Before Covid-19, it’d take a long flight and half a grand to see Hamilton in the flesh. Now, the biggest musical of the past two decades is available to watch on Disney+. Sam Brooks takes stock of this extraordinary move. Right now, Broadway is a sleeping dragon. New York theatres have been dark for months … Read more
Thirty years ago, a Lower Hutt intermediate school performed the full, unabridged, adult version of West Side Story. Jet gang member Morgan Davie looks back. September 24, 1987. My gang moves with purpose under the streetlights. In the middle of Lower Hutt, a rival gang is waiting. There’s gonna be a rumble. We walk tough, … Read more
Wtf did we just watch? That sound you heard was a million furries screaming in ecstasy as their fantasy and everyone else’s nightmare came to life in the form of the first trailer for the live action version of Cats. Is it live action if it’s CGI fur-covered actors singing Andrew Lloyd Webber songs? It’s … Read more
A new production of Once, the musical based on the hit film, opens in Auckland tonight. Sam Brooks talks to the director Jesse Peach about putting the New Zealand premiere on its feet. Being a musical theatre fan in New Zealand can be a testing experience. If you’re a die-hard fan, you’re likely to have already … Read more
She has scores of credits to her name, awards galore, she’s an CNZM, and she stars in the cabaret Delicious Oblivion, opening tonight in Auckland. Jennifer Ward-Lealand talks to Sam Brooks about her most memorable roles. It’s not hyperbole to call Jennifer Ward-Lealand a living legend. Across her 40-year career, the actress has graced both … Read more
We review the entire country and culture of New Zealand, one thing at a time. Today, the glitzy premiere of Aladdin at Auckland’s Civic Theatre. Sam Brooks, culture editor The musical Aladdin fixes the main problem with the film Aladdin: not enough Genie. What’s even better is that it does it right from the top. … Read more
Everybody wants to rule the world, but who else, asks Simon Wilson in this “partner content” feature, sets out to do it with as much wham-bam glam as the 80s dancefloor revivalist musical Pleasuredome? Just before the intermission, Lucy Lawless gets up close and personal with the woman she’s seducing and slides into ‘Hey little girl … Read more
We review the entire country and culture of New Zealand, one thing at a time. Today, utter boor Don Rowe attends the theatre. Pour me a pinot and call me Simon Wilson, cause I think I like the theatre now! Last night’s Matilda was both my first play and first musical, ever – a fact … Read more
We review the entire country and culture of New Zealand, one thing at a time. Today: Sam Brooks reviews the West Side Story touring blockbuster spectacle. I consider myself a big fan of musicals. I listen to them more than your average homosexual, I try and see a few every year, and I wish I … Read more
We review the entire country and culture of New Zealand, one thing at a time. Today: Madeleine Chapman caught the latest musical in town with the longest name. When I was younger, I watched a DVD of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat almost every day during one school holidays. And in all those viewings, … Read more