When the musical Ned Kelly opened in Adelaide at the end of 1977, it was an audacious undertaking for Reg Livermore, who not only wrote the book and lyrics, but also designed and directed the production.

The composer, Patrick Flynn – with whom Livermore had worked on Hair and Jesus Christ Superstar – had relocated to the US, so Livermore was left without the show’s musical anchor. Undaunted, he threw blood, sweat and tears into the production, but the reviews were not kind. Following a four-week run in Adelaide, Ned Kelly closed after a curtailed Sydney season and didn’t make it to Melbourne.

Ethan Jones and the cast of Ned Kelly: The Musical, Victorian Opera. Photo © Jeff Busby

Livermore was devastated, but he never lost faith in the show. Over the next 48 years, he returned to it now and again, hoping that it would return to the stage when the time was right. His belief has paid off. Thanks to the vision and support of Victorian Opera’s Artistic Director Stuart Maunder, Ned Kelly: The Musical has been revived in a terrific, reworked production that deserves to...