Philip Quast News

Nominations were announced today for the Sydney Theatre Awards for 2011, which will be presented at a gala ceremony on January 16, 2012 at 6pm at the Paddington RSL. The full list of nominations is as follows:

There's just 4 weeks left to go in voting for the 2011 Australia Awards and here is the latest update! Have you voted yet, and helped to spread the word to support your favorites in the hopes that they will be the recipients of a 2011 BroadwayWorld Australia Award? There is no time to waste, click on the voting link and make your opinion count! Below are the stats so far as of Tuesday November 29, 2011.

On Saturday, November 26, Tony Award©-Winning Composer Jason Robert Brown will appear in a masterclass to the students of the Pasadena Musical Theatre Program (Ryan Scott Oliver, Artistic Director).

Voting is now well underway for the 2011 Australia Awards and here is the latest update! Now, it's time for you to get out and vote for your favorites in the hopes that they will be the recipients of a 2011 BroadwayWorld Australia Award. No time to waste, click on the voting link and make your opinion count! Below are the stats so far as of Monday November 23, 2011.

On Saturday, November 26, Tony Award©-Winning Composer Jason Robert Brown will appear in a masterclass to the students of the Pasadena Musical Theatre Program (Ryan Scott Oliver, Artistic Director).

Jason Robert Brown, the Tony Award winning composer, will be an honored guest at the Opening Night of his musical 13, Friday December 9 at ACT. On Thursday night, December 8 at 9:00pm, following the preview performance, Jason will present a 90 minute benefit concert at the Falls Theatre at ACT, 700 Union Street, Seattle WA.

Today, in an extension of the FLASH FRIDAY column, we are sharpening our focus on the six upcoming revivals of musicals that are soon to hit the boards in the next few months (post-FOLLIES) and battle it out for the Best Revival as the Broadway season heats up just when the weather begins to cool: the classic Jule Styne/Bob Merrill musical that originally starred that star-of-stars, Barbra Streisand - FUNNY GIRL; the groundbreaking rock opera that rewrote the theatrical rulebook thanks to young creators Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice - JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR; the hippie, flower child take on the Christ story covering some similar Biblical ground to that of SUPERSTAR, with this one being the composing debut of WICKED songwriter Stephen Schwartz - GODSPELL; another Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice collaboration that won seven Tony Awards and acted as the vehicle for Patti LuPone's blazing Broadway debut in a starring role - EVITA; the significantly reworked, revised and rewritten new version of the beautifully scored time-travel musical by Burton Lane and Alan Jay Lerner, this time starring a male movie star crooner - ON A CLEAR DAY YOU CAN SEE FOREVER; and, the landmark American opera composed by the Gershwins with DuBose Haywerd - PORGY & BESS. While each and every one of these entities has a huge hit song or two that nearly everyone on the planet knows by heart - "Don't Rain On My Parade", "I Don't Know How To Love Him", "Day By Day", "Don't Cry For Me Argentina", "On A Clear Day…" and 'Summertime' included - each of these revivals also comes after a film version (or two) that, in more than a few of these cases, will be relatively difficult to top as far as expectations of many audience members undoubtedly will go. So, by taking a listen to the smash hit crossover songs from these musicals as well as looking at their respective film version's trailers - as well as a couple of surprises, too - perhaps we can glean some insight into what makes these generally pretty terrific properties so well worth reviving on Broadway, here, now, today, in 2011. Furthermore, all of this crystal ball commentary is not even taking into account the starry assortment of performers that have already been announced for these productions so far - especially with FUNNY GIRL's Lauren Ambrose and Bobby Cannavale, GODSPELL's Hunter Parrish, SUPERSTAR's lauded Josh Young, EVITA's Ricky Martin and Michael Cerveris, PORGY's Norm Lewis and Audra McDonald, as well as the leading man in what was once a leading lady's role (that of Barbara Harris) in ON A CLEAR DAY YOU CAN SEE FOREVER, Harry Connick, Jr.! What a tight race it is turning out to be for these new productions, particularly come Tony time in June! With rock to rhumba and borscht belt comedy to messianic hosannas and even full-out opera, seemingly every conceivable customer base is more than covered by this packed, potentially, well, awesome, season of shows - and many Broadway babies around BroadwayWorld are undoubtedly looking most forward to these six forthcoming revivals - with particularly good reason given the relative dearth of new musicals announced so far. So, let these revivals revive your flagging spirits as we leap into the 2011-2012 season with this comprehensive prospective and retrospective all about what makes them work so well in the first place and so worthy of another look!

Last night at the 10th annual Helpmann Awards celebrating excellence in the performing arts, Australia's equivalent of the Tony® Awards, MARY POPPINS set a new Helpmann record, winning eight awards, including Best Musical, Best Direction of a Musical for Richard Eyre and Matthew Bourne and Best Choreography in a Musical for Matthew Bourne and Stephen Mear. Additional winners were Verity Hunt-Ballard for Best Female Actor in a Musical; Matt Lee for Best Actor in a Musical; Philip Quast for Best Male Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical; Stephen Brooker and Michael Tyack for Best Music Direction; Peter Grubb for Best Sound Design.

The 2011 Helpmann Awards® Ceremony was held earleir today. Monday 1 August at Opera Theatre, Sydney Opera House, hosted by Jonathan Biggins will Host the Awards Ceremony.

The annual Helpmann Awards® recognise distinguished artistic achievement and excellence in the many disciplines of Australia's vibrant live performance sectors, including musical theatre, contemporary music, comedy, opera, classical music, theatre, dance and physical theatre. The Helpmann Awards also incorporates the JC Williamson Award for outstanding contribution to the Australian live performance industry.

One of Australia's best-loved stars Simon Burke returns to the Adelaide Cabaret Festival with the Australian premiere of his brand new show Something About Always.

New Repertory Theatre, in residence at the Arsenal Center for the Arts, is pleased to announce it will be producing Jason Robert Brown's award-winning musical The Last Five Years.

Disney and Cameron Mackintosh's beloved Australian production of MARY POPPINS will play its final performance in Melbourne at Her Majesty's Theatre on Friday, April 1 before moving the entire production to the Capitol Theatre in Sydney, beginning Sunday, April 17 for a May 5th opening. The Melbourne production of MARY POPPINS premiered on Thursday, July 29, 2010, opening to critical acclaim and welcoming more than 500,000 theatergoers. When the curtain comes down on the final Melbourne show, MARY POPPINS will have played to 100% capacity at each of its 299 performances.

New Repertory Theatre, in residence at the Arsenal Center for the Arts, is pleased to announce it will be producing Jason Robert Brown's award-winning musical The Last Five Years.

The Green Room Awards took place at The Famous Spiegeltent in Melbourne last night, and global favorite MARY POPPINS led the night with a total of nine awards out of its twelve nominations. Yana Alana and the Paranas in Concert, a cabaret production, was a close second for total awards with six out of eight cabaret awards.

New Repertory Theatre, in residence at the Arsenal Center for the Arts, is pleased to announce it will be producing Jason Robert Brown's award-winning musical The Last Five Years.

The Mary Poppins Australian Cast Recording was captured over five nights at Her Majesty's Theatre, Melbourne 2010. The Australian production stars Verity Hunt-Ballard in the title role and Matt Lee as Bert. The cast also features Philip Quast as George Banks, Marina Prior as Winifred Banks, Debra Byrne as Bird Woman, and Judi Connelli as Miss Andrew. The album is available beginning February 18.