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.
The inaugural Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour had the distinction of showcasing star soprano Emma Matthews’ debut in La Traviata. Wonderful though the thrill of enjoying Matthews’ soaring and heartbreaking performance as […]
Living up to the promise of delivering an epic amalgam of non-naturalistic theatre, Einstein on the Beach is certainly a unique feast for the senses. This pristine American staging is a faithful […]
Inventive design, deft direction and an outstanding cast combine for an all too rare staging of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s treasured masterwork Sunday in the Park with George. An air of […]
Tosca resumes its place as one of the jewels of the OA repertoire in this superb new production helmed by master director John Bell. An ingenious update to Nazi-occupied Rome of the […]
Rather epic in length, The Force of Destiny (La forza del destino) is all too rarely seen on Australian stages, so its inclusion, as part of Opera Australia’s celebration of the bicentenary […]
Five stars do not seem enough for The Production Company’s phenomenal concert staging of Gypsy, which reaches a zenith in all aspects of production and performance. Cast and creatives are at the top […]
Principal cast and ensemble members arrived on their very own Wicked tram for One Short Day at Melbourne’s Parliament House today to herald the 2014 return of the worldwide smash hit.
It may be school holidays in Melbourne, but, as advertised, this raucous pantomime is definitely an adults-only affair. Nothing, it seems, is off limits, as pollies, celebs and headline makers are mercilessly […]
UK music legend Annie Lennox has always presented a particularly androgynous image so there seems to be a certain natural logic in her music and life story being presented by a handsome, […]
Affectionately warm and devilishly witty, The Audience provides a fly on the wall insight into sixty years’ worth of meetings between Queen Elizabeth II and her Prime Ministers. A huge hit on […]
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