Wheeler, Furler, Perfect, Foster & Warren Create Music and Lyrics for Baz Luhrmann's STRICTLY BALLROOM THE MUSICAL

On Tuesday 25 February 2014 internationally renowned director, BAZ LUHRMANN, who is hard at work in the rehearsal room at Carriageworks, announced the extraordinary composers he and co-writer CRAIG PEARCE have collaborated with in order to bring STRICTLY BALLROOM THE MUSICAL to life on stage.

Australian audiences will have the privilege of hearing new music and lyrics from some of the world's leading composers including Australia's own ELLIOTT WHEELER, SIA FURLER and EDDIE PERFECT along with celebrated American songwriters DAVID FOSTER and DIANE WARREN, who between them have won all the most prestigious music awards including Golden Globe, Emmy and Grammy Awards.

Baz is particularly thrilled to again be working with acclaimed Sydney based music producer and composer Elliott Wheeler with whom he has worked on many projects including a worldwide campaign for Australian Tourism and most recently The Great Gatsby. Elliott has composed a number of new songs for the production and much of the linking music and arrangements.

David Foster has won 16 Grammy Awards, an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe, and racked up three Oscar nominations for Best Original Song. In June 2010, he was inducted into the Songwriter's Hall Of Fame. He has worked with Barbra Streisand, Celine Dion, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Andrea Bocelli, Michael Bublé, Josh Groban, Natalie Cole and Stevie Wonder to name but a few. He also produced and arranged one of the biggest selling singles of all time I Will Always Love You by Whitney Houston from The Bodyguard soundtrack. David has co-written a stunning new song titled Beautiful Surprise collaborating with MoZella, Bernie Herms and Linda Thompson.

Diane Warren has written for some of the biggest names in music including Elton John, Cher, Tina Turner, Bryan Adams, Barbra Streisand, Aretha Franklin, Roberta Flack, Michael Bolton, Gloria Estefan, Whitney Houston, Enrique Iglesias, Celine Dion and LeAnn Rimes. Her song Because You Loved Me sung by Celine Dion from the Up Close and Personal soundtrack is just one of her many award winning songs.

Australian artist Sia Furler, best known as Sia, is behind some of the biggest recent hits from artists which include Beyoncé, Celine Dion, Katy Perry, Britney Spears and Kylie Minogue. For her tracks for 'Strictly Ballroom' Sia has worked with lyricists Sam Dixon, Neff-U and Isaac Hasons.

Singer-songwriter, actor and comedian Eddie Perfect is best known to Australian audiences for his role in the TV drama Offspring and writer of the Helpmann Award winning musical Shane Warne: The Musical. His solo shows include Angry Eddie, the political satire Drink Pepsi, Bitch! which toured festivals in the UK, New Zealand and Australia including a season at the Sydney Opera House, and most recently the cultural satire Misanthropology as part of the 2011 Sydney Festival for which he won a Helpmann Award for Best Cabaret Performer.

Elliott Wheeler is a Sydney-based music composer and producer. A composition graduate from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Wheeler started out as a film production assistant and quickly moved into film and advertising composition, winning awards for his work here and overseas. Among the first of his projects was Baz Luhrmann's Australian Tourism campaign and later The Great Gatsby where Wheeler wrote original material for the soundtrack, collaborating with Jay Z, Florence + the Machine and Lana Del Rey. Other projects include the opening theme for Rob Connolly's film adaptation of Tim Winton's The Turning as well as the score for the AACTA best animation The Hunter. His debut indie pop solo album The Long Time released to critical acclaim last year, self-produced at Wheeler's own Turning Studios.

This brand new theatrical production will of course feature all the classic songs from the film that we have come to know and love including Love is in the Air, Perhaps Perhaps Perhaps and Time After Time.

STRICTLY BALLROOM THE MUSICAL is produced in Australia by Global Creatures and Bazmark together with the support of Destination NSW, the NSW Government's tourism and major events agency and the City of Sydney.

For more information on the show, visit www.strictlyballroomthemusical.com, or go to: Facebook.com/strictlyballroomthemusical or on Twitter @strictlystage.

STRICTLY BALLROOM will perform at the Sydney Lyric Theatre, The Star, with previews from Tuesday 25 March, 2014. Opening Night Saturday 12 April, 2014. Performance Times: Tuesday at 7pm; Wednesday to Saturday 8pm; Matinees: Wednesday 1pm; Saturday 2pm; Sunday 3pm. Prices: Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday Evenings $60 - $135; Wednesday Matinee $55 - $125; Friday, Saturday & Sunday $70 - $145. Bookings: Tickets now on sale until Sunday 29 June at Ticketmaster.com.au or 1300 795 267. Groups 20+ and School Groups 20+ call 02 8240 2290. Premium Tickets, VIP and Hotel Packages - call 1300 4 SHOWS or showbiz.com.au/strictlyballroom.