Melbourne’s recently named East End Theatre District (the collective brand for the city’s heritage theatres) is thriving with every heritage theatre hosting a major musical theatre production for the first time in five years.
Les Misérables opened to much fanfare on Thursday evening at Her Majesty’s Theatre; Craig McLachlan and his motley crew of misfits in The Rocky Horror Show have been playing to capacity audiences at the Comedy Theatre since April; the spellbinding Wicked is selling out the Regent Theatre; and Rodgers and Hammerstein’s exquisite musical The King and I starring Lisa McCune is currently playing at the Princess Theatre.
To commemorate the occasion of four major musicals playing simultaneously in Melbourne, the casts from each production, assembled in full costume, on the steps of Parliament House on Saturday 5 July 2014. They were joined by the Minister for the Arts, Heidi Victoria MP, together with theatre workers from these productions for a historic photo opportunity to mark this unique occasion.
The Minister for the Arts, Heidi Victoria said the four musical productions currently showing in Melbourne would not have been possible without the dedication and commitment of producers, cast, musicians and backstage staff.
”Melbourne, as the nation’s arts capital, is at the forefront of a thriving theatre scene which has flow-on effects to the broader Victorian economy,” said Heidi Victoria.
“Melbourne is a great theatre town – plain and simple,” says leading producer John Frost AM. “Unlike other cities in Australia the location of Melbourne’s theatres in close proximity and within the central city brings a lot of energy and excitement to the experience of going to the theatre.”
“And not only the location, but the theatres themselves are historic and iconic in their own right – Melbourne is very lucky to have held onto these beautiful theatres. They’re a wonderful asset for the city.”
To view more photos from this historic occasion, visit: Standing (Inn)ovation
Image: Jemma Rix (Elphaba – Wicked), Lucy Durack (Glinda – Wicked), Heidi Victoria MP, Craig McLachlan (Frank ‘n’ Furter – The Rocky Horror Show), Hayden Tee (Javert – Les Misérables), Simon Gleeson (Jean Valjean – Les Misérables), Lisa McCune (Anna Leonowens – The King and I), and Lou Diamond Phillips (The King of Siam – The King and I) – photo by Matt Bell: Standing (Inn)ovation