''Illusion'' is an Australian

rock musical A rock musical is a musical theatre work with rock music. The genre of rock musical may overlap somewhat with album musicals, concept albums and song cycles, as they sometimes tell a story through the rock music, and some album musicals and concept ...

by Peter Carey and Mike Mullins with songs by Carey and

Martin Armiger John Martin Armiger (10 June 1949 – 27 November 2019) was an Australian musician, record producer and composer. He was one of the singer-songwriters and guitarists with Melbourne-based rock band the Sports from August 1978 to late 1981, which ...

, first performed at the

Adelaide Festival of the Arts The Adelaide Festival of Arts, also known as the Adelaide Festival, an arts festival, takes place in the South Australian capital of Adelaide in March each year. Started in 1960, it is a major celebration of the arts and a significant cultural ...

in 1986.

Plot

Setting: Sydney, Australia The story, a critique of American influences on Australian life through a 'surrealistic pantomime', concerns Travis the Private Eye. Carboni, the Common Man, a newspaper seller, tries to persuade Travis to track down the Glowing Man. Along the way Travis encounters politicians, the Church, the judiciary, the media, big business, police, criminals, junkies and others.

Production history

Mullins had conceived the concept for ''Illusion'' in the early 1980 as the third part of a trilogy of experimental performance. The musical was first performed for the

from 7 to 22 March 1986 at the

Regent Theatre, Adelaide Rundle Mall is a pedestrian street mall located in Adelaide, South Australia. It was opened as a pedestrian mall in September 1976 by closing the section of Rundle Street between King William Street and Pulteney Street, to vehicular traffic. ...

, directed by Mullins. The premiere production, one of the major works of the festival, experienced substantial difficulties. Carey withdrew his name as author of the book and retained only a credit for co-writing the lyrics. Following the first performance, three performances were cancelled during which the musical was reworked.

Recording

A studio cast recording was released by

ABC Records ABC Records was an American record label founded in New York City in 1955. It originated as the main popular music label operated by the Am-Par Record Corporation. Am-Par also created the Impulse! jazz label in 1960. It acquired many labels befo ...

in 1986, featuring Wendy Matthews, Mark Williams, Peter Blakeley,

Sherlie Matthews Sherlie Matthews (born November 10, 1934) is an American singer, songwriter and former Motown Records producer, best known as a backing vocalist for pop, R&B and rock groups from the mid-1960s to the present time. Early life Matthews started ...

and Armiger. It was nominated for an ARIA Award for Best Original Soundtrack or Cast Recording in 1987. The songs "Must Be Chemical" and "When I Was a Little Boy" from the album performed by Peter Blakeley were released as a single.

Track listing

Side A # "Must Be Chemical" (vocals by Peter Blakeley) # "Yellowcake" (vocals by Sherlie Matthews) # "When I Was a Little Boy" (vocals by Peter Blakeley) # "Nice Warm Anger" (vocals by Mark Williams) # "There's Going to Be a Future" (vocals by Mark Williams & Sherlie Matthews) Side B # "Metaphorically Speaking" (vocals by Wendy Matthews) # "No Interest" (vocals by Martin Armiger) # "The Glowing Man" (by Ulpia Erdos) # "The Defense" (vocals by Mark Williams) # "The Beat Begins" (vocals by Sherlie Matthews & Wendy Matthews) # "Only Half a Life" (vocals by Mark Williams & Wendy Matthews)

References

{{Wendy Matthews Australian musicals 1986 musicals Rock musicals Musicals set in Australia