Re: Fame - The Musical 2010
And before I forget: Tomorrow is premiere in Melbourne!!! 
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Re: Fame - The Musical 2010
Re: Fame - The Musical 2010
Herald Sun uploaded some pictures from the opening night (15th April 2010)
https://ow.ly/1A5vT%20
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Re: Fame - The Musical 2010
he looks gooooood!!!
Re: Fame - The Musical 2010
There are some articles out there.
MUSICAL THEATRE: Fame: The Musical. By David de Silva, Jose Fernandez, Jacques Levy and Steve Margoshes. Regent Theatre, Melbourne. April 21.
FIRST there was Fame the multiple Academy Award-nominated 1980 film, which in turn spawned a successful television series and then two musicals: Fame: The Musical and Fame Forever: Reunion and Rebirth.
Fame: The Musical is a feverish, furiously energetic, loud fable about startlingly talented, energetic youth. It is a feel-good show that should have no trouble filling its brief eight-week Melbourne season.
The premise is a sort of pre-Chorus Line set-up: a group of bright, hungry, driven kids all want to achieve fame, some at any cost, and some of them think that having successfully auditioned for New York's High School of Performing Arts, they've already made it.
Director and choreographer Kelley Abbey has delivered her large cast with all the discipline and precision of Radio City Music Hall's famous Rockettes and every dance piece is so finely honed that it has the improbable precision and perfection of a video clip.
The cast is uniformly strong. As Miss Sherman, the protective, tough-love teacher, Darlene Love delivered a powerful performance on opening night, highlighted by her rendition of These are My Children. Andrew McFarlane is the sympathetic, encouraging teacher Mr Myers, while doubling as the show's resident director.
Among the cast of students, Chris Durling (who plays Nick Piazza) is emerging as a potential matinee idol in the wake of his earlier successes in The Production Company's Damn Yankees and Follies, and a tour-de-force appearance as half of the cast in the recent two-hander John and Jen at Chapel off Chapel.
Tim Dashwood's Schlomo Metzenbaum is thoughtfully and touchingly portrayed, while the object of his unrequited affection, the tragic Carmen Diaz, has a vulnerable, spitfire appearance that makes a powerful impression.
Catherine Shepherd makes a beautiful Serena Katz and Sam Ludeman revels in his role as the raunchy Joe (Jose) Vegas, stealing the show with Can't Keep It Down (no prizes for guessing what `it' is).
Group numbers, such as the tango that opens the second act, are superbly delivered, as is the famous closing song from the film Fame, I'm Gonna Live Forever, which the band plays loudly enough to leave the ears of audience members ringing for days.
Tickets: $79.90-$109.90. Bookings: 1300 795 012. Until June 11.
Source: https://ow.ly/1C2ZH%20
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Re: Fame - The Musical 2010
Young stars of Fame the Musical are living their characters' dreams 
Sally Browne From:The Sunday Mail (Qld) June 20, 2010 12:00AM
IN THE grand foyer of Melbourne's Regent Theatre, 1980s tunes ring out over the PA.
There's a buzz of excitement in the air. It might be a Wednesday night in the middle of winter but a full house of young and old have come out to see Fame the Musical. Some are So You Think You Can Dance? fans, eager to see their idols take on starring roles in the musical choreographed and directed by SYTYCD's Kelley Abbey. Some are fans of the original Fame, the 1980 film about kids at a New York talent school, which became a hit TV series airing in 70 countries.
In the opening number they're rewarded with the colour and sparkle of a polished show.
On stage, two dozen kids clutch acceptance letters from the New York City's High School of Performing Arts they're actors, musicians and dancers with big dreams. They raise their voice in song: "I pray I make P.A.".
The audience responds with huge applause.
Rewind just one hour earlier and the same cast are on stage, warming up, still in their sweat pants. They're actors, singers and dancers with big dreams who've managed to score parts in Fame the Musical.
This part is real-life but it's a story that echoes the one on stage.
For many of the cast, this is their first big musical.
Talia Fowler, 2009's So You Think You Can Dance? winner, is doing sit-ups in the corner, blending in with the crowd who laugh and show off to each other, doing backflips as if they were easy, and chucking moves that by rights, shouldn't be possible.
It's their regular warm-up before the show usually led by SYTYCD veteran Marko Panzic, who the cast agree is the biggest show-off.
"His show starts when he gets into the building," jokes Timomatic, who also made his mark on SYTYCD. In Fame, Tim gets to shine as a phenomenal singer, playing the role of the talented and troubled Tyrone Jackson.
Hip-hop is the order of the day today and the cast cut some cool moves.
"You never know what he's going to play from hip-hop, gangster rap to Celine Dion," says principal cast member Rowena Vilar, who plays the feisty Latino singer and dancer Carmen Diaz.
Adds Talia, who plays ballet dancer Iris: "Everyone likes a bit of Usher. I like ghetto stuff."
And 1980s tunes are represented. "Whitney Houston remixes," says Timomatic.
To keep the gang inspired, pages torn from 1980s magazines are plastered on the walls backstage.
After the warm-up the cast get their one-hour call and then it's off to their dressing rooms to get ready before the group circle for a last-minute prayer.
"The boys don't usually do much until the five-minute mark," says Marko to a round of laughter.
When they're on stage, though, the cast give it 110 per cent, and tonight's show is no different.
While Fame might be a New York story, it's a universal one, and one that gets the most out of its Australian stars.
The show boasts the cream of young talent, from Kylie Fisher, who learned the drums a few weeks before her audition to play tomboy Lambchop, to Jaz Flowers, who performs a show-stopping number as the large-of-appetite and large-of-voice Mabel Washington.
Even Talia, whose background dancing with the Queensland Ballet is put on show in the role of Iris, gets to sing a line. "It's funny because I spend time warming up and rehearsing backstage and the wardrobe lady's like 'Talia, you have one line'," she says.
As well as its young cast, the Australian musical, produced by John Frost, stars Darlene Love, a veteran of the US music scene, and Australian TV stars Andrew McFarlane and Brian Wenzel.
After the show, the cast gather for nibbles and drinks, but there won't be much partying. Fame is a full-time job, which means they rest as hard as they work.
"During the show I'm a princess," says Jaz. "I take my tablets and I'm silent. I don't speak for days."
Tim agrees you have to be careful with how you spend your time, and that includes ditching mates who make you laugh. "Laughing messes you up vocally," he says.
Performing for eight shows, six days a week is hard work, but even when performers are feeling a little sick or tired they still put their all into it. "Doctor Footlights," Jaz calls it, referring to the lights at the front of the stage that suddenly make everything better.
Fame, conceived by David De Silva, was first released as a film in 1980, which spun-off into a much-loved television series featuring regular characters Leroy, Doris and Bruno. (Remember their names?) The film won Oscars for best score and best song.
The musical debuted in Florida in 1988, featuring a new cast of characters and running in London's West End for 10 years. The stars of the Australian musical know the story back to front they've lived it.
The next day in the green room, in the rabbit warren of the Regent Theatre's backstage, principal cast members reassemble for a chat. They're looking fresh, despite some of them going to bed at 3am. They're discussing last night's show.
A highlight of the show both romantic and comic is when Talia's character Iris jumps up on her beloved Tyrone for a kiss.
Says Talia: "She's never been kissed before. I just have to latch on. There's no way I can make that innocent."
"It's funny, it's fresh," says Tim.
Showing off comes naturally to this crew especially when someone special's going to be in the audience.
This goes back to childhood, they all agree.
"I'm the most massive show-off," admits Talia. "I made my dad build a stage in the backyard. He wanted to make a cubby house and I said, 'No can we just leave the floor for a bit?"'
The gang erupt in laughter.
Tim admits he wanted to be like Michael Jackson in his youth, to the point of donning the jacket and shoes. "But I always had massive glasses, so it was quite funny," he says.
But while they might be living the dream, they know it's not a dream everyone can embrace. For the few that make it into talent schools or a career beyond there are thousands that don't. Rowena, who has starred in musicals like the Boy from Oz and We Will Rock You, says there are countless hours of hard work that are not seen on stage.
It's all about a work ethic, says Marko. "When I was younger it was a dream, but now being in it, it's a work ethic. It's such a lifestyle.
"You eat, live, breathe it . . . It's the non-stop travelling, the not-stop tour, the non-stop being on, the non-stop taking classes, recording, fixing your voice, conditioning your body. There's so much to it.
"If you want a career as a performer, you have to sacrifice, and that's what a lot of people don't get, you have to sacrifice family, love, you sacrifice normality at the end of the day. Every show that you do you have a new family. It's a weird sort of world."
"You become Fame," says Rowena.
Tim adds: "But there's so much positivity to it. And the best thing about the show is that it's our story. At the end of the day it's about us."
Fame the Musical plays at the Lyric Theatre, QPAC, until August 1. Tickets: qpac.com.au or 136 246.
Source: https://www.couriermail.com.au/entertainment/arts/young-stars-of-fame-the-musical-are-living-their-characters-dreams/story-e6freqkf-1225881646642
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Re: Fame - The Musical 2010
Its been sooooo long since I came to the forum. Always great to catch up on the latest news of our favourite actor.
Re: Fame - The Musical 2010
Andrew McFarlane's shot at Fame
ACTOR Andrew McFarlane of Neutral Bay has no illusions about finding fame for his dancing and singing ability.
He confesses his style is more proudly Play School than high-end musical.
Fortunately, his part as the drama teacher Mr Myers in Fame The Musical, which opened at the Capitol Theatre last week, is more about acting than dancing talent. However, McFarlane is required to make some moves in the spectacular finale with the whole cast.
I do a bit of freestyle, he says. I love singing and dancing on Play School but above and beyond that, its a bit of a stretch.
Despite his long career in television, film and the ABC childrens show, it is McFarlanes first appearance in a musical.
Fame the Musical is choreographed and directed by Kelley Abbey from the television hit So You think You Can Dance.
Abbey wisely wanted a mix of experience and new talent in the show and also invited McFarlane to be assistant director.
She also cast Brian Wenzel as the music teacher Mr Scheinkopf.
Wenzel is best known for his role as Sgt Frank Gilroy in the television drama series A Country Practice.
Having toured to Melbourne and Brisbane, Fame The Musical is now enjoying a limited season in Sydney and McFarlane has happily settled into singing and dancing in a ``collaborative way.
The story of a group of students from New Yorks High School of the Performing Arts, Fame has found its own form of fame in a movie, a television series and the musical.
The latter ran for a decade in Londons West End.
McFarlane says he remembers seeing the original movie Fame in his early 20s.
``It made you just want to jump on the nearest taxi and start dancing, he says.
According to McFarlane, the current crop of young Fame stars are equally inspiring including Talia Fowler, the 2009 winner of So You Think You Can Dance.
Abbeys choreography has been described as some of the most dynamic choreography youll ever see in a theatre.
McFarlane uses words like ``joyful and ``exuberant to describe the musical but says its more hard-edged than the film.
``It is quite gritty and deals with things like drug use, he says. ``The students come from underprivileged backgrounds and theyre not polite, pretty people.
Now in his 50s, McFarlane is lucky to retain those boyish looks that made him so popular as the son John in the 1970s television series The Sullivans.
McFarlane has had so many roles in television and film that people who bump into him in the street often hesitate to recall from which show they remember him.
McFarlane says its usually Play School or the television series Patrol Boat which wins the recognition test.
Another role that sticks in peoples mind was his recent portrayal of murdered anti-drugs campaigner Donald Mackay in the series Underbelly.
But it is Play School which has been the constant for McFarlane in the past 11 years.
And although it may not require a level of sophistication when it comes to dancing, Play School is a sought-after stint among actors.
``You have to have a rapport with children and thats not something you can learn, says McFarlane.
Fame The Musical is at the Capitol Theatre Wednesdays to Saturdays at 8pm, plus there are three matinees a week at 2pm and a performance on Sundays at 6pm.
Bookings: 1300 723 038 or www.ticketmaster.com.au
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Re: Fame - The Musical 2010
The former website doesn't exist anymore. All the contents have moved to:
https://paramountgraphics.com.au/sites/fame/
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