★★★★½ Generic plot and low-budget staging can’t hold back terrific new Aussie musical.

Chapel off Chapel, Melbourne
April 28, 2016

Australia sure does love musical theatre, and what’s more, Broadway and West End producers know it. Go to any state capital and there’s a very good chance one of the big budget musical theatre juggernauts from the Northern Hemisphere will be packing out houses for months at a time.

But this begs the question: why doesn’t Australia have a Broadway or West End equivalent? Yes, there are plenty of fine theatres, but no clear epicentre for musical theatre has ever found a foothold, which is surprising given the regularity that internationally imported productions grace our shores. There’s no denying that appetites here are ravenous for the glitz and dazzle of the blockbusters, but there’s also a growing hunger for new and, perhaps most importantly, Australian work. However, the lack of a musical theatre hub in Australia can make discovering fresh, original shows problematic.

In New York and London, there’s a tried and tested proving ground for small scale off-Broadway and off-West End productions that can be cherry picked by the major producers to join the big leagues, rubbing shoulders with the...