Category: THEATRE

Who’s who? The cast of West Side Story on Sydney Harbour has been announced

West Side story

They’re doing something different this year. Every year, Opera Australia puts on a grand outdoor performance of their headline act for the autumn-winter season, but this year, they’re trying something new. The Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour (HOSH) isn’t doing an opera this year, rather a modern production of West Side Story and the cast is epic. They’ll take to Opera Australia’s famous over-water stage and join opera/musical crossover stars Julie Lea Goodwin and Alexander Lewis, the role of the fiery Anita will be played by Melbourne-born Karli Dinardo, who is gaining attention as a rising musical theatre star in the U.S., with performances in Hamilton(National Tour), West Side Story (Carnegie Hall), and the starring role in Flashdance (National Tour). Karli will be joined on stage by her sister, Luca Dinardo, who will play the tomboy Anybodys, pitching the sisters against each other on opposing sides of the famous West Side Story gang rivalry. “I was blown away by the calibre of Australian performers that auditioned,” said Associate Director and Choreographer, Julio Monge. See it from 22 March to 21 April 2019, or for more, go to the Opera Australia website.

Saturday Night Fever is coming to Sydney with sparkling new cast

Saturday Night Fever

The lol-times movie from the 70s that glued John Travolta in our minds with those killer dance moves is making it stage debut in Sydney this year with a brand new line-up. Australian theatre producer John Frost recently announced the leading performers and the rest of the cast of the iconic hit musicalSaturday Night Fever, which will premiere in Sydney at the Sydney Lyric Theatre from 27 March 2019. The production’s lead role of Tony Manero has gone to rising star Euan Doidge, Helpmann Award nominated for his role in Priscilla Queen of the Desert, after performing in Les Miserables, A Chorus Line and the Gordon Frost Organisation’s Grease and Legally Blonde. Needless to say, he’s up to the part. As Stephanie Mangano, the best dancer at the nightclub, will be Melanie Hawkins. Melanie has previously appeared in Singin’ In The Rain, Strictly Ballroom the Musical, King Kong Live on Stage and Rock of Ages. Paying homage to the classic movie, Saturday Night Fever will be packed with disco classics, including the Bee Gees’ greatest hits Stayin’ Alive, How Deep Is Your Love, Night Fever, Tragedy and More Than A Woman. Saturday Night Fever tells the story of 19-year-old Tony Manero, a Brooklyn youth whose weekend is spent at the local discotheque, where life lights up on the disco floor. There, Tony luxuriates in the admiration of the crowd and a growing relationship with Stephanie Mangano, and where he can temporarily forget the realities of his life, including a dead-end job in a paint store and his gang of deadbeat friends. See more at the production’s website.