Opera Australia is announcing that singer and former competitive swimmer Cody Simpson will make his Australian musical theatre debut in he role of Skye Masterson in the Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour of the Broadway musical Guys & Dolls. It will be his first major musical project since he retired from competitive swimming earlier this year.  

Cody Simpson. Photo © Jamie Green

Simpson will be performing alongside Bobby Fox as the gambler and conman Nathan Detroit, Hamilton star Jason Arrow as Nicely-Nicely Johnson, and Annie Aitken as the saintly Sarah Brown. The production is to be directed by Shaun Rennie on a set designed by Brian Thomson.

“I’m drawn to 1940s-50s era,” said Simpson. “The music, the style, the fashion. I’m heavily inspired by the singers and crooners of the era and am excited to introduce this to the next generation. It’s probably why the Guys & Dolls movie is an all-time favourite and Frank Sinatra, in particular, is a major inspiration.”

Originally from the Gold Coast, Simpson rose to fame as a young pop singer, signing an international record deal at 14 after uploading covers to YouTube. He toured with Justin Bieber and scored a Top 10 debut on the...