An Evening With Rodgers and Hammerstein will be performed in Wollongong in August. Photo: Supplied.
Wollongong audiences are being promised a nostalgic trip through Broadway’s Golden Age, with An Evening with Rodgers and Hammerstein staged at IPAC Theatre for one night only in August.
Presented by the Sydney Musical and Opera Society (SMOS), the full-scale concert will cover top songs from five major musicals such as The Sound of Music and Oklahoma!, and follows a smaller show in Wollongong earlier this year that left audiences asking for more.
“The response was fantastic. It was practically full,” SMOS president Simon Militano said of Some Enchanted Evening in March.
“A few people came to me afterwards saying, ‘We never get any of this kind of music in Wollongong. This is the best show I’ve seen in years. Very nostalgic’.
“It just really resonated with that audience.”
Militano said the smaller show had paved the way for a now, much more ambitious production that would be the only show staged outside Sydney.
He said this concert would feature seven principal vocalists, a full ensemble and choir, a 23-piece orchestra, period-inspired costumes, immersive projections, lighting and even ballet.
It also follows its successful performances aboard Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth cruise ship, where people lined up 90 minutes before the production started.
“It’s not just myself and one other like it was last time,” he said.
“It’s a massive undertaking, especially for just one show in Wollongong.
“What I love about this is it’s a selection.
“Rodgers and Hammerstein have got great musicals – all of them – but this is their top five. It’s basically the top five songs from all of those top five shows.”
That includes songs from The Sound of Music, South Pacific, Oklahoma!, Carousel and The King and I.
He said audiences could expect to hear beloved classics such as Some Enchanted Evening, If I Loved You, You’ll Never Walk Alone, Hello, Young Lovers, People Will Say We’re in Love, and Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’.
“This is the music of the Golden Age when it was at its absolute peak delivered as it was originally intended in those times,” he said.
“We’re not playing orchestrations through artificial intelligence synthesizers.
“It’s a full orchestra and it’s the best numbers from their best works.
“If you want a nostalgic afternoon to honour legends, you should come along because who knows when again this kind of concert will be performed.”
The production is directed by Kate Maree Hoolihan, whose credits include the Julie Andrews-led production of My Fair Lady for Opera Australia, and features acclaimed performer April Marie Naho, who appeared as Bloody Mary in the professional production of South Pacific.
“If you’ve got memories of The Sound of Music, The King and I, South Pacific, Oklahoma!, and Carousel, this is the one opportunity to experience them all at once,” Militano said.
“I’d love to get the support for this like we did for the last show, because then we can bring more down.
“If we decide to do a My Fair Lady in the future, then it encourages us to bring those Golden Age productions to the region.”
The show is also being staged at Glen Street Theatre, Belrose and Pavilion Performing Arts Centre, Sutherland.
Tickets are on sale for ‘An Evening with Rodgers and Hammerstein’, which will be held on 1 August at 2 pm at IPAC Theatre, Wollongong. Tickets from $60.
