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A View from the Sixth Row

A View from the Sixth Row

A picture paints a thousand words at the latest free exhibition at Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) entitled A View from the Sixth Row in the Tony Gould Gallery from April 12 to October 1.

A View from the Sixth Row features a 15-year retrospective of Brisbane photographer Reina Irmer’s performing arts images taken from shows presented at QPAC. From FAME and West Side Story to Chicago and The Mikado and the current Broadway box office hit, WICKED, Reina’s stunning black and white images feature a broad cross-section of drama, musicals and opera works.

From the mid 1990s to the present day, Reina’s photographs have captured shows during the final dress rehearsal, and always taken from the theatre’s sixth row to reflect an audience’s perspective.

The multifaceted exhibition will feature, along with the large photographic prints, a slide show of...

Queensland Ballet changes

New dates and places for Queensland Ballet season
Due to the recent floods, Queensland Ballet has had to move performances to new dates and new venues for 2011 season.

Vis-á-vis Studio Series, March 3-12 (new date), April 29, May 14, July 16, Thomas Dixon Centre; Carmen, May 28 - June 7, QPAC Playhouse (new dates); The Little Mermaid, June 10-12, QPAC Playhouse (new dates); ...with attitude, August 26 - September 10, Thomas Dixon Centre (new dates, new venue).

Pygmalion Moves to November

Pygmalion postponed until November

Queensland Theatre Company has postponed its upcoming production of George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion until November due to delays in re-opening the Playhouse at QPAC.

Although the theatre itself and surrounding public areas were unscathed, the fire, air conditioning and electrical systems located in the sub-basement of the venue were exposed to flood water for an extended period. The most recent assessment confirmed that these critical systems cannot be repaired in time for the programmed season of Pygmalion, originally planned for March 21 to April 10.

Queensland Theatre Company General Manager, Libby Anstis, said a postponement was unavoidable in the circumstances.

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QPAC brings back the magic
After almost a fortnight of enforced closure due to the recent floods, the Lyric Theatre at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) reopened for business with the first performance of the highly popular musical WICKED lighting up the Lyric stage on Tuesday January 25.
Following an assessment and assurance that parts of the building open to public, staff, casts and crew were safe to inhabit, the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland handed the building back to QPAC management.
The Centre has been progressively brought back into operation after certification to ensure safety for staff and the general public. Shows will now go on as scheduled in the Concert Hall and Cremorne Theatre.
QPAC chief executive John Kotzas said that all stops had been pulled out to open the Concert Hall on January 29 for the performance of Looking Through A Glass Onion by John Waters.
“The Concert Hall is now set to host a fabulous line-up of concerts including Australian Chamber Orchestra with Teddy Tahu Rhodes, Johann Strauss Ensemble and a sensational series of concerts by the Queensland Symphony Orchestra,” Mr Kotzas said.
“As QPAC recovers from the damage caused by the devastating Queensland floods, I...

Dr Zhivago

Return to epic musicals with Dr Zhivago
When composer Lucy Simon pictured her stage version of Dr Yuri Zhivago, he was nothing like the dark-haired, big-brown-eyed Omar Sharif who was catapulted to stardom when the story hit the big screen in 1965. Instead she chose a once-blonde, blue-eyed Anthony Warlow to take the lead in a new musical which premieres in Australia this year.
In the early ‘90s Simon was attending rehearsals in Australia for her musical The Secret Garden where she saw Warlow portray the tortured Archie and she said to producer John Frost ‘There is my Zhivago’.
‘Anthony commands a stage, a rare leading man – he gets behind the character and with that unique voice (he) enriches the story being told. I knew in my heart that this was the man to tell my love story,” Ms Simon said.
Dr Zhivago is based on Boris Pasternak's 20th-century Russian masterpiece about Doctor Yuri Zhivago, a man divided against himself. On the one hand he is a dedicated husband, father and healer, and on the other a poet, dreamer and sensualist.
The action sweeps from the final glory days of Czarist Russia through the chaos and upheaval of the Russian Revolution into an unprecedented tyranny under a heartless new political regime.br...

Zhivago

Warlow to play Zhivago
The World Premiere of new musical, Doctor Zhivago starring Anthony Warlow will open in Sydney on February 11, 2011 for an eight week season. Directed by Broadway’s Des McAnuff (Jersey Boys, Tommy), with music by Lucy Simon (The Secret Garden), lyrics by Michael Korie and Amy Powers and book by Michael Weller, the musical will be produced by John Frost. No word yet if the production will come to Brisbane.
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New appointments

New appointments

Gold Coast Arts Centre has had a staff shake up since long-time artistic director Kelvin Cordell retired. Former marketing manager Sharon Doerr has been replaced by former Queensland Symphony Orchestra marketer Sue-Anne Chapman who has returned to the Gold Coast where she previously rolled out marketing campaigns for the Gold Coast Titans and AFL Gold Coast.

Opera Queensland has appoint Georgina Anthonisz as philanthropy manager, Mark Taylor as education liaison officer (sponsored by Education Queensland) and Shannah O’Brien joins the marketing team as co-ordinator.