This Monday night Magnormos continues the celebration of JERRY HERMAN with the Tony Award winning DEAR WORLD.  In the days leading up we will meet some of the principal performers who will bring this landmark musical to life…

ANGELA HARDING (who plays Nina)

Magnormos: Tell us about your character?
Angela: I play the role of Nina - a lovely, young waitress, who works at the Cafe Francis.  Nina absolutely adores the Countess Aurelia and her friends, and takes much pleasure in their magic and madness. She has a youthful idealism and has never before been in love until she meets Julian, who she falls in love with at first sight.

Magnormos: What drew you to DEAR WORLD?
Angela: I was drawn to the overall beauty of both the story and the score of DEAR WORLD. There is a magical element to the story that sweeps you into the world of larger than life characters through moments of laughter, love and loss. The score is stunning and leaves you humming the melodies at the end. It’s just beautiful!

Magnormos: Why do you think Jerry Herman is so successful?
Angela: For me, it’s his ability to create a world you want to be a part of - a world which unites the extraordinary with the ordinary. Also, of course, his ability to compose stunning, memorable music goes without saying!

Magnormos: Tell us a little about you - what’s a career highlight so far?
Angela: I’m a Queensland girl and have just recently made the move to Melbourne from Brisbane. Career highlights for me are shows or performances I’ve done that signify a new era in my career. Some of these highlights include performing the role of the Narrator in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre in 2009 with Harvest Rain Theatre Company; performing in concert with Scott Alan in 2010 which inspired me toward song-writing; and my role in DEAR WORLD will certainly be a highlight, as my debut to the Melbourne stage!

See a brief snippet of Angela performing one of the memorable melodies from DEAR WORLD with our exclusive rehearsal footage - click here!

See Angela make her Melbourne stage debut in DEAR WORLD, this Monday Night 11 July 8pm at Melbourne Recital Centre.

Book online now or call 03 9699 3333

This Monday night Magnormos continues the celebration of JERRY HERMAN with the Tony Award winning DEAR WORLD.  In the days leading up we will meet some of the principal performers who will bring this landmark musical to life…

MAUREEN ANDREW (who plays Mme Gabrielle)

Magnormos: Tell us about your character:
Maureen: Gabrielle is deliciously private, cultured, classy, well mannered, adorable, kind to dumb animals, intolerant of invisible people, especially when no one facilitates an introduction, oh, and apparently… sssssshhh!! she’s a maiden, in the biblical sense of the word.

Magnormos: What drew you to DEAR WORLD?
Maureen: Dahlink!   I have had the CD for years…  Always wondered what it was about, but have loved so many of the songs.   It is one show I always wanted to see and now I get to see it from the best possible point of view.

Magnormos: Why do you think Jerry Herman is so successful?
Maureen: Wit!  Observation of the world at large!  An ability to take on urban legends and turn them into something magical such as the inimitable Dolly Levi as matchmaker, teacher of dance, and magician, and all the wonderfully crafted characters in HELLO, DOLLY! who are so diverse and beautifully painted.  DEAR WORLD is as opposite in it’s diversity of characters and musical style as it could possibly be as are all his musicals.  There is a genius in creating such diversity and such a joy in interpreting the delicious creatures that live in his musicals.  What a pleasure to play Gabrielle

Magnormos: Tell us a little about you - what’s a career highlight so far?

Maureen: Over 40 years performing makes me feel like I have lived more than one lifetime, from the original cast of Hair in 1971 with a 40th anniversary reunion at the Clovelly Bowling Club in Sydney in 2010 and the whole cast trying to fit on stage to sing the entire show, to the beautifully realised Billy Elliot which after over 600 performances still moved me.  The hysterical madness of the ladies of Calendar Girls.  A wonderful Australasian tour with Saturday Night Fever to Singapore, Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur, Australia wide tours of Cabaret, Grease the Mega Musical, Hugh Jackman’s Boy From Oz. How lucky was I to work on all those brilliant shows with so many divine people. Several roles in Neighbours, State Coroner, My Brother Jack, and all those fabulous bands I have had the pleasure to sing with over the years.  What next!!!

See Maureen and her dog Dickie in DEAR WORLD, this Monday Night 11 July 8pm at Melbourne Recital Centre.

Book online now or call 03 9699 3333

This Monday night Magnormos continues the celebration of JERRY HERMAN with the Tony Award winning DEAR WORLD.  In the days leading up we will meet some of the principal performers who will bring this landmark musical to life…

JACKIE REES (who plays Mme Constance)

Magnormos: Tell us about your character:
Jackie: The character I am playing is Constance.  She is Aurelia’s (the Madwoman of Chaillot) friend.  She is a little kooky to say the least - hears voices in her hot water bottle and seems to have had quite a few encounters with the opposite sex and is still interested!

Magnormos: What drew you to Dear World?
Jackie: Firstly the fact that Jerry Herman wrote the music.  Then when I read the script I realised how topical its story is.  Its about the greed of the Corporate Giant being overcome by the little people.  That one person’s vision can make a difference - can inspire others and can win the battle against the Corporates.  Its message is as important now as when it was first written.  And its told in a crazy, fun way with wonderful words and music.

Magnormos: Why do you think Jerry Herman is so successful?
Jackie: He has written such memorable, beautiful music and lots of his show tunes have become standards with people recording them outside of the musical theatre arena.  Recording them and having huge hits with them.  He’s also one of only two composer/lyricists to have 3 musicals run more than 1500 consecutive performances on Broadway.

Magnormos: Tell us a little about you. What’s a career highlight so far?
Jackie: I’ve been working in the performing arts since I first arrived in Australia in 1973.  My first major musical was the original Rocky Horror Show and I played Columbia.  I did 2 performances with Reg Livermore.  I was rehearsing with some of the new cast - this was 6 months into the production - and the then Columbia got sick - and they threw me on after only a week’s rehearsal.  Scary but great to work with Reg.  And since then I’ve worked in plays and television and film, been part of an award winning cabaret act called The Ritz Company, and continued with my love of musical theatre with roles in musicals like Me and My Girl and Nine to name a few, and had a long running affair as Madame Giry in Phantom of the Opera.  I was lucky enough to be nominated for a Helpmann Award for Best Supporting Actress for this role.  I live in Melbourne with my husband who is a journalist/presenter for the ABC, and my darling dog Bella.

See Jackie and her talking hot water bottles in DEAR WORLD, this Monday Night 11 July 8pm at Melbourne Recital Centre.

Book online now or call 03 9699 3333

This Monday night Magnormos continues the celebration of JERRY HERMAN with the Tony Award winning DEAR WORLD.  In the days leading up we will meet some of the principal performers who will bring this landmark musical to life…

DEIDRE RUBENSTEIN (who plays Countess Aurelia)

Magnormos: Tell us about your character:
Deidre: She is the Mad Woman of Chaillot, the Countess Aurelia. She is not mad, more eccentric than mad. She dresses in clothes of a bygone era and has some very fanciful, almost mystical theories. She appears naive, but is not. She proves that she has enormous spirit and courage to bring about lasting change for good in the world.

Magnormos: What drew you to Dear World?
Deidre: I had heard some of the songs and was familiar with the play. I think there is such a poignant delicacy and wisdom to the piece. It is rare to find that combination of wit and charm, great characters and glorious music. Plus a very relevant message about the dangers of unchecked corporate greed.

Magnormos: Why do you think Jerry Herman is so successful?
Deidre: He is the essence of showbiz and writes the most marvelous songs with great lyrics and wonderful melodies.  

Magnormos: Tell us a little about you. What’s a career highlight so far?
Deidre: It is interesting to look back on a long career and see what projects have meant the most, for whatever reason. I would have to say that there are three major highlights, although I have been fortunate to work on many wonderful shows with many wonderful people.
The first is Palace of Dreams a 10 part mini series for the ABC which we filmed in the mid eighties. It was about a Russian Jewish family running a hotel in Sydney during the Depression. I played Chana the mother. The series had a quality of soul and richness that is rare. The European culture, Sydney in the Thirties, the family’s joys and heartaches, archival footage punctuating the action, a wonderful cast and good writing, all brought to it a marvellous depth and produced very fine television. I am very proud to have been a part of it.

My second highlight is discovering the profound fulfillment in solo performance. I have done three solo shows and the intimacy of communication with the audience when it is just you and them is unparalleled. The audience become your fellow players, you take them on your journey with you. It is a kind of sacred trust. Probably my favourite of the three shows is Confidentially Yours, which was written for me by seven of Australia’s top playwrights. I played nine very different characters ranging from an ageing sex kitten to a blind street woman. Truly thrilling writing and an honour to perform.

And the third is being part of a superb ensemble performing a magnificent play, August: Osage County by Tracey Letts. A big three and a half hour sprawling American Gothic epic. Thirteen characters, all fabulous. A play full of secrets gradually revealed. It is heartbreaking and hilarious, daring and hugely theatrical. The audience response was unlike anything I had ever experienced. Gasps and shrieks and moans ringing out across the house. Obviously the wildly dysfunctional family’s antics were triggering all sorts of recognition in the audience. And at the end the audience rose to their feet cheering, without fail.

See Deidre in the role that won Angela Lansbury her second Tony Award in DEAR WORLD, this Monday Night 11 July 8pm at Melbourne Recital Centre.

Book online now or call 03 9699 3333

With the 2011 Helpmann Award nominations announced just before MILK AND HONEY opened on July 4, Magnormos congratulates the following Contributing Artists for their nominations: Ann Phelan for Best Female Actor in a Supporting Role in a Play (Do not go gentle), Verity Hunt-Ballard for Best Female Actor in a Musical (Mary Poppins), and Esther Hannaford for Best Female Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical (Hairspray).

Toni Lamond and Nancye Hayes will share the JC Williamson Award with Jill Perryman, an award which celebrates excellence and achievement in live performance.

Eddie Perfect has received a nomination for Best Cabaret Performer as well as being nominated alongside Tim Minchin for Best New Australian Work.

Our upcoming Musical Director for DEAR WORLD, Trevor Jones, is a joint recipient for the Brian Stacey Award for Emerging Australian Conductors.