Quite possibly the best rock musical you’ve never heard, heroic 1990 rock opera Paris is given a starry concert staging that serves both to return the epic work to public prominence and […]
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.
Quite possibly the best rock musical you’ve never heard, heroic 1990 rock opera Paris is given a starry concert staging that serves both to return the epic work to public prominence and […]
A dark, yet uplifting, musical that celebrates and rewards the intelligence of its adult audience, Merrily We Roll Along is given a lean, incisive treatment by dedicated Sondheim company Watch This.
Inspired by her award-winning run in acclaimed musical Matilda, singing actress Elise McCann explores musical works inspired by the wickedly imaginative mind of author Roald Dahl.
Brimming with imaginative details, Victorian Opera’s beautifully realised staging of Cunning Little Vixen is a real charmer.
Returning to the Melbourne stage less than two years after its premiere, David McAllister’s production of The Sleeping Beauty can be appreciated not just for its luxuriously lavish staging but also for […]
Tracing the key moments in a pair of relationships, 2009 off-Broadway musical Ordinary Days furtively engages audience interest and affection in its four characters, illustrating the beauty to be found in the […]
Zipping by in an incredibly brisk 15 minutes, not a note nor a word is wasted in 21 Chump Street, an astonishing example of economical writing.
Graeme Murphy’s Nutcracker does far more than tell The Story of Clara, celebrating the backstory of vision, passion and talent that formed the bedrock for our modern, 55-years-young company The Australian Ballet.
Look at the old girl now, fellas. Mrs Dolly Levi, born Gallagher, is back on the Melbourne stage in a glossy, if somewhat scaled down, production of Golden Age classic Hello, Dolly!.
StageArt breaks Melbourne’s 2017 boutique musical drought with an absolute gem that has been well worth the wait.