Smash-hit musical Groundhog Day The Musical will make its Australian premiere at Melbourne’s iconic Princess Theatre for an exclusive season in January 2024, thanks to support from the Victorian Government.
Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events Steve Dimopoulos today joined the musical’s composer and lyricist Tim Minchin AM to announce the award-winning show in Melbourne for its first and only production outside London and New York.
“Melbourne will be the only place people will be able to see Groundhog Day The Musical, and only the third city in the world to stage the production – a genuine coup for Australia’s theatre capital,” said Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events Steve Dimopoulos.
“This Melbourne-exclusive experience will attract visitors from around the country and overseas, creating jobs and delivering significant economic benefits to the state.”
Melbourne will be the first Australian city to stage the production following a record-breaking season earlier this year at London’s Old Vic Theatre, drawing visitors from near and far to the heart of Melbourne to enjoy this unmissable show.
Based on the popular 1993 comedy film, Groundhog Day The Musical has been artfully reinterpreted by the creative team behind Matilda The Musical, led by the popular Australian singer-songwriter Tim Minchin.
It tells the story of a TV weatherman covering the annual Groundhog Day event in a US town who becomes trapped in a time loop, forcing him to relive the day over and over again.
The critically acclaimed production has been nominated for eight Olivier Awards, winning Best New Musical and Best Actor in a Leading Role.
“I have waited seven years for this moment! Groundhog Day The Musical, like Matilda The Musical, has a unique mixture of darkness and light, of head and heart, and of complexity and joy, and I’ve been convinced since its first iteration that Australians will love it!” said Tim Minchin AM, Composer and Lyricist Groundhog Day The Musical.
“I’m so excited that the run is going to be in Melbourne, the city I lived in when I wrote my break-out comedy shows, and the place where – when things weren’t going so well – I learned how important it is to find the beauty and hope in the day to day.”
The production features Set and Costume by Rob Howell (Matilda The Musical, A Christmas Carol), Choreography by Lizzi Gee (Little Shop of Horrors, A Christmas Carol), Orchestration, Additional Music and Musical Supervision by Christopher Nightingale (A Christmas Carol, Matilda The Musical), Lighting by Hugh Vanstone (A Christmas Carol, Back to the Future), Sound by Simon Baker (A Christmas Carol, Girl from the North Country), Illusions by Paul Kieve (Matilda The Musical, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban), Video and Animation by Andrzej Goulding (Sylvia, Eureka Day), and additional Movement by Finn Caldwell (Dr. Seuss’s The Lorax, Life of Pi).
Groundhog Day The Musical is a Whistle Pig production, produced in Australia by GWB Entertainment, supported by Victoria’s Tourism and Major Event fund, Visit Victoria. Groundhog Day The Musical was originally produced in partnership with The Old Vic.
Groundhog Day The Musical joins Melbourne’s enviable calendar of Australian premieres and exclusives secured by the Victorian Government in recent years such as Beetlejuice, & Juliet, Moulin Rouge! The Musical, and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child – bringing more visitors, creating jobs and boosting hospitality, hotels and retail across Melbourne.
Total tourism expenditure in Victoria reached a record breaking high of $36.1 billion in the year ending June 2023, exceeding the Government’s 2024 tourism target more than a year ahead of schedule.
Groundhog Day The Musical plays at Melbourne’s Princess Theatre from 24 January 2024. For more information and to join the waitlist, visit: www.groundhogday.com.au for details.
Image: The Company of Groundhog Day The Musical at The Old Vic, London