2019 - From Hollywood to Broadway - Songs from Stage to Screen
The Clubrooms
November 7th – November 9th 2019
Director: Emma Carr & Alexandra McKellar
Synopsis
Hollywood to Broadway brings you some favourite songs from the stage and screen. a limited season only featuring an epic cast of local talent, this is a cabaret experience you won’t want to miss!
Featuring songs from shows such as Waitress, Cabaret, and Kiss me Kate, and from movies like Rocky, Cruel Intentions and Meet me in St Louis, there is something for everyone!
2019 - The Last 5 Years
The Clubrooms 
March 8th – March 23rd 2019
Director: Emma Carr
Musical Director: Zac Johns
Synopsis
Drama Desk award-winner The Last Five Years is Jason Robert Brown’s intimate window into a couple’s doomed marriage. Cathy, a struggling actress, and Jamie, a budding novelist on the brink of wild success, are 20-somethings in New York who meet, fall in love, marry, and divorce over the span of five years. Cathy tells the story from the end of their marriage; Jamie begins from when they first meet. As the musical unfolds, Cathy moves backward in time to the beginning of the relationship as Jamie moves toward the end; they meet only once, in the middle, at their wedding. Since its Off-Broadway premiere in 2002, Brown’s funny, poignant, and devastatingly honest two-person production has enraptured audiences around the world with its spellbinding and emotional score and libretto.
2018 - Heathers
The Clubrooms
April 20th – April 28th 2018
Director: Alexandra McKellar
Musical Director: Griffin Jenkins
Choreographer: Emma Carr
Synopsis
Based on the cult classic film of the same name, Heathers is the story of Veronica Sawyer, a senior at the fictional Westerberg High. Veronica longs to be cool like the clique of it-girls that runs Westerberg: the unaffected, unattainable Heathers. Unfortunately, in addition to awesome levels of popularity, the Heathers are also cruel, choosing to mock and bully their kingdom into submission. When Veronica uses her skills as a forger to get the Heathers out of detention, she impresses their leader Heather Chandler— so much so that they agree to let her into their exclusive club. At first Veronica is thrilled—until she finds out that being one of the Heathers means bullying the same kids she used to call friends. Meanwhile, Veronica finds herself attracted to a mysterious newcomer at school named Jason Dean (JD). When an innocent drink mix up results in the accidental poisoning of Heather Chandler, JD convinces Veronica to stage Heather’s suicide. The results are so successful that Veronica and JD, exhilarated with their newfound power, resolve to rid Westerberg of the cruelly popular elite forever.
2017 - Jekyll & Hyde
The Pumphouse
November 18th – December 2nd 2017
Director: Daniel Chasemore
Musical Director: Catherine Carr
Choreographer: Brie Young
Synopsis
Based on Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic thriller, Jekyll & Hyde is the gripping tale of a brilliant mind gone horrifically awry, set to a powerful pop-rock score by Frank Wildhorn with book and lyrics by Leslie Bricusse. In an attempt to cure his ailing father’s mental illness by separating “good” from “evil” in the human personality, talented physician Dr. Jekyll inadvertently creates an alternate personality of pure evil, dubbed Mr. Hyde, who wreaks murderous havoc on the city of London. As his fiancée Emma grows increasingly fearful for her betrothed, a prostitute, Lucy, finds herself dangerously involved with both the doctor and his alter ego. Struggling to control Hyde before he takes over for good, Jekyll must race to find a cure for the demon he has created in his own mind.
2017 - Bring It On
The Pumphouse
June 14th – June 24th 2017
Director: Alexandra McKellar
Musical Director: Kerry Priestley
Choreographer: Gemma Boswell
Synopsis
Bring It On: The Musical tells the story of Campbell Davis, a young cheerleader who dreams of leading her squad to victory at a National competition. The story focuses on the world of competitive cheerleading and the intense rivalries it creates. Campbell’s future is secure: handsome boyfriend, a killer squad, and the newly awarded title of cheer captain. Suddenly, however, she is mysteriously reassigned to another school: the inner-city Jackson High, where she knows hardly anyone and worse: they don’t have a cheerleading squad! Despite the challenges of fitting in at a new school, Campbell befriends some tough girls on the dance squad and helps them become a powerhouse competitor for the National Cheerleading Championships.
2016 - Hair
The Pumphouse
November 5th – November 19th 2016
Director: Alexandra McKellar
Musical Director: Kerry Priestley
Choreographer: Gemma Boswell
Synopsis
Hair tells the story of the “tribe”, a group of politically active, long-haired hippies of the “Age of Aquarius” living a bohemian life in New York City and fighting against conscription into the Vietnam War. Claude, his good friend Berger, their roommate Sheila and their friends struggle to balance their young lives, loves, and the sexual revolution with their rebellion against the war and their conservative parents and society. Ultimately, Claude must decide whether to resist the draft as his friends have done, or to succumb to the pressures of his parents (and conservative America) to serve in Vietnam, compromising his pacifistic principles and risking his life.
2016 - 13
July 16th – July 23rd 2016
Director: Alexandra McKellar
Musical Director: Mark Bradley
Choreographer: Gemma Boswell
Synopsis
Evan Goldman is about to turn thirteen, and he can’t wait. His life seems full of possibilities — that is, until his parents get divorced, and he is forced to move with his mom from big-city New York to podunk Appleton, Indiana. If Evan can’t get the coolest kids to come to his bar mitzvah, how is he going to survive the school year, not to mention, the rest of his life? As Evan navigates the world of cool kids and nerds, jocks and cheerleaders, first kisses and heartbreak, he comes to understand “What it Means to Be a Friend.” With a bright, catchy pop score from Jason Robert Brown, equal doses of humor and pathos, and a cast of wildly talented teens, 13 is irresistible to grown ups and almost-grown ups alike.
2015 - The Addams Family
October 31st – November 14th 2015
Director: Alexandra McKellar
Musical Director: Mark Bradley
Choreographer: Gemma Boswell
Synopsis
The Addams Family features an original story, and it’s every father’s nightmare. Wednesday Addams, the ultimate princess of darkness, has grown up and fallen in love with a sweet, smart young man from a respectable family – a man her parents have never met. And if that weren’t upsetting enough, Wednesday confides in her father and begs him not to tell her mother. Now, Gomez Addams must do something he’s never done before – keep a secret from his beloved wife, Morticia. Everything will change for the whole family on the fateful night they host a dinner for Wednesday’s ‘normal’ boyfriend and his parents.
2015 - And the World Goes 'Round
2015 - Move It!
July 2nd – July 11th 2015
Director: Tracey Andrews
Musical Director: Kerry Priestley
Choreographer: Amy Christie
Synopsis
Two dance crews, Hypnotiks and Blaze, are competing for a place in a regional contest. Blaze always win everything, and Hypnotiks have a particular problem with one of their group who keeps letting them down. The leader of Blaze – Nicole – has a troublesome younger sister called Sam, who she is very quick to criticise. Because Sam is constantly undermined by Nicole, she is angry and aggressive, and has recently been excluded from school after a fight. Then – by chance – Sam ends up being the solution to Hypnotiks’ problems when her natural talent for street dance is discovered. However, this puts her in direct competition with Nicole! In a surprising turn of events, Sam is the one who saves the day when there is a disaster for Nicole and Blaze at the dance-off.
2014 - Celebrating the Musical
8 November 2014 – 22 November 2014
Director: Paul Carroll
Musical Director: Kerry Priestley
Choreographer: Amy Christie
Synopsis
A review style show celebrating some of the most popular musicals from the last six decades which produces 90 minutes of show stopping brilliance!
2014 - Hairspray
16 August 2014 – 6 September 2014
Director: Grant Meese
Musical Director: Catherine Carr
Choreographer: Rhonda Daverne
Synopsis
In 1962 Baltimore, Maryland, plump teenager Tracy Turnblad’s dream is to dance on The Corny Collins Show, a local TV dance program based on the real-life Buddy Deane Show. When Tracy wins a role on the show, she becomes a celebrity overnight, and meets a colorful array of characters. She then launches a campaign to integrate the show. Hairspray is a social commentary on the injustices of parts of American society in the 1960s.
2013 - The Musical of Musicals - The Musical!
25 April 2013 – 4 May 2013
Director: Pauline Vella
Musical Director: Celeste Oram
Choreographer: Casey Radley
Pianist: John Zheng
Synopsis
‘The Musical of Musicals (The Musical!)’ is a musical about…. Musicals!
In this hilarious satire of Musical theatre, one story becomes five delightful musicals, each written in the distinctive style of a different master of the art form, from Rodgers and Hammerstein to Stephen Sondheim The basic plot revolves around our leading lady June, who can’t pay her rent and is threatened by the evil landlord. Will the handsome leading man come to her rescue in time?
2012 - Into the Woods
The Pumphouse Takapuna3 November 2012 – 17 November 2012
Director: Aaron Tindall
Musical Director: Andrew Christie
Vocal Coach: Beverley Brockelbank
Repetituer: Robin Kelly
Synopsis
Into The Woods combines the traditional tales of Cinderella, Jack and The Beanstalk, Rapunzel, and Little Red Ridinghood, with an original tale of the Childless Baker in a single setting and involving a witch. This story focuses on themes of parenting and parents, familial relationships, growing up, responsibility, and wish fulfilment. These themes are tested by moral dilemmas, choices and the individual’s responsibility to community. The show is structured thus: Act I – seeking what you wish for. Act II – the consequences of achieving your desires.
2012 - Thoroughly Modern Millie
Centrestage Orewa9 June 2012 – 23 June 2012
Director – Sherrin Scelly
Musical Director – Kerry Priestley
Choreographer – Val Hemphill
Synopsis
Thoroughly Modern Millie tells the story of a small-town girl, Millie Dillmount, who comes to New York City to marry for money instead of love – a thoroughly modern aim in 1922, when women were just entering the workforce. Millie soon begins to take delight in the flapper lifestyle, but problems arise when she checks into a hotel owned by the leader of a slavery ring in China. The style of the musical is comic pastiche.
Inspired by Richard Morris’ Original Story and 1967 Screenplay. Taking place in New York City in 1922, Thoroughly Modern Millie tells the story of young Millie Dillmount, who has just moved to the city in search of a new life for herself. It’s a New York full of intrigue and jazz – a time when women were entering the workforce and the rules of love and social behavior were changing forever. Based on the popular movie, the stage version of Thoroughly Modern Millie includes a full score of new songs and bright dance numbers.
2011 - Miss Saigon
The Civic, Auckland 20 May 2011 – 11 June 2011
Director – David Adkins
Musical Director – Kerry Priestley
Musical Director Orchestra – Adrian Hirst
Choreographer- Val Hemphill
Synopsis
Miss Saigon is a retelling of the story of Puccini’s Madame Butterfly set during the Vietnam War. As the war turns against the Americans, villagers are rushing to Saigon for refuge. One of them is Kim, a 17-year-old girl whose family was killed. She becomes a stripper at the Dreamland club where she meets a young American GI, Chris. The two quickly fall in love and move in together. When Saigon falls however, Chris is evacuated. Thinking he would never see Kim again, he marries an American woman, Ellen. Two years later, Chris’s friend, John, informs Chris that he has fathered Kim’s child. After Chris and his wife meet Kim in Bangkok, Thailand, Kim gives Chris the child, and then commits suicide.
2011 - Songs for a New World
22 September 2011 – 1 October 2011
Co-director: Jennifer Allen
Co-director: Minouk van der Velde
Musical Director: Robin Kelly
Synopsis
Says the author of this gripping revue, “it’s about one moment. It’s about hitting the wall and having to make a choice, or take a stand, or turn around and go back.” Newcomer Jason Robert Brown (composer-lyricist of the critical smash “Parade”) has had the whole theatre community talking about his blend of savvy showmanship and exciting contemporary sound for years, starting with this revue.
Brown transports his audience from the deck of a 1492 Spanish sailing ship to a ledge 57 stories above Fifth Avenue to meet a startling array of characters ranging from a young man who has determined that basket-ball is his ticket out of the ghetto to a woman whose dream of marrying rich nabs her the man of her dreams and a soulless marriage.
2010 - Big Top Cabaret
NSMT Clubrooms20 February 2010 – 6 March 2010
Director – Nicky Vella
Musical Director – Mark Emmett
Choreographer – Gabrielle Smith
Synopsis
Welcome to the Circus!
The Big Top Cabaret, is a musical and theatrical experience filled with excitement and intrigue. Come and see a fantastical show set under the big top, as a cast of performers sing about their life of performance, fun, and fantasy.
But what happens when the curtain falls and the crowd is gone? Life’s not always a circus for a travelling performer, as you’ll find out when you get the chance to look beyond the big top!
So step right up. Hold your breath. Make a wish. And count to three.
2010 - Footloose
The PumpHouse Takapuna6 November 2010 – 20 November 2010
Director – Nicky Vella
Musical Director – Robin Kelly
Choreographer – Amy Christie
Synopsis
One of the most explosive and popular movies has burst onto the live stage as a full-fledged musical! When teenager Ren and his Mum relocate from Chicago to a small rural town, he is not prepared for the rigorous local laws. Years ago, following a night of partying at a dance, a car accident claimed the lives of four local teens including the son of a local minister, Shaw Moore. In a misguided attempt to honour the victims, the reverend pushed through a town ordinance banning dancing and in the process has kept alive a memory that can only foster pain. At the emotional heart of ‘Footloose’ is a boy longing for the father who walked out on him and a man aching for the son he lost. Untimately Rev. Moore realises that only through placing trust in our young people can they become truly trustworthy. ‘Footloose’ is propelled by the rockin? rhythm of it?s Oscar nominated top 40 score, the soundtrack album having hit number 1 on the Billboard Charts.
2019 - From Hollywood to Broadway - Songs from Stage to Screen
The Clubrooms
November 7th – November 9th 2019
Director: Emma Carr & Alexandra McKellar
Synopsis
Hollywood to Broadway brings you some favourite songs from the stage and screen. a limited season only featuring an epic cast of local talent, this is a cabaret experience you won’t want to miss!
Featuring songs from shows such as Waitress, Cabaret, and Kiss me Kate, and from movies like Rocky, Cruel Intentions and Meet me in St Louis, there is something for everyone!
2019 - The Last 5 Years
The Clubrooms
March 8th – March 23rd 2019
Director: Emma Carr
Musical Director: Zac Johns
Synopsis
Drama Desk award-winner The Last Five Years is Jason Robert Brown’s intimate window into a couple’s doomed marriage. Cathy, a struggling actress, and Jamie, a budding novelist on the brink of wild success, are 20-somethings in New York who meet, fall in love, marry, and divorce over the span of five years. Cathy tells the story from the end of their marriage; Jamie begins from when they first meet. As the musical unfolds, Cathy moves backward in time to the beginning of the relationship as Jamie moves toward the end; they meet only once, in the middle, at their wedding. Since its Off-Broadway premiere in 2002, Brown’s funny, poignant, and devastatingly honest two-person production has enraptured audiences around the world with its spellbinding and emotional score and libretto.
2018 - Heathers
The Clubrooms
April 20th – April 28th 2018
Director: Alexandra McKellar
Musical Director: Griffin Jenkins
Choreographer: Emma Carr
Synopsis
Based on the cult classic film of the same name, Heathers is the story of Veronica Sawyer, a senior at the fictional Westerberg High. Veronica longs to be cool like the clique of it-girls that runs Westerberg: the unaffected, unattainable Heathers. Unfortunately, in addition to awesome levels of popularity, the Heathers are also cruel, choosing to mock and bully their kingdom into submission. When Veronica uses her skills as a forger to get the Heathers out of detention, she impresses their leader Heather Chandler— so much so that they agree to let her into their exclusive club. At first Veronica is thrilled—until she finds out that being one of the Heathers means bullying the same kids she used to call friends. Meanwhile, Veronica finds herself attracted to a mysterious newcomer at school named Jason Dean (JD). When an innocent drink mix up results in the accidental poisoning of Heather Chandler, JD convinces Veronica to stage Heather’s suicide. The results are so successful that Veronica and JD, exhilarated with their newfound power, resolve to rid Westerberg of the cruelly popular elite forever.
2017 - Jekyll & Hyde
The Pumphouse
November 18th – December 2nd 2017
Director: Daniel Chasemore
Musical Director: Catherine Carr
Choreographer: Brie Young
Synopsis
Based on Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic thriller, Jekyll & Hyde is the gripping tale of a brilliant mind gone horrifically awry, set to a powerful pop-rock score by Frank Wildhorn with book and lyrics by Leslie Bricusse. In an attempt to cure his ailing father’s mental illness by separating “good” from “evil” in the human personality, talented physician Dr. Jekyll inadvertently creates an alternate personality of pure evil, dubbed Mr. Hyde, who wreaks murderous havoc on the city of London. As his fiancée Emma grows increasingly fearful for her betrothed, a prostitute, Lucy, finds herself dangerously involved with both the doctor and his alter ego. Struggling to control Hyde before he takes over for good, Jekyll must race to find a cure for the demon he has created in his own mind.
2017 - Bring It On
The Pumphouse
June 14th – June 24th 2017
Director: Alexandra McKellar
Musical Director: Kerry Priestley
Choreographer: Gemma Boswell
Synopsis
Bring It On: The Musical tells the story of Campbell Davis, a young cheerleader who dreams of leading her squad to victory at a National competition. The story focuses on the world of competitive cheerleading and the intense rivalries it creates. Campbell’s future is secure: handsome boyfriend, a killer squad, and the newly awarded title of cheer captain. Suddenly, however, she is mysteriously reassigned to another school: the inner-city Jackson High, where she knows hardly anyone and worse: they don’t have a cheerleading squad! Despite the challenges of fitting in at a new school, Campbell befriends some tough girls on the dance squad and helps them become a powerhouse competitor for the National Cheerleading Championships.
2016 - Hair
The Pumphouse
November 5th – November 19th 2016
Director: Alexandra McKellar
Musical Director: Kerry Priestley
Choreographer: Gemma Boswell
Synopsis
Hair tells the story of the “tribe”, a group of politically active, long-haired hippies of the “Age of Aquarius” living a bohemian life in New York City and fighting against conscription into the Vietnam War. Claude, his good friend Berger, their roommate Sheila and their friends struggle to balance their young lives, loves, and the sexual revolution with their rebellion against the war and their conservative parents and society. Ultimately, Claude must decide whether to resist the draft as his friends have done, or to succumb to the pressures of his parents (and conservative America) to serve in Vietnam, compromising his pacifistic principles and risking his life.
2016 - 13
July 16th – July 23rd 2016
Director: Alexandra McKellar
Musical Director: Mark Bradley
Choreographer: Gemma Boswell
Synopsis
Evan Goldman is about to turn thirteen, and he can’t wait. His life seems full of possibilities — that is, until his parents get divorced, and he is forced to move with his mom from big-city New York to podunk Appleton, Indiana. If Evan can’t get the coolest kids to come to his bar mitzvah, how is he going to survive the school year, not to mention, the rest of his life? As Evan navigates the world of cool kids and nerds, jocks and cheerleaders, first kisses and heartbreak, he comes to understand “What it Means to Be a Friend.” With a bright, catchy pop score from Jason Robert Brown, equal doses of humor and pathos, and a cast of wildly talented teens, 13 is irresistible to grown ups and almost-grown ups alike.
2015 - The Addams Family
October 31st – November 14th 2015
Director: Alexandra McKellar
Musical Director: Mark Bradley
Choreographer: Gemma Boswell
Synopsis
The Addams Family features an original story, and it’s every father’s nightmare. Wednesday Addams, the ultimate princess of darkness, has grown up and fallen in love with a sweet, smart young man from a respectable family – a man her parents have never met. And if that weren’t upsetting enough, Wednesday confides in her father and begs him not to tell her mother. Now, Gomez Addams must do something he’s never done before – keep a secret from his beloved wife, Morticia. Everything will change for the whole family on the fateful night they host a dinner for Wednesday’s ‘normal’ boyfriend and his parents.
2015 - Move It!
July 2nd – July 11th 2015
Director: Tracey Andrews
Musical Director: Kerry Priestley
Choreographer: Amy Christie
Synopsis
Two dance crews, Hypnotiks and Blaze, are competing for a place in a regional contest. Blaze always win everything, and Hypnotiks have a particular problem with one of their group who keeps letting them down. The leader of Blaze – Nicole – has a troublesome younger sister called Sam, who she is very quick to criticise. Because Sam is constantly undermined by Nicole, she is angry and aggressive, and has recently been excluded from school after a fight. Then – by chance – Sam ends up being the solution to Hypnotiks’ problems when her natural talent for street dance is discovered. However, this puts her in direct competition with Nicole! In a surprising turn of events, Sam is the one who saves the day when there is a disaster for Nicole and Blaze at the dance-off.
2014 - Celebrating the Musical
8 November 2014 – 22 November 2014
Director: Paul Carroll
Musical Director: Kerry Priestley
Choreographer: Amy Christie
Synopsis
A review style show celebrating some of the most popular musicals from the last six decades which produces 90 minutes of show stopping brilliance!
2014 - Hairspray
16 August 2014 – 6 September 2014
Director: Grant Meese
Musical Director: Catherine Carr
Choreographer: Rhonda Daverne
Synopsis
In 1962 Baltimore, Maryland, plump teenager Tracy Turnblad’s dream is to dance on The Corny Collins Show, a local TV dance program based on the real-life Buddy Deane Show. When Tracy wins a role on the show, she becomes a celebrity overnight, and meets a colorful array of characters. She then launches a campaign to integrate the show. Hairspray is a social commentary on the injustices of parts of American society in the 1960s.
2013 - The Musical of Musicals - The Musical!
25 April 2013 – 4 May 2013
Director: Pauline Vella
Musical Director: Celeste Oram
Choreographer: Casey Radley
Pianist: John Zheng
Synopsis
‘The Musical of Musicals (The Musical!)’ is a musical about…. Musicals!
In this hilarious satire of Musical theatre, one story becomes five delightful musicals, each written in the distinctive style of a different master of the art form, from Rodgers and Hammerstein to Stephen Sondheim The basic plot revolves around our leading lady June, who can’t pay her rent and is threatened by the evil landlord. Will the handsome leading man come to her rescue in time?
2012 - Into the Woods
The Pumphouse Takapuna3 November 2012 – 17 November 2012
Director: Aaron Tindall
Musical Director: Andrew Christie
Vocal Coach: Beverley Brockelbank
Repetituer: Robin Kelly
Synopsis
Into The Woods combines the traditional tales of Cinderella, Jack and The Beanstalk, Rapunzel, and Little Red Ridinghood, with an original tale of the Childless Baker in a single setting and involving a witch. This story focuses on themes of parenting and parents, familial relationships, growing up, responsibility, and wish fulfilment. These themes are tested by moral dilemmas, choices and the individual’s responsibility to community. The show is structured thus: Act I – seeking what you wish for. Act II – the consequences of achieving your desires.
2012 - Thoroughly Modern Millie
Centrestage Orewa9 June 2012 – 23 June 2012
Director – Sherrin Scelly
Musical Director – Kerry Priestley
Choreographer – Val Hemphill
Synopsis
Thoroughly Modern Millie tells the story of a small-town girl, Millie Dillmount, who comes to New York City to marry for money instead of love – a thoroughly modern aim in 1922, when women were just entering the workforce. Millie soon begins to take delight in the flapper lifestyle, but problems arise when she checks into a hotel owned by the leader of a slavery ring in China. The style of the musical is comic pastiche.
Inspired by Richard Morris’ Original Story and 1967 Screenplay. Taking place in New York City in 1922, Thoroughly Modern Millie tells the story of young Millie Dillmount, who has just moved to the city in search of a new life for herself. It’s a New York full of intrigue and jazz – a time when women were entering the workforce and the rules of love and social behavior were changing forever. Based on the popular movie, the stage version of Thoroughly Modern Millie includes a full score of new songs and bright dance numbers.
2011 - Miss Saigon
The Civic, Auckland 20 May 2011 – 11 June 2011
Director – David Adkins
Musical Director – Kerry Priestley
Musical Director Orchestra – Adrian Hirst
Choreographer- Val Hemphill
Synopsis
Miss Saigon is a retelling of the story of Puccini’s Madame Butterfly set during the Vietnam War. As the war turns against the Americans, villagers are rushing to Saigon for refuge. One of them is Kim, a 17-year-old girl whose family was killed. She becomes a stripper at the Dreamland club where she meets a young American GI, Chris. The two quickly fall in love and move in together. When Saigon falls however, Chris is evacuated. Thinking he would never see Kim again, he marries an American woman, Ellen. Two years later, Chris’s friend, John, informs Chris that he has fathered Kim’s child. After Chris and his wife meet Kim in Bangkok, Thailand, Kim gives Chris the child, and then commits suicide.
2011 - Songs for a New World
22 September 2011 – 1 October 2011
Co-director: Jennifer Allen
Co-director: Minouk van der Velde
Musical Director: Robin Kelly
Synopsis
Says the author of this gripping revue, “it’s about one moment. It’s about hitting the wall and having to make a choice, or take a stand, or turn around and go back.” Newcomer Jason Robert Brown (composer-lyricist of the critical smash “Parade”) has had the whole theatre community talking about his blend of savvy showmanship and exciting contemporary sound for years, starting with this revue.
Brown transports his audience from the deck of a 1492 Spanish sailing ship to a ledge 57 stories above Fifth Avenue to meet a startling array of characters ranging from a young man who has determined that basket-ball is his ticket out of the ghetto to a woman whose dream of marrying rich nabs her the man of her dreams and a soulless marriage.
2010 - Big Top Cabaret
NSMT Clubrooms20 February 2010 – 6 March 2010
Director – Nicky Vella
Musical Director – Mark Emmett
Choreographer – Gabrielle Smith
Synopsis
Welcome to the Circus!
The Big Top Cabaret, is a musical and theatrical experience filled with excitement and intrigue. Come and see a fantastical show set under the big top, as a cast of performers sing about their life of performance, fun, and fantasy.
But what happens when the curtain falls and the crowd is gone? Life’s not always a circus for a travelling performer, as you’ll find out when you get the chance to look beyond the big top!
So step right up. Hold your breath. Make a wish. And count to three.
2010 - Footloose
The PumpHouse Takapuna6 November 2010 – 20 November 2010
Director – Nicky Vella
Musical Director – Robin Kelly
Choreographer – Amy Christie
Synopsis
One of the most explosive and popular movies has burst onto the live stage as a full-fledged musical! When teenager Ren and his Mum relocate from Chicago to a small rural town, he is not prepared for the rigorous local laws. Years ago, following a night of partying at a dance, a car accident claimed the lives of four local teens including the son of a local minister, Shaw Moore. In a misguided attempt to honour the victims, the reverend pushed through a town ordinance banning dancing and in the process has kept alive a memory that can only foster pain. At the emotional heart of ‘Footloose’ is a boy longing for the father who walked out on him and a man aching for the son he lost. Untimately Rev. Moore realises that only through placing trust in our young people can they become truly trustworthy. ‘Footloose’ is propelled by the rockin? rhythm of it?s Oscar nominated top 40 score, the soundtrack album having hit number 1 on the Billboard Charts.
