
The Boy From Oz
Music and Lyrics by Peter Allen
Book by Nick Enright
The Boy From Oz opened on August 11, 2018 at the State Theatre, Arts Centre Melbourne, Victoria.
Producer - The Production Company
Director - Jason Langley
Musical Director - Michael Tyack
Choreographer - Michael Ralph
Set Designer - Christina Smith
Costume Designer - Tim Chappel
Lighting Designer - Trent Suidgeest
Sound Designer - System Sound
Wig Designer - Trent Whitmore
Assistant Director - Amy Lehpamer
Assistant Musical Director - Paul White
Assistant Choreographer - Jared Bryan
Technical Director - David Miller
Production Manager - Mel Robertson
Stage Manager - Meg Deyell
Company Manager - Michael Norman
Head of Wardrobe - Kim Bishop
Cast
Peter Allen - Rohan Browne
Judy Garland - Caroline O’Connor
Liza Minnelli - Loren Hunter
Greg Connell - Maxwell Simon
Marion Woolnough - Robyn Arthur
Dick Woolnough/Dee Anthony - Francis Greenslade
Lucy - Baylie Carson
Michaela - Josie Lane
Gabriella - Phoenix Mendoza
Wally Bell - David James
Chris Bell - Nathan Pinnell
Josie Mann/Valerie Anthony - Belinda Hanne Reid
Brian Henderson - Jan Di Pietro
Trick - Joe Meldrum
Young Peter - Hudson Sharp, Lenny Thomas
Ensemble
Luke Alleva, Amy Berrisford, Nadia Coote, Zoe Coppinger, Kiana Daniele, Joe Donovan, Matt Douglass, Alex Given, Melanie Hawkins, Priscilla Stavrou, Jordan Turner, Jessica Vellucci, Celina Yuen
Photography
Jeff Busby
As with his canny production of Brigadoon last year, director Jason Langley reinvigorates The Boy from Oz while still respecting the original material.
Framed around reminiscences at an indeterminate Peter Allen concert, the show is essentially a fantasia on the life of the outlandish Australian entertainer. Langley pushes the conceit further with some postscript interpolations for today’s audience.
Complementing the intelligent direction from Langley is terrific musical direction from Michael Tyack and world class choreography from Michael Ralph.
The Boy from Oz is a celebration of Australian spirit. If you think you have already seen the show, think again.
Simon Parris – Man In Chair
Director Jason Langley has put brave, bold new strokes into the show – it’s a fresh take and it pays off.
Cheeky, heartfelt, endlessly energetic, and a serious force to be reckoned with, the show is near flawless and tickets should be snatched up immediately.
Ellen Burgin – Theatre People
Director Jason Langley brings the show to bubbling, energetic life. The cast, the crew, the creatives, all deserved their standing ovation. Take a hanky – Recommended.
Liddy Clark – Stage Noise
Staged beautifully with bold and imaginative lighting and spectacularly complex choreography from Michael Ralph, credit to director Jason Langley for crafting jaw-dropping sequence after sequence that takes audiences on a cultural tour from rough rural Australia to the swinging 60s of New York and beyond.
Lachlan Baynes – Milk Bar Mag
Director Jason Langley is another of The Production Company's stock of talent, as tried-and-true as the impact he has had on this show. His directorship offers an absolute entertainment, free from interrogation or shadow, leaving audiences lifted even in the darker moments which original writer the late Nick Enright wove in alongside Allen's more sombre selections.
So leave your maracas at home, you'll need both hands free for this finger-snapping, thigh-slapping, and standing-ovation-inducing production.
Brodie Turner – Broadway World