Magnormos is an independent musical theatre production company based in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Australia, that specialises in musicals written by Australian writers and lesser-known international works. Its productions have included the Australian premiere of '' itle of show' in 2010, and the 2011 world premiere of ''flowerchildren – the mamas and papas story'' which transferred to Melbourne's

Comedy Theatre The Harold Pinter Theatre, known as the Comedy Theatre until 2011,

in 2013. Magnormos has been aligned with Theatre Works since 2003. It received a special

Green Room Award 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 ...

certificate for Outstanding Support for New Australian Musical Theatre in 2012.

History

Magnormos was founded in 2002 by Aaron Joyner. It has produced full productions, readings and concerts at various venues in Melbourne in direct collaboration with Mr.Schwatrz.

Productions

The inaugural production was

Stephen Schwartz Stephen Lawrence Schwartz (born March 6, 1948) is an American musical theatre lyricist and composer. In a career spanning over five decades, Schwartz has written such hit musicals as ''Godspell'' (1971), ''Pippin'' (1972), and ''Wicked'' (20 ...

's '' Working'' at the Athenaeum II Theatre as part of the 2002 Melbourne Fringe Festival. The work was adapted for Australia by Joyner, with Schwartz's permission and involvement. Until 2007, Magnormos predominantly presented readings of musicals, and these included Stephen Sondheim's ''Saturday Night'',

Mel Brooks Mel Brooks (born Melvin James Kaminsky; June 28, 1926) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. With a career spanning over seven decades, he is known as a writer and director of a variety of successful broad farces and parodies. He began ...

' ''Archy & Mehitabel'', Craig Christie's ''Water into Wine'' and

Peter Pinne Peter Norman Pinne (born 27 May 1937) is an Australian-born former television executive, writer and composer who has worked frequently in America and Great Britain. Career Pinne started working for the television production company, the Reg ...

's ''A Bunch of Ratbags''. From 2007, Magnormos shifted to producing full productions again under the name of the Prompt! Musicals Program. Musicals shown through Prompt! include ''Mary Bryant'' (

Nick Enright Nicholas Paul Enright AM (22 December 1950 – 30 March 2003) was an Australian dramatist, playwright and theatre director. Early life Enright was born on 22 December 1950 to a prosperous professional Catholic family in East Maitland, New So ...

/David King), ''Life's A Circus'' (Anthony Costanzo), ''Love Equals'' (Craig Christie/Kristin Keam), ''

Flora the Red Menace ''Flora the Red Menace'' is a musical with a book by George Abbott and Robert Russell, music by John Kander, and lyrics by Fred Ebb. The original 1965 production starred Liza Minnelli in the title role in her Broadway debut, for which she won ...

'' (

John Kander John Harold Kander (born March 18, 1927) is an American composer, known largely for his work in the musical theater. As part of the songwriting team Kander and Ebb (with lyricist Fred Ebb), Kander wrote the scores for 15 musicals, including ''Cab ...

Fred Ebb Fred Ebb (April 8, 1928 – September 11, 2004) was an American musical theatre lyricist who had many successful collaborations with composer John Kander. The Kander and Ebb team frequently wrote for such performers as Liza Minnelli and Chita Riv ...

/David Thompson) and ''

The Thing About Men ''The Thing About Men'' is a musical with music by Jimmy Roberts and lyrics and book by Joe DiPietro. It is based on the 1985 German film ''Men'' by Doris Dörrie. The plot revolves around a love triangle and shows what men will do to keep their p ...

'' (

Joe DiPietro Joe DiPietro (born 1961) is an American playwright, lyricist and author. He is best known for the Tony Award-winning musical ''Memphis'', for which he won the Tony Awards for Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score as well as for writi ...

/Jimmy Roberts). In May 2010 Magnormos staged the Australasian premiere of Broadway musical '' itle of show', which was well received by the critics. Members of the Broadway company (

Jeff Bowen Jeff Bowen (born August 30, 1971, in Baltimore, Maryland) is an American composer, lyricist and actor. He is best known as one of the authors and stars of the Broadway musical '' itle of show'. He also wrote the music and lyrics to the musica ...

Heidi Blickenstaff Heidi Blickenstaff (born December 28, 1971) is an American actress based in New York City best known for playing a version of herself in the musical '' itle of show' during its Off-Broadway and Broadway runs, as well as for originating the role ...

and

Michael Berresse Michael Berresse (born August 15, 1964) is an American actor, dancer, choreographer, and director. Life and career Born in Holyoke, Massachusetts, but reared primarily in Joliet, Illinois, Berresse's father was a chemical engineer and his moth ...

) flew to Melbourne to see the production and conduct a question and answer session. A return season was announced shortly after to play in August 2010, following a brief tour to regional city Frankston. Also in 2010, Magnormos produced A Sondheim Triptych to celebrate the 80th birthday of Stephen Sondheim. The Triptych included one-night presentations of ''Saturday Night'', ''Merrily We Roll Along'', and ''

Anyone Can Whistle ''Anyone Can Whistle'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Described as "a satire on conformity and the insanity of the so-called sane," the show tells a story of an economically depressed town w ...

'' across consecutive Mondays at the

Melbourne Recital Centre Melbourne Recital Centre is a venue for live music in Melbourne and welcomes over 200,000 visitors each year. The organisation programs and presents more than 500 concerts and events a year across diverse range of musical genres including classi ...

. In 2011 Magnormos presented a

Jerry Herman Gerald Sheldon Herman (July 10, 1931December 26, 2019) was an American composer and lyricist, known for his work in Broadway theatre. One of the most commercially successful Broadway songwriters of his time, Herman was the composer and lyricist ...

Triptych which included ''Milk and Honey'', ''

Dear World ''Dear World'' is a musical with a book by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee and music and lyrics by Jerry Herman. With its opening, Herman became the first composer-lyricist in history to have three productions running simultaneously on Broa ...

'' and '' Hello, Dolly!.'' Magnormos' 2011 season also included the Melbourne premiere of ''

The Hatpin ''The Hatpin'' is a musical by James Millar (book and lyrics) and Peter Rutherford (composer). It was inspired by the true story of Amber Murray who in 1892 gave up her son to the Makin family in Sydney, Australia. Written and developed in 2 ...

'', and co-produced the world premiere of ''flowerchildren – the

mamas and papas Mamas & Papas is a United Kingdom, UK-based Nursery (room), nursery brand and manufacturer supplying Baby transport, prams, pushchairs, baby products, furniture and maternity wear. It was established in Huddersfield in 1981 by David and Luisa ...

'' story starring

Matt Hetherington Matt Hetherington (born 25 May 1970) is an Australian singer and actor, who rose to prominence as a contestant on the first series of ''The Voice (Australia)''. He has appeared in musicals ''Next to Normal'', Green Room Award, '' Dirty Rotten Sco ...

, Laura Fitzpatrick, Dan Humphris and Casey Donovan as Mama Cass. In 2013 the company staged a commercial season of ''flowerchildren – the mamas and papas story'' and a

Triptych in September featuring ''

Godspell ''Godspell'' is a musical composed by Stephen Schwartz with book by John-Michael Tebelak. The show is structured as a series of parables, primarily based on the Gospel of Matthew, interspersed with music mostly set to lyrics from traditional hym ...

'', ''Pippin'' and ''

Children of Eden ''Children of Eden'' is a 1991 musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by John Caird. The musical is based on the Book of Genesis, with Act I telling the story of Adam and Eve, and Cain and Abel, while Act II deals with ...

'', with the composer himself in attendance. Other productions include an orchestral concert of Kevin Purcell and Victor Kazan's ''Rebecca – the Musicaland workshops of new musicals ''Flowerchildren'' (Peter Fitzpatrick) and ''Better Than Broadway'' (

Melvyn Morrow Melvyn Morrow (born 1942, in Melbourne, Australia) is an Australian playwright. He co-wrote the jukebox musicals ''Shout! The Legend of the Wild One'' and ''Dusty - The Original Pop Diva'' with John-Michael Howson and David Mitchell. Earlier ...

, David Mitchell, Ray Cook).

OzMade Musicals

OzMade Musicals is an annual gala concert of Australian musical theatre. The first OzMade was in 2003 at Theatre Works in St Kilda, and the newly opened

Federation Square Federation Square (colloquially Fed Square) is a venue for arts, culture and public events on the edge of the Melbourne central business district. It covers an area of at the intersection of Flinders and Swanston Streets built above busy ra ...

. In 2004 it was held at the BMW Edge, Federation Square and in 2005 it moved back to Theatre Works where it played until 2006. In 2007, OzMade Musicals was moved to the 800-seat Athenaeum Theatre in Collins Street Melbourne, where it also played in 2008. In 2010 it was held in the Comedy Theatre Melbourne. OzMade Musicals debuts new musicals through the 'On The Drawing Board' program. Submissions are accepted across Australia, and successful applicants are provided with development assistance and then presented as a fifteen-minute segment at the concert. Existing musicals are celebrated as 'OzMade Flashbacks', one song highlights from Australian musicals that have been performed. Musicals which have been presented in OzMade Musicals concerts include ''

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

'', '' Metro Street'', ''Eurobeat'', and ''Virgins''.

Artists

Many Australian musical theatre stars have appeared on the Magnormos stage including

Toni Lamond Patricia Lamond Lawman AM (born 29 March 1932), professionally known as Toni Lamond, is an Australian vaudevillian, cabaret performer, singer, actress, dancer, and comedian. She has had a successful career spanning some 80 years, both locally ...

, Tony Sheldon,

Nancye Hayes Nancye Lee Bertles AM ( Hayes; born January 1943), billed under her maiden name as Nancye Hayes, is an Australian actress, dancer, singer and choreographer/director and narrator. She has been a leading figure in Australian musical theatre si ...

, Silvie Paladino, Anne Wood, Terence Donovan, Michael Cormick,

Robert Grubb Robert Grubb (born 31 January 1950) is an Australian actor. He studied acting at National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), where he graduated in 1978. There he was a fellow student of actor Mel Gibson. Grubb played the role of Dr. Geoffrey St ...

, Shaun Murphy, Sally Bourne,

Jane Badler Jane Badler (born December 31, 1953) is an American-Australian actress and singer. She is known for her role as Diana, the main antagonist in NBC's science fiction series '' V'' between 1983 and 1985. Badler also appeared in ABC's version of '' ...

, Matt Hetherington, Chelsea Plumley, Casey Donovan, Jessica Featherby and many more.

References

External links

Magnormos website
{{authority control Theatre companies in Australia Musical theatre companies Musical groups established in 2002 2002 establishments in Australia Theatre in Melbourne