The Boy from Oz

1 – 20 October 2024 at The Q

Book by Nick Enright
Music and Lyrics by Martin Sherman
US Edition Book by Peter Allen

“My songs are my biography”
Peter Allen

The Boy From Oz is the most successful Australian musical ever, and the first to make it to Broadway. It is a musical biography/tribute to the late great Peter Allen.

About Peter Allen

Peter Allen was born in the outback Australian town of Tenterfield in 1944. He made his entertainment debut at the age of 5 impersonating Al Jolson. As a teenager he became a pop star and then toured Asia. There he met Judy Garland who took him to London where he met and became engaged to her daughter Liza Minnelli. In the US Peter enjoyed the highs of success by winning an Oscar, selling out performances in Radio City Music Hall, and receiving adulation when he returned to Australia. There were also plenty of lows … breaking up with his wife, staging a Broadway flop, the death of his partner, and his own battle with illness. Peter Allen had an extraordinary life which producer Ben Gannon realised had the potential to become a magnificent musical, and with Robert Fox they turned it into the smash hit it became.

About the show

The Boy From Oz is a class above all other ‘jukebox’ musicals. The late Nick Enright skillfully weaved his plot around the life and complexities of Peter Allen. The songs and lyrics sit easily with the rhythm of the piece and with the characters as they enter and re-enter his life, be they dead or alive. It leaps, as does Peter himself, from past to present and back to past, all within the familiar context of one of his energy-packed concerts.

In the news

Review - The Boy from Oz, That Guy Who Watches Canberra Theatre

“Jared Newell is a singing-dancing-acting frenzy as Peter, delivering Allen’s personality and simultaneously self-agrandizing-and-self-effacing style delightfully as he drops one-liners, sings up a storm and throws his leg over a piano just like a Peter Allen should.” – That Guy Who Watches Canberra Theatre

Review - The Boy from Oz, Len Power, Canberra Critics Circle

“The performer who plays the marathon role of Peter Allen must have charisma, energy and strong vocal ability. Free-Rain Theatre Company made a fine choice in casting Jared Newall in the role. His high energy performance, acting ability and fine singing capture the essence of Allen the man and performer” – Len Power, Canberra Critics Circle

Review - The Boy from Oz, Stage Whispers

“Free-Rain’s The Boy from Oz is uplifting, moving and a riot. What more could you ask for?” – Cathy Bannister, Stage Whispers

Review - A dazzling tribute: The Boy from Oz lights up The Q theatre

“If you love musicals, Australian pop music history, or just want a fun and uplifting night at the theatre, The Boy From Oz is not to be missed.” ~ FUSE Magazine, David Blanco

The Boy from Oz, a dazzling tribute takes stage at The Q

Canberra Weekly. This highly anticipated musical is not just a performance but a vibrant celebration of Peter Allen’s extraordinary life and career.

The Boy from Oz hits The Q Theatre

Her Canberra. Peter Allen would have been 80 this year and there is a huge amount of Australian culture and nostalgia that has been woven into the show, through the costumes and props, script and songs.

Jared finds a deeper side to playing Peter Allen

CityNews article by Helen Musa.
Jared Newall is about to take on one of the giant roles in Aussie musical theatre, that of songwriting legend and gay icon Peter Allen, in an upcoming local production of The Boy From Oz.

Cast announcement - The Boy from Oz

Free-Rain Theatre Company are absolutely stoked to announce our impressive lineup of talent in the cast of ‘The Boy from Oz’, who will bring the life and music of Peter Allen to The Q stage in October this year – led by Jared Newall as Peter Allen.

Details

When: 1 October – 20 October 2024
Where: The Q

View program

Cast

Peter Allen – Jared Newall
Young Peter – Mitchell Clement & Blake Wilkins
Marion Woolnough / (Judy Garland U/S) – Janie Lawson
Judy Garland – Meaghan Stewart
Liza Minnelli – Stephanie Bailey
Trio – Laura Evans
Trio – Isabella Fraser
Trio / (Liza Minnelli U/S) – Sophie Parnham
Greg Connell – Lachlan Elderton
Wally Bell – Jordan Kelly
Chris Bell / (Peter Allen U/S) – Darcy Kinsella
Dee Anthony / George Woolnough – Dick Goldberg
Valerie Anthony / Josie Manning / (Marion Woolnough U/S) – Kara Sellars
Dick Woolnough / Brian Henderson – Jono Windsor
Young Lynne Woolnough – Addyson Dew & Florence Tuli

ENSEMBLE
Caitlin Bissett (Lynne Woolnough U/S)
Jeremy Chan
Jackson Dale
Paris Ellis (Josie Manning / Val Anthony U/S)
Ben Fullerton (Chris Bell U/S)
Joshua Galang
Isabella Hansen
Charlotte Jackson
Bianca Lawson (Trio Swing)
Sebastian Leigh
Courtney Mattick
Ashleigh Maynard
Jack Merton
Annaliese Soper
James Tolhurst-Close (Greg Connell U/S)
Stephanie Waldron
Zachariah Warwick

Production Team

Director & Choreographer: Kristy Griffin
Musical Director: Callum Tolhurst-Close
Conductor: Ian McLean AM CSC
Choreographer: James Tolhurst-Close
Associate Director: Emily Appleton

Orchestra

Conductor – Ian McLean AM CSC
Musica Director / Keys 1 – Callum Tolhurst-Close
Reed 1 – Lara Turner
Reed 2 – Lenore Studdert
Reed 3 – Jordan London
Trumpet 1 – Sam Hutchinson
Trumpet 2 – Jesse Hill, Stephen Williams*
Trombone – Dominic Harvey-Taylor, Madeleine Upfold*
Guitar – James Dixon
Bass – Jeremy Tsuei, Evan Teece*
Drums – Tim Hurd, Ben Rankin
Percussion – Jack Holmes
* denotes deputy musicians