloured twinkling star cloth behind hanging vertical coloured light tubes. The lighting design of Peter Darby cleverly takes cues from the songs to create a fitting atmosphere for each number, with moving lights perfectly supporting the pop concert vibe. 

The Australian Pops Orchestra plays terrific orchestrations that bring the songs to fresh dazzling life. Reeds and brass are a highlight for the punchy pop sound, with special mention to ear-catching work from the saxophones. A pair of backing singers rounds out the vocal quality.  Sound balance is uneven at first but levels out to effectively showcase the singers as the concert continues. 

A pair of high octane George Michael songs bookends the first act, with the trio sharing the stage for “Freedom 90” and “Knew You Were Waiting.” 

An early musical theatre highlight sees Mills return to his breakout stage role of Fiyero in the original Australian production of Wicked with “Dancing Through Life.” Mills later takes a gamble that pays off handsomely with relatively obscure Jason Robert Brown song “Someone to Fall Back On.”

Donovan stops the show in act one with her sassily suggestive solo “When You’re Good to Mama” from Chicago, later bringing down the house with mousy Judy’s 11 o’clock number from 9 to 5 the Musical, “Get Out and Stay Out.” In both numbers, Donovan draws upon her experience in the roles to vividly recreate the full sense of the characters. 

Firmly associated with the repertoire of Whitney Houston thanks to the 2017 Australian tour of The Bodyguard, Paulini is joined by Donovan for lively duet “I’m Every Woman,” later raising the roof with “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” before finishing with mighty power ballad “I Have Nothing.” 

Having starred as Shakespeare in & Juliet, Mills takes on a couple of his co-stars’ songs, rocking the house with Bon Jovi hit “It’s My Life,” and joining Donovan for cheeky duet “Teenage Dream,” sung by Donovan and Hayden Tee in the hit show. Continuing the & Juliet theme, the full trio combines for upbeat finale “Can’t Stop the Feeling.”

The ideal encore, a Grease medley from the full company has the audience standing up and singing along. 

Performed with infectious joy and generous spirit, feel-good concert Idols of Musical Theatre leaves the audience on a wonderful high. 

The Idols of Musical Theatre plays again at Melbourne Recital Centre 2pm Sunday 28 December 2025. For tickets, click here.

The Australian Pops Orchestra also presents New Year’s Eve and The Day Before Gala Concerts at Melbourne Recital Centre 30-31 December 2025. For tickets, click here.