Following its recent critically acclaimed season at the Sydney Opera House, the Melbourne premiere of Nick Enright and Max Lambert’s celebrated Australian musical Miracle City takes over the Athenaeum Theatre from 9 February 2018 with an outstanding cast of new stars and musical-theatre veterans.
Set in the early 1990s, at the height of televangelism, Miracle City tells the story of the Truswells, a family with a dream to build a religious theme park, and the extreme lengths the patriarch, Ricky Truswell, will go to in order to make their dream a reality.
This new production features an outstanding cast, including: ARIA award-winner Missy Higgins in her first musical role as part of the powerhouse trio, the Citadel singers, alongside Josie Lane (Little Shop of Horrors, Jerry’s Girls, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Miracle City) and another exciting musical theatre performer to be announced soon.
They are joined by Gus Murray (The Great Gatsby, McLeod’s Daughters, Packed to the Rafters) as the Reverend Ricky Truswell; Kellie Rode (Mamma Mia!, Rocky Horror Show, Mother & Son) as his wife Lora Lee; Jessica Vickers (Light in the Piazza, Fiddler on the Roof) as their apple-pie-fresh daughter Loretta; Liam Nunan (Away, The Golden Age) as Loretta’s love interest, and Anthony Phelan (Seven Types of Ambiguity, The Kettering Incident, The Wild Duck) as evangelist Pastor Millard Sizemore.
“It has been said by many that Miracle City is an undiscovered gem of Australian musical theatre,” says Producer Lisa Freshwater of The Theatre Division. “I am thrilled to produce local work with a cast and crew of formidable talent. Miracle City is a story that still resonates loudly today, perhaps even more so than ever before.”
The late great Australian dramatist Nick Enright (The Boy From Oz, Lorenzo’s Oil, Cloudstreet) wrote the book and lyrics for Miracle City, based on a concept by Max Lambert (Hairspray, King Kong, Strictly Ballroom), who also wrote the music. It premiered at the Sydney Theatre Company in 1996 to universal acclaim, and was resurrected at the Hayes Theatre Co in 2014, earning five Sydney Theatre Award nominations and a slew of rave reviews.
This new production is directed by Darren Yap (Diving For Pearls, Letters To Lindy, A Murder Is Announced, Miracle City – 2014) with Max Lambert returning as musical director and conducting from the piano, and choreography by the award-winning Kelley Abbey (Fame The Musical, Footloose, Grease: The Arena Spectacular and Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour – Carmen).
“Miracle City is a unique, powerful and exhilarating Australian musical written by one of our finest musical theatre partnerships,” said Co-producer Alistair Thomson of The Theatre Division. I am delighted to bring this show to a Melbourne audience for the first time with a truly stellar cast at the Athenaeum Theatre.”
Miracle City
Athenaeum Theatre, 188 Collins Street, Melbourne
Season: from 9 February 2018
Information and Bookings: www.ticketek.com.au (tickets on sale Thursday 9 November)
Image: Miracle City – photo by Branco Gaica