With Doctor Zhivago, Love Never Dies, Strictly Ballroom AND An Officer and a Gentleman all making their international premieres in Australia, I felt there may be a shifting tide in perception of Australia as a great place to launch new musicals.
If that means Australian audiences act as guinea pigs for the meccas of Broadway and West End then hooray for us.
Attracting big overseas investment and employing local talent (we have truck loads of triple threats in Australia) to stage brilliant musicals is very exciting.
It will be interesting to see how we fare in the next few years. Hopefully the trend is only in its infancy and producers will start thinking of Sydney and Melbourne as good try-out locations for brand spanking new shows.
Here's the article, published at news.com.au and the Herald Sun:
http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/music/australia-beats-broadway-to-host-world-premieres-of-up-and-coming-musical-classics/story-e6frfn09-1226142462421
