A CELEBRATION OF GLAMOUR, GOWNS AND GROWING UP

The swankiest new home-grown musical since Priscilla was queen, Ladies in Black is a whirling, toe-tapping trip back in time. Based on a novel by Madeline St John, it’s a uniquely Australian fashion-forward fairy tale with all the shine and sparkle of Broadway.

Sydney, 1959 – a city at the crossroads between the stuffy repression of the 1950s and the glorious liberation of the 1960s …

Bright-eyed, bookish school leaver Lisa steps through the doors of the city’s most prestigious department store, F.G. Goodes. A world of unknown possibilities opens up as she befriends the colourful denizens of the Ladies Cocktail Frocks Department – including her new mentor, the exotic Magda, mysterious mistress of Model Gowns.

This sparkling production is the work of internationally-acclaimed director Simon Phillips (Priscilla Queen of the Desert, The Musical, Love Never Dies, First Wives Club) and writer Carolyn Burns, with original music by superstar Tim Finn (Split Enz, Crowded House). It won the prestigious “Best New Australian Work” Helpmann Award.

The brilliant Bobby Fox, who wowed audiences playing Frankie Valli in the smash hit, Jersey Boys, returns as Rudi (otherwise known as the ‘Continental’) along with the multi-talented and award-winning artist Carita Farrer Spencer who will play Mrs Miles, and fellow Queensland graduate and music and stage star Kathryn McIntyre who will play Myra. Accomplished Melbourne-based actor Greg Stone (Once, The Weir, The Glitch) takes on the dual roles again as Mr Miles and Stefan, and joining him from the southern state Kate Cole again takes to the stage as the characters Miss Cartwright and Joy.

New to the cast for the Australian tour is the leading lady of stage and screen Natalie Gamsu (Strictly Ballroom, Mary Poppins, Dr Zhivago, Neighbours) who will play the character of Magda, as well as Sydney-based Madeleine Jones who was nominated for a Helpmann Award in 2015 for her work in Once. She will play Patty.

Taking the role of Fay is leading singer and stage performer, Ellen Simpson, who was most recently seen as Renee Geyer on television screens in the blockbuster tele series, Molly.

With its irreverent humour and immense charm, Ladies in Black is a magical, modern-day fairy-tale sure to leave you singing long after you leave the theatre.