Essgee Entertainment is a professional performing and

publishing Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

company formed in 1981 in Australia. Its founder and chief executive officer is entertainer

Simon Gallaher Simon Gallaher (born 24 October 1958) is an Australian singer, actor, director and pianist. Biography Gallaher was born in Brisbane and educated at the Anglican Church Grammar School. and studied at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music. Whi ...

History

Essgee began by financing and producing recording artists and recordings under licence to the Australian record company

Festival Records Festival Records (later known as Festival Mushroom Records) was an Australian recording and publishing company founded in Sydney, Australia, in 1952 and operated until 2005. Festival was a wholly owned subsidiary of News Limited from 1961 to ...

. Within its first three years, the company had produced four Gold albums. Essgee then expanded into music publishing and concert promotion, beginning with national tours of

's concerts. In 1990 Essgee produced two new recordings with Sony Music (Columbia Records), which also promoted its tours with major symphony orchestras.About Us
Essgee Entertainment, accessed 30 June 2009 In 1994, Essgee Entertainment produced its version of ''

The Pirates of Penzance ''The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, W. S. Gilbert. Its official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 31 ...

'' by

Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan was a Victorian era, Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900), who jointly created fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which ...

, which toured successfully. The

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...

broadcast the production on television throughout Australia, and the video/DVD enjoyed triple platinum sales, becoming the top-selling music video in Australian history. The following year, the company produced a new version of ''

The Mikado ''The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen Gilbert and Sullivan, operatic collaborations. It opened on 14 March 1885, in London, whe ...

'', which was also immediately successful both on stage and on video. In 1996, Essgee presented ''The Mikado'' throughout New Zealand, following this with a new production of ''Pirates''. In 1997, Essgee introduced its adaptation of ''

H.M.S. Pinafore ''H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It opened at the Opera Comique in London, on 25 May 1878 and ran for 571 performances, whic ...

'' in both Australia and New Zealand. All three Gilbert and Sullivan productions starred Gallaher and

Jon English Jonathan James English (26 March 1949 – 9 March 2016) was an English-born Australian singer, songwriter, musician and actor. He emigrated from England to Australia with his parents in 1961. He was an early vocalist and rhythm guitarist for S ...

. In 1998, Essgee presented a large-scale production of the operetta ''

The Merry Widow ''The Merry Widow'' (german: Die lustige Witwe, links=no ) is an operetta by the Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The librettists, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein, based the story – concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's attempt t ...

'' by

Franz Lehár Franz Lehár ( ; hu, Lehár Ferenc ; 30 April 1870 – 24 October 1948) was an Austro-Hungarian composer. He is mainly known for his operettas, of which the most successful and best known is ''The Merry Widow'' (''Die lustige Witwe''). Life ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

Australia. It starred

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...

Jeffrey Black Jeffrey Black (born September 6, 1962) is an Australian baritone who has had an active international performance career since the early 1980s. A frequent performer with Opera Australia and the Glyndebourne Festival Opera, he has performed lead ...

as Danilo,

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

Helen Donaldson as the Widow, Gallaher as Camille and Susan Dunn as Valencienne, with narration by

, who played Zeta. In some performances,

Jason Barry-Smith Jason Barry-Smith (born 12 December 1969) is an Australian operatic baritone, vocal coach, composer, and arranger. He works with organisations such as Opera Queensland, the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Seven Network, and the Queensland Youth ...

appeared as Danilo. The production was repeated the next year in other major cities in Australia, in a new translation, starring

Marina Prior Marina Prior (born 18 October 1963) is an Australian soprano and actress with a career mainly in musical theatre. From 1990 to 1993, she starred as the original Christine Daaé in the Australian premiere of ''The Phantom of the Opera'', opposit ...

as the Widow,

John O'May John O'May is an American-born Australian actor, best known for his stage performances. O'May grew up in Baltimore and went to Patapsco High School, where he later become a teacher. He came to Australia in 1972, where he replaced John Waters as ...

as Danilo, Gallaher as Camille, Donaldson as Valencienne and

Max Gillies Maxwell Irvine Gillies AM (born 16 November 1941) is an Australian actor and a founding member of the 1970s experimental theatre company, the Australian Performing Group. Early life and education Gillies studied art teaching at Frankston Tea ...

as Zeta. The same year, it toured the musical ''

A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum ''A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart. Inspired by the farces of the ancient Roman playwright Plautus (254–184 BC), specifica ...

'' throughout Australia and New Zealand. At the same time, Essgee presented the play ''

Master Class A master class is a Class (education), class given to students of a particular Academic discipline, discipline by an expert of that discipline—usually music, but also science, painting, drama, games, or on any other occasion where skills are b ...

'', starring

Amanda Muggleton Amanda Lillian Muggleton (born 12 October 1951)"Muggleton, Amanda, 1951 ...

and directed by

Rodney Fisher Goodshirt are an Alternative rock, alternative/Pop music, pop/Rock music, rock band from Auckland, New Zealand. The band formed when keyboardist Gareth Thomas left his computer recording setup with the Fisher brothers, Rodney and Murray, for saf ...

. Essgee revived its ''Pirates'' in the 2001–2003 season and continues to license productions of its three Gilbert and Sullivan adaptations to theatre companies around the world. In 2004, the company presented a new musical called ''

Eureka Eureka (often abbreviated as E!, or Σ!) is an intergovernmental organisation for research and development funding and coordination. Eureka is an open platform for international cooperation in innovation. Organisations and companies applying th ...

'', premiering at the 2004 Melbourne International Arts Festival. This also starred Amanda Muggleton and was nominated for a

Helpmann Award for Best Musical The Helpmann Award for Best Musical is a musical theatre award, presented by Live Performance Australia (LPA) at the annual Helpmann Awards since 2001. The award is for a production in Australia, and is open to both new musicals and revivals. Th ...

and six

Green Room Awards The Green Room Awards are peer awards which recognise excellence in cabaret, dance, drama, fringe theatre, musical theatre and opera in Melbourne. The awards were started in 1982 when Blair Edgar and Steven Tandy formed the Green Room Awards A ...

. The company then co-produced concerts starring Julie Anthony and Gallaher. In 2007 Essgee released a CD with Gallaher and Anthony entitled ''Together at Last''. It also presents

musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...

workshops. In 2008–2009, Essgee revived its version of ''The Mikado'', earning favorable reviews. A reviewer in ''

The Courier-Mail ''The Courier-Mail'' is an Australian newspaper published in Brisbane. Owned by News Corp Australia, it is published daily from Monday to Saturday in Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid format. Its editorial offices are located at Bowen Hills, ...

'' wrote, "suspend your loyalty to the original and there can be no quibble about this enjoyable, laugh-a-minute updated delivery."Bramley-Moore, Gillian
"Wacky revamp of Gilbert and Sullivan masterpiece"
''The Courier Mail'', Queensland Newspapers, 9 August 2008

References

External links

Essgee Entertainment
on the

Internet Movie Database IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

Essgee Entertainment official website
— David Spicer Productions

at ''A Gilbert and Sullivan Discography'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Essgee Entertainment Musical groups established in 1981 Gilbert and Sullivan performing groups Musical theatre companies Theatre companies in Australia