The best musicals in Sydney

As I’m on my way to Sydney's Capitol Theatre for the new Australian production of The Book of Mormon, my friend tells me it’s the very first musical a lot of people see. Created by South Park duo Trey Parker and Matt Stone (with Robert Lopez), the show’s reputation for extremely irreverent jabs at religion draws a non-traditional theatre crowd. What I now realise my friend didn’t mean was, “it’s often the first musical kids see”. When I say the musical is extremely irreverent, I mean it. The humour is crass, verging on grotesque (some things I wouldn’t dare repeat). So it’s probably questionable that I’ve brought along my 13-year-old son with me. That said, he loves it.  Some of the humour is classic teen boy (i.e. a regular exclamation from one of the Ugandan characters that he has “maggots in my scrotum”). Very South Park. My son laughs loudly with the rest of the audience – and when the jokes go too far, he cringes, glancing around with a “should I be laughing at this?” look. Although the shock value is high, it’s nice seeing a Gen Alpha-ite who’s been raised on Youtube and other screen-based entertainment bopping along in his seat to the song and dance of a stage show.    What’s the premise of The Book of Mormon? The Book of Mormon tells the story of two young Mormon missionaries sent to a small village in Uganda. Although the story centres on Mormonism, Parker and Stone have been known to refer to the show as an “atheist’s love letter to religion” – a wink and a jab...

Pretty Woman: The Musical has arrived at the Theatre Royal for its Sydney debut. Directed by two-time Tony Award winner Jerry Mitchell, the feel-good stage spin of the classic film will leave you dancing in your seat, if not deeply moved. What the production sometimes lacks in depth, it makes up for in nostalgia, charm and good vibes. What is the premise of Pretty Woman: The Musical? The production follows Vivian Ward (Samantha Jade), a sex worker working on Hollywood Boulevard to survive. Despite her edgy exterior, Vivian dreams of a life captured in the song ‘Anywhere But Here’. Her luck begins to change when she meets businessman Edward Lewis (Ben Hall). What starts as a one-night business transaction turns into a longer deal – for $3000, Vivian becomes Edward’s partner for six days, while he secures a business deal, all whilst staying in the glamourous penthouse suite of the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. The mix of business, pleasure and pastel sunsets results in a cocktail of romantic fantasy, class mismatch and questions about who is really saving whom. Who are the cast and crew of Pretty Woman: The Musical? In her theatrical debut, singer-songwriter Samantha Jade is Vivian, opposite Ben Hall’s Edward. The pair have moments of flirtatious charm, which show glimmers of chemistry, but struggle to transition this spark into the sweeping passion the narrative is reaching for by its final scenes. Jade and Hall are supported by Tim Omaji as Happy Man/Mr Thompson, and Michelle...