Peter Casey News

From the opening moments of this latest revival of Rogers and Hammerstein's iconic musical The King And I, we are transported to the heart of Asia, its intricacies, its nuances, its customs. Pre curtain, four male Buddhist monks adorned the stage with incense, creating a reverent, calming and authentic moment, the prelude to a plethora of stunning moments littered throughout this magical piece.

It will be a right royal Easter and beyond in Brisbane as The King and I presented by Opera Australia and John Frost opens as a glittering national premiere at the Queensland Performing Arts Center (QPAC) on Saturday 19 April 2014.

The Green Room Awards are Melbourne's performing arts awards and recognise the world-class Cabaret, Dance, Musical Theatre, Opera, Theatre and Alternative and Hybrid Performance productions that grace Melbourne's stages each year. From artistic excellence to technical innovation, a Green Room Award is the most revered accolade an artist can receive in Australia's cultural capital.

It's hard to know where to start with this production of Grease. So much is right, even more is wrong. It is a combination of product and treatment of the product that impacts on the overall aesthetic of this show. The audience participation section at the beginning of the show is particularly laboured and drawn out and it takes an almighty burst of energy from the ensemble in Grease is the Word to recapture our waning attention. This energy level is never matched through the rest of the show leaving it feeling slow, clunky and particularly cheesy. Grease is an almighty movie, a classic that spans generations and has some of the more iconic characters of our time. While independently Rob Mills as Danny and Gretel Scarlett as Sandy do admirable jobs, collectively there in an apathetic connection between them. Their relationship, like a lot of the show, is underwhelming.

With only two weeks until the highly anticipated season of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang opens at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC), the Centre is 'gearing up' for the fantasmagorical musical by theming the building and outlets in celebration of all things Chitty.

The local Queensland children set to star in the Queensland Performing Arts Centre's (QPAC's) season of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang from 19 November to 22 December have been announced.

After nearly four years enchanting audiences in London, across the UK and on Broadway, CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG landed in Australia in 2012, playing to packed houses in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide, and now it is Queensland's turn to be captivated by this wonderfully fun show.

Recognizing the essential role that writers have played in creating and elevating the medium of television since its inception, the Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) and the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) tonight announced the list of the 101 Best Written TV Series

After nearly four years enchanting audiences in London, across the UK and on Broadway, CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG landed in Australia in 2012, playing to packed houses in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide, and now it is Queensland's turn to be captivated by this wonderfully fun show. Opening at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) from November 2013, in the Lyric Theatre, CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG is sure to delight and excite audiences of all ages. As the longest running musical ever to play the London Palladium and with the most expensive theatre prop in British history the show's Australian producer Tim Lawson said he was thrilled to be bringing the show to Queensland from November 2013.

What do Geoffrey Rush, Lisa McCune, Bob Downe, Silvie Paladino, Colin Friels Tony Bartuccio, Chunky Move, John Bell, Richard Gill, Neil Armfield, Chambermade, Bangarra, MKA, Simon Stone, Pamela Rabe, Todd McKenney all have in common? They've all received nominations for the 30th Annual Green Room Awards.

The best way to enjoy Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is take someone under 10 with you to see it.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is an interesting show to define. Part musical, part children's spectacle, it ultimately settles as a big budget pantomime. It is a clever route for Roger Hodgeman to direct this show as its virtually non-existent script does little for both actor and audience. Everything in this production of Chitty is big and over dramatized, which for the most part works particularly effectively. There are moments and performances however, that aren't in sync with the collective pantomime energy on stage and these become particularly obvious throughout the show.

A polite smattering of applause rang around The Regent Theatre at the conclusion of last nights opening of Annie. Then came a hesitant standing ovation almost out of forced habit. For this production of Annie, filled with a cast of the highest order, was performed with a great deal of precision and technicality, but which,however, left me with an ambivalent feeling of....oh yeah. Australian theatre royalty Anthony Warlow and Nancye Hayes take on the roles of Daddy Warbucks and Miss Hannigan. The pairs acting skill is both effortless and flawless and we all know Warlow's voice cuts deep into the crevices of our own body and has the ability to illicit spontaneous excitement within us.

The ever-popular Broadway musical Annie is lighting up Sydney's Lyric Theatre in an exciting new production produced John Frost. Returning to the role of New York ‘zillionaire' Daddy Warbucks will be one of Australia's greatest theatrical talents, Anthony Warlow, fresh from his success in the title role of the World Premiere of Doctor Zhivago. Show business legend Nancye Hayes will play the tyrannical Miss Hannigan who runs the orphanage where Annie begins her journey. This is the third Australian production of Annie that Nancye has been involved with, having played Lily St Regis in the original production and been Resident Director for the second.

The ever-popular Broadway musical Annie will light up Sydney's Lyric Theatre from 29 December in an exciting new production produced John Frost.

An all-new Australian production of one of the most successful American Broadway musicals of all time, A CHORUS LINE is coming to the Festival Theatre, Adelaide in December 2011.

Throughout the year, Adelaide Festival Centre Season 2012 will present over 200 performances and 45 individual shows encompassing music, theatre, dance, circus, 10 exhibitions, with 11 forums and workshops and seven films. It includes two world premieres, six Australian premieres and four performances exclusive to Adelaide. The program features artists and companies from across Australia and the globe including the UK, Russia, the United States, New Zealand, France, Croatia and China.

Adelaide's Debora Krizak will play the sexy, full of attitude character of Sheila Bryant in the stunning Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning musical A CHORUS LINE opening in Adelaide's Festival Theatre on 31 December.

The Award-Winning Korean sensation Hero: The Musical will make its American debut on August 23, 2011 for a limited engagement at Lincoln Center.