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.
This most famous Russian opera receives a curiously tawdry, emotionally stilted treatment at Bavarian State Opera. Transplanted to a winter sports lounge in the swinging ’60s, the morals and traditions of the […]
Regular readers may well be aware that Man in Chair could easily watch La Traviata every night until time immemorial. Only three nights since reviewing Damrau, Beczala and Lucic in La Scala’s […]
A vision of white, gold and musk, Munich Nationaltheater may be the ultimate music box opera house. Practically every seat is a good one, and the acoustics are amazing. Audiences dress as […]
Choreographer du jour, Alexei Ratmansky has established himself as an elegantly inventive master of the modern evolution of dance and ballet. Internationally in-demand, Australian audiences were fortunate enough to be treated to […]
For a somewhat controversial production, this new staging is surprisingly traditional in form. Despite the update in time and an overreliance on stage business, the heart and soul of the immortal tragedy […]
Ravishingly gorgeous and endlessly inventive, The Light Princess shows the artistic force of National Theatre at its very best. Helmed by ingenious director Marianne Elliott, and reuniting many of the other creatives […]
As with Stephen Ward, a terrific story, exotic setting and experienced production team all indicate a high chance of success, but the magic is just not there. The talented cast give the […]
Edgy, slick, pristine and as blackly humorous as it is genuinely thrilling, brand new musical American Psycho is set to divide and conquer as it soon makes its way around the globe.
Salacious subject matter, swinging era and groovy location all point to a terrific idea for a musical, but even with the world’s top theatre practitioners on board, that lightning-in-a-bottle magic of a […]
Well established as one of the “jewels” of the repertoire, George Balanchine’s Jewels is a tantalizing reflection on the sheer beauty of ballet.
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