The Boy from Oz
National Theatre, St Kilda
July 2024
A musical biography and tribute to the late great Peter Allen.
The Story
Peter Allen was born in the outback town of Tenterfield in 1944, making his entertainment debut at 5 impersonating Al Jolson. As a teenager he became a pop star, then toured Asia. Here he met Judy Garland and through her, became engaged to her daughter, Liza Minnelli.
In the US, Peter hit the highs: an Oscar win, sold-out shows at Radio City Music Hall, and a hero’s welcome back home in Australia. But there were lows too. The end of his marriage, a Broadway flop, the death of his partner, and his own battle with illness.
The Boy from Oz leaps from past to present and back again, all within the electric setting of one of Peter’s own concerts.
Credits
Director & Choreographer Rhylee Nowell
Musical Director Alex Byrne
Musical Supervisor Matthew Hadgraft
Assistant Choreographer Ellie Martin
Production Coordinator Caitlin Greenhill
Executive Producer Andrew Gyopar
Credits
Original Production Ben Gannon & Robert Fox
Music & Lyrics Peter Allen
Book Nick Enright
Cast
Peter Allen Matthew Hadgraft
Judy Garland Saskia Penn
Young Peter Allen Reuben Koronczyk, Ethan Lockhart
Marion Woolnough Maureen Andrew
Trio Angelina Sevastopoulos, Sylvia Kokkinos
Dee Anthony/Wally Bell Nathan Fernandez
Cast
Chris Bell Jeremy Grigg
Greg Connell Leighton Garwin
Dick Woolnough Mark Eather
Liza Minnelli Sarah Monteaux
Liza Minnelli u/s Tara Lichtenstein
Dance Troupe Amelia Van Steel, Amy Monaghan, Charlotte Barker, Crystal Stivala, Felipe Ramos Coral, Jennifer Howell, Lilly Bajada, Nathan Fernandez, Saki Oyama, Sarah Naulls, Sarah Perruzza, Scott England, Sherylee Campbell, Stephanie Page, Tony Cassar, Mya Mollica.
Ensemble Carlos Andres Tovar, Elise Moorhouse (Judy Garland u/s), Itziar Fernandez Cachemaille, Jane Britt Antolihao, Jennifer Bonnici, Jeremy Grigg, Jett Archer, Judith Watkins (Marion Woolnough u/s), Sophia Choy.
Theatrical’s production of The Boy from Oz played at the National Theatre St Kilda from 6 to 21 July 2024. By Arrangement with David Spicer Productions.