Princess Theatre

Sunset Boulevard’s Norma Desmond is a magnificently complex creation. Originally depicted by Gloria Swanson in Billy Wilder’s magnetic 1950 movie, she’s the star of countless silent movies, a living legend accruing thousands of adoring fans during her heyday. But the talkies took over Hollywood, and her light was cruelly dimmed, sending her retreating to her decaying hilltop mansion with loyal butler Max Von Mayerling (Erich von Stroheim). While Norma cuts a tragic figure in her middle ages as the story begins, she can still command a room. “I am big. It’s the movies that got small,” she acidly enunciates at down-on-his-luck movie writer Joe Gillis (William Holden in the movie) when he unexpectedly shows up at her door. Spying a way back to the spotlight through his words, she sets him to work on her chaotic Salome screenplay, abusing her money as power over him. As a noir-tinged chamber piece,Sunset Boulevard hangs on this increasingly twisted relationship, dancing between dark and the light as moments of hope are dashed to doom.It’s just the stuff The Phantom of the Opera maestro Andrew Lloyd Webber thrives on, eventually securing the story after a tortuously long ‘will they, won’t they’ that thwarted both Swanson and Stephen Sondheim. Webber’s soaring musical adaptation – with Phantom-like stirrings over a book and lyrics by Don Black and Christopher Hampton – returns to Australian stages, care of Opera Australia, almost thirty years after Debra Byrne and Hugh Jackman tack

River deep, mountain high – this is a comeback story like no other. Grammy Award-winning musical artist Tina Turner is a woman who dared to defy the bounds of her age, gender and race to become the global Queen of Rock'n’Roll. And finally, the musical inspired by her life story has announced seasons in Adelaide, Brisbane and Melbourne in 2024. Presented in association with Tina Turner herself, Tina – The Tina Turner Musical received its world premiere in April 2018 in London, where it opened to five-star reviews and has broken box office records at the Aldwych Theatre. It has since had three European tours and a Broadway production in November 2019, which was nominated for 12 Tony Awards, including Best Musical. One of the world’s best-selling artists of all time, Tina Turner has won 12 Grammys and her live shows have been seen by millions, with more concert tickets sold than any other solo performer in music history. When she was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in October 2021, Tina Turner became one of only three women in the institution’s history to be inducted twice (she was initially inducted in 1991, alongside Ike Turner). Turner’s Australian connections run deep. Upon its original release in 1973, her semi-autobiographical hit ‘Nutbush City Limits’ spent an entire year in the top 100 of Australia’s single chart (and the Nutbush dance remains a staple at numerous Aussie weddings and social gatherings). Tina’s star turn in the Australian film Mad Max: Beyond

Carousel was once described as the “best musical of the 20th century” by Time Magazine, and now a luxe concert presentation of the show is coming soon to Melbourne’s Princess Theatre this spring for three shows only.  If the chance to see this classic Rodgers and Hammerstein musical wasn’t already a must-see, producer Enda Markey has gone and thrown Anna O’Byrne (Becoming Eliza, My Fair Lady, The Mousetrap) and Marina Prior (Phantom of the Opera, Les Misérables, West Side Story) together for this special star-studded production.  On presenting this rare staging of this iconic American musical, producer Enda Markey said: “I feel incredibly privileged to have gathered such a phenomenal team to bring Carousel to life. This extraordinary music demands equally extraordinary singers, and I am thrilled to unite Anna and Marina — two of our greatest stage stars — for the first time to play these iconic roles. It promises to be a truly unforgettable night at the theatre.” First staged in 1945, Carousel is the second-ever musical from the formidable duo of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, widely regarded as one of the greatest partnerships in musical theatre history. It follows the story of dashing but troubled carousel barker Billy Bigelow in the seaside town of Maine, and his love story with mill worker Julie Jordan. Anna O’Byrne and Marina Prior will play the leading roles of Julie Jordan and Nettie Fowler, the women at the heart of this enduring tale of love, redemption, a