Samantha Leigh News

BalletCollective's 2023 season explores the role of chance in life and art. Two world premieres inspired by a tabletop game and pigmentless flowers. Founded by Troy Schumacher, BalletCollective partners with artists to create forward-thinking ballet works.

The National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures has announced the 38 artists, cultural workers, and arts administrators participating in the 21st edition of the NALAC Leadership Institute. The NLI is an intensive weeklong professional development program taking place July 12-16, 2021.

After another critically acclaimed season with productions of Henry VI parts I, II, and III and the smash hit Godspell Queens Shakespeare and What Dreams May Co. return to the stage for presentations of A Midsummer Night's Dream and Bare (Book and Music: Damon Intrabartolo, Book and Lyrics: Jon Hartmere).

Director Jonathan Emerson's modern fairytale design borrows from both Western and Eastern oral storytelling traditions to transport audiences alongside our young lovers (and everyone's favorite Athenian community theater troupe), to a dark fantasy forest. The mortal and the faery worlds collide in the twilight realm as Oberon and Titania fight, the dazzle of their Faeries sparkle bright, and one and all are spellbound by the shenanigans of a certain merry wanderer of the night. Join us as we explore the ways in which an epic story can remind us of where we've come from, teach us, and sometimes ultimately…save us.

After another critically acclaimed season with productions of Henry VI parts I, II, and III and the smash hit Godspell Queens Shakespeare and What Dreams May Co. return to the stage for presentations of A Midsummer Night's Dream and Bare (Book and Music: Damon Intrabartolo, Book and Lyrics: Jon Hartmere).

Following up a successful run of Robin Hood, What Dreams May Co in partnership with Queens Shakespeare present Henry VI by William Shakespeare (All 3 parts combined into a 2 part repertory production). Join as they continue a season of badass women, boys who play at kings, and politicians who would be kings Oh and did they mention swords. Lots and lots of swords.

Following up our successful run of Robin Hood, What Dreams May Co in partnership with Queens Shakespeare are pleased to present Henry VI by William Shakespeare (All 3 parts combined into a 2 part repertory production). Join us as we continue our season of badass women, boys who play at kings, and politicians who would be kings Oh and did we mention swords. Lots and lots of swords.

Producers John Frost and Suzanne Jones today announced their new star who will play the coveted role of Dorothy Gale in the upcoming Australian tour of the world's favourite musical, The Wizard of Oz. Stepping out of the chorus and into the limelight, Samantha Leigh Dodemaide will wear the ruby slippers of Dorothy.

The winner of the 2016 Rob Guest Endowment Award was announced last night at a thrilling Grand Final Concert at the Sydney Lyric Theatre

After another amazing season, with amazing work onstage, with amazing audiences, who were in turn….amazed in 2015, What Dreams May Co in partnership with Queens Shakespeare Inc. again turns the microscope onto two of literature's most famous characters, who on the surface appear to be complete opposites. One a certain boy who will never grow up, the other one of Shakespeare's kings who has grown quite old. Yet they both seem to suffer a clear case of "Peter Pan Syndrome"; flying about from place to place, and oblivious to the destruction they leave in their wake. Following up our successful run of The Terrible Tragedy of Peter Pan, What Dreams May Co is pleased to present William Shakespeare's King Lear.

The 2016 Rob Guest Endowment Grand Final Concert will be held on Monday 14 November at the Sydney Lyric Theatre. The concert will be hosted by Lucy Durack and Penny McNamee, who both worked with Rob Guest in his final show,Wicked. Guest artists performing at the concert will include pop sensation Paulini, principal cast members from Aladdin, the Helpmann Award winning Molly Barwick, Sasha Rose, Georgia Taplin and Bella Thomas who originated the role of Matilda in Australia, past winners Samantha Leigh Dodemaide and Blake Bowden, 2015 Rob Guest Endowment winnerDaniel Assetta, and cast members from Dream Lover - The Bobby Darin Musical.

Summer is only eight weeks away but it will be raining on stage in the Festival Theatre when the hit West End stage production SINGIN' IN THE RAIN previews from 1 December in at the Festival Theatre for a limited pre-Christmas season. It will be the first time in almost fifteen years that a production of the show has been seen on the main stage in Adelaide. 

Showers are on the forecast for Brisbane as the 'splash-hit' West End stage production SINGIN' IN THE RAIN opens today at Queensland Performing Arts Centre's (QPAC) Lyric Theatre running until 30 October, in a strictly limited season.

Final seats are on sale from 5.00pm tomorrow (Friday 2 September) for the Brisbane season of the 'splash-hit' West End stage production SINGIN' IN THE RAIN, opening from 22 September 2016 at Queensland Performing Arts Centre's (QPAC) Lyric Theatre.

Organisers of The Rob Guest Endowment have today launched the 2016 Rob Guest Endowment Awards. The Rob Guest Endowment is one of Australia's most exciting scholarship programs providing financial assistance and industry support to the next generation of musical theatre stars, creators and musicians. Applications for all awards are now open and the winners will be announced at the Rob Guest Endowment Concert to be held in Sydney in November 2016. The 2016 prize package is valued at over $50,000, including the $20,000 major prize, the Rob Guest Endowment Award.

The splash-hit West End stage production SINGIN' IN THE RAIN will make its way to Adelaide in December for a season at the Festival Theatre. The Australian tour premieres in May at Melbourne's Her Majesty's Theatre, followed by seasons in Sydney, Brisbane before making its way to Adelaide and then Perth.

The 2015 Rob Guest Endowment Grand Final Concert will be held on Monday 9 November at the Sydney Lyric Theatre. Hosted by Lucy Durack and David Campbell, guest artists performing at the concert will include musical theatre performers Rob Mills and Jemma Rix, Dirty Dancing star Mark Vincent, 2014 Rob Guest Endowment winner Joshua Robson, and cast members from Matilda and Cats.

The six finalists for the 2015 Rob Guest Endowment, an award recognising an exceptional, emerging musical theatre performer, have been announced. They are Blake Appelqvist (West Side Story, new VCA Graduate), Daniel Assetta (Cats, Wicked), Hilary Cole (Carrie, Dogfight), Georgina Hopson (Into The Woods, The Pirates of Penzance), Rob McDougall (Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera) and Ashleigh Rubenach (Anything Goes, The Sound of Music).

Cole Porter's ANYTHING GOES takes audiences on a fun filled voyage filled with music and mystery, dance and dilemma, love and learning and fabulous 1930's fashion.

The full Australian cast of the splash-hit West End stage production SINGIN' IN THE RAIN has today been announced. The production will open next May at Melbourne's Her Majesty's Theatre, followed by a season from July at Sydney's Lyric Theatre before touring to Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.