Strictly Ballroom (musical)

Strictly Ballroom
Music Various
Lyrics Various
Book Baz Luhrmann & Craig Pearce
Basis 1992 film Strictly Ballroom
Premiere 12 April, 2014: Sydney Lyric, Sydney
Productions 2014 Sydney
2015 Melbourne
2016 Leeds
2017 Toronto
2018 West End

Strictly Ballroom the Musical is a musical theatre adaptation of the 1992 film Strictly Ballroom. It is credited as being created by Baz Luhrmann with book by Baz Luhrmann and Craig Pearce adapted by Terry Johnson. The show currently consists of a score of existing music and songs. Previous productions featured new musical numbers by David Foster, Sia Furler, Isaac Hasson, Bernie Herms, Baz Luhrmann, MoZella, Neff-U, Craig Pearce, Eddie Perfect, Linda Thompson and Elliot Wheeler.

Production History

In May 2011, it was announced that Strictly Ballroom would be adapted into a stage musical.[1] The musical premiered at the Sydney Lyric on 12 April 2014, featuring Thomas Lacey as Scott and Phoebe Panaretos as Fran, where it received mixed reviews.[2] Parts of the musical were reworked, including a new opening number, for the Melbourne season which opened at Her Majesty's Theatre in January 2015.[2][3] The Melbourne season was better received, and the musical subsequently toured to the Lyric Theatre, QPAC in Brisbane in September 2015.[4] At the 2014 Helpmann Awards, Strictly Ballroom received seven nominations including for Best Musical.

With a further revised book and a new production directed and choreographed by Drew McOnie, the show received its British premiere on 30 November 2016 at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds. The musical received its North American premiere in Toronto at the Princess of Wales Theatre on 25 April 2017.

The West End production opened at the Piccadilly Theatre 24 April 2018, following previews from 29 March.[5] The original London cast included Will Young as Wally Strand, Zizi Strallen as Fran, Jonny Labey as Scott Hastings, Anna Francolini as Shirley Hastings, Richard Grieve as Les Kendall and Gerard Horan as Barry Fife. On 31 July 2018, Matt Cardle took over the role of Wally Strand.

References

  1. ↑ "Sydney to host Strictly Ballroom premiere". The Australian. 23 May 2011. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
  2. 1 2 Cuthbertson, Debbie (2015-01-16). "Strictly Ballroom shifts gear for Melbourne run in 'grand old dame' Her Majesty's Theatre". The Age. Retrieved 2017-09-08.
  3. ↑ Puvanenthiran, Bhakthi (2015-01-06). "Eddie Perfect to give Strictly Ballroom a fresh start in Melbourne". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2017-09-08.
  4. ↑ Dean, Jodie (10 September 2015). "Strictly Ballroom the Musical sweeps Brisbane QPAC crowd off their feet". Brisbane Times. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
  5. ↑ Brown, Mark (2018-02-14). "Strictly Ballroom to get its West End musical debut". the Guardian. Retrieved 2018-04-24.
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