''Evie May'' is an Australian musical by Hugo Chiarella (book and lyrics) and Naomi Livingston (music and lyrics). Set in 1966 on the evening of the last Tivoli performance in Sydney, the show follows veteran variety star Evie May as she recalls the events that lead her from obscurity in regional Western Australia to the Australian variety circuit - and the many sacrifices made to get there.

Productions

Chiarella and Livingston began collaborating on the show while they were touring in the Australian cast of ''Les Miserables''. In 2016, the show was picked up for development by New Musicals Australia and secured a season at the

Hayes Theatre The Hayes Theatre is a 111-seat theatre specialising in music theatre and cabaret in Potts Point, Sydney, Australia. It is named after the Australian performer Nancye Hayes. Hayes Theatre Co was established at the former Darlinghurst Theatre aft ...

in Sydney in 2018 with the support of the Australia Council for the Arts. The original Australian production of ''Evie May'' opened at the Hayes Theatre on the 12th of October 2018. The show was directed by Kate Champion, with musical direction and orchestration by Steven Kreamer, musical supervision by

Max Lambert Max Lambert (born 1955) is an Australian composer and musical director. Biography Born in 1955 in Sydney, he studied at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. Lambert composed the musicals ''Darlinghurst Nights'' and ''Miracle City'', both first ...

, design by Anna Gardiner, lighting design by Sian James-Holland and sound design by Nate Edmondson.

Original cast

Amanda Harrison Amanda Harrison is an Australian actress and singer, known for her roles in ''Wicked'' (Elphaba), ''We Will Rock You'' ("Meat" understudy in the UK, and “Oz" understudy in Australia), and for originating the role of Paula Pokrifki in the worl ...

as Evie May * Loren Hunter as Evelyn * Bishanyia Vincent as June *

Keegan Joyce Keegan Joyce (born 25 August 1989) is an Australian actor and singer. Early life Joyce attended The King's School from 2002 until his graduation in 2007. He graduated from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music in 2014. Career Joyce began his pr ...

as Cole *

Tim Draxl Tim Draxl (born 8 October 1981) is an Australian actor and singer, known for his role as Doctor Henry Fox in ''A Place to Call Home''. Early life Draxl was born in Sydney and grew up in Jindabyne where his family was in the ski industry. He ...

as Heaney * Jo Turner as Barlow

Musical numbers

;Act I *''At The Tivoli'' – Full Company *''Here I Am'' – Evie *''Ain’t No Dope'' – Bob, Barlow *''The Only You I’ve Ever Known'' – Evelyn, Barlow *''The View'' – Evelyn *''How The World Happened'' – Heaney *''The View'' (reprise) – Evelyn, Heaney *''The Life Of A Woman'' – June *''My Story'' - Evelyn, Evie *''Oh Baby Be Nice'' – June, Evelyn, Evie *''Bindy Do The Lindy'' – Evelyn *''The Curtain'' – June, Evelyn *''Belong'' – Evelyn *''Who Is That Girl'' – June, Evelyn, Evie *''They Say I Am Too Young'' – June, Evelyn, Evie *''Belong'' (reprise) – Evelyn ;Act II *''Forgetful Sod'' – Evie *''Great Australian Digger'' – Evelyn *''Curtain'' (reprise) – Evie *''This Child'' – Evie, Evelyn *''How The World Happened'' (reprise) – Evie, Evelyn, Heaney *''And It Turns'' – Evie, Evelyn *''One Last Chance'' – Cole *''Show Me Where To Stand'' – Evie, Evelyn

Reception

In her review for ''Stage Noise'', critic, Diana Simmonds wrote of the show, "Evie May is rude, funny, sad and humane in its portrayal of lives and times now gone; yet when it comes to women’s place in the world, there’s much that’s familiar. And in a musical setting, with sharp, smart lyrics, the poignancy and politics are heightened and vividly coloured. This is a remarkable addition to Australian musical theatre". Judith Greenaway wrote for ''ArtsHub'', "Evie May ends in a bareness of space, an echo chamber of those limited choices that empowered a modern movement. This is an entertaining, crafted, timely and relevant work." In his review for ''Stage Whispers'', Peter Gotting wrote, "When the lights go up on this new Australian musical, there’s a sense of maturity - Sydney’s Hayes Theatre is now producing premieres of variety and accomplishment rarely seen in this country before."

Recording

In 2019 a live cast recording of the show was released featuring the original cast. The recording was made with the support o
The Russell Mills Foundation
an
The Ron and Margaret Dobell Foundation

Track listing

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* https://hayestheatre.com.au/event/evie-may-a-tivoli-story/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Evie May 2018 musicals Australian musicals Musicals set in Australia