I have appeared in about 40 productions over the past forty years. Favourite roles include Eugene Fodor and Junior in (separate productions of) Crazy for You, Mr Fox in Mack and Mabel, Max in The Sound of Music, Freddy in My Fair Lady, Julio in Paint Your Wagon, Marcellus in The Music Man and Grantaire in Les Miserables.
I have directed several school productions. I choreographed Urinetown and Little Shop of Horrors, then went on to direct Hot Mikado and the Australian premiere of 13. I have since gone on to direct/choreograph The Music Man Jr and Thoroughly Modern Millie Jr.
At my next school, I was Head of Productions, overseeing up to a dozen productions each year and directing another seven musicals, including The Music Man, Brigadoon and How To Succeed in Business Without really Trying.
I reviewed music theatre and opera for Theatre People and the Sunday Herald Sun (Melbourne). I served on the Music Theatre Guild of Victoria Committee for five years as Treasurer and was on the Board of The Opera Studio Melbourne.
I am a keen audience member, having seen 58 shows in six weeks in a 2012 trip to New York, as well as 57 shows during 6 weeks in London/Europe earlier the same year.
I hope you enjoy reading the news and reviews at Man in Chair. I would love to hear your thoughts on the shows covered here so please feel free to leave your comments.
Streamlined and stripped of sophistication, sentimental favourite Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat rests upon the proven attraction of its sunny, clap-a-long familiarity.
Artfully produced and lovingly performed, the Old Vic production of A Christmas Carol is seasonal family entertainment at its finest.
Musical theatre’s new guilty pleasure, & Juliet is an accelerated endorphin rush that leaves the cheering crowd on a giddy high.
In a grand, if somewhat muted production of epic Verdi opera Don Carlo, the singers are a key attraction.
Evergreen opera favourite La Traviata shines in a glossy, yet relatively simple staging that allows full, unfettered focus on the wonderful singers at hand.
Cherished golden age treasure The Music Man roars back to life in this big budget, big star revival.
People who have seen Lea Michele in Funny Girl are the luckiest people in the world.
Proving that money and insight do not necessarily mix, this first revival season of Met Opera’s new Rigoletto looks suitably grand, and sounds wonderful, but generally leaves the audience cold.
Brimming with heart, hope and happiness, new Broadway musical Kimberley Akimbo is an inspirational joy.
Gently charming chamber musical A Man of No Importance enjoys a starry revival for its second New York outing.
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