Leonard Bernstein’s dazzling score makes up for a convoluted plot that went through more incarnations than Doctor Who (despite a brilliant patchwork of lyrics by the likes of Stephen Sondheim, Lillian Hellman and Dorothy Parker). Voltaire’s tale of lost innocence and the painful realisation that all may not be for the best in this best of all possible worlds is staged by Dean Bryant. Expect shipwrecks, syphilis jokes, an auto-da-fé and an old lady with one buttock. Eddie Perfect stars as the irrepressible Dr Pangloss with Hamilton star Lyndon Watts as Candide. Benjamin Northey conducts Orchestra Victoria.

Limelight Editor’s Choice

Filled with sparkling wit and humour, Candide is a unique fusion of opera and musical theatre, utterly irreverent, drawing inspiration from European operetta to Latin American dance rhythms.

Join us on an adventure as we follow our hero and his beloved, Cunégonde, through a world gone mad, inhabited by an endless array of vicious, greedy, lustful, and manipulative characters. Portraying this vibrant cast of characters is a versatile and talented Australian ensemble, led by the multi-talented music theatre Renaissance man, Eddie Perfect, and award-winning star of Hamilton, Lyndon Watts.

Prepare to witness St Kilda’s iconic Palais Theatre transformed into “The Best of All Possible Worlds” in this thrilling new production, directed by Dean Bryant and designed by Dann Barber, with lighting by Matt Scott. The symphonic magic of this brilliant score will be conjured by maestro Benjamin Northey with Orchestra Victoria.