''Seven Little Australians'' is an Australian musical with music by David Reeves, lyrics by John Palmer and Reeves and book by Reeves, Palmer and

Peter Yeldham Peter Alan Yeldham (25 April 1927 – 20 September 2022) was an Australian screenwriter for motion pictures and television, playwright and novelist. Biography Peter Yeldham was born in Gladstone, near Smithtown, New South Wales, in 1927. Le ...

. It is based on the classic Australian children's 1894 novel ''

Seven Little Australians ''Seven Little Australians'' is a classic Australian children's literature novel by Ethel Turner, published in 1894. Set mainly in Sydney in the 1880s, it relates the adventures of the seven mischievous Woolcot children, their stern army father ...

'' by

Ethel Turner Ethel Turner (24 January 1870 – 8 April 1958) was an English-born Australian novelist and children's literature writer. Life She was born Ethel Mary Burwell in Doncaster in England. Her father died when she was two, leaving her mother Sarah J ...

Development

David Reeves and Jim Graham, teachers from

The Armidale School , motto_translation = Without God, Nothing , location = Armidale, New England Tablelands, New South Wales , country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map = Australia New ...

, first conceived a musical based on the children's novel ''Seven Little Australians'' in the late 1970s.

Production history

The original production of ''Seven Little Australians'' opened in Melbourne at the

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

on 22 June 1988. It was directed by

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 ...

and choreographed by Pamela French with musical direction by Reeves. The cast included John O'May, Melissa Bickerton,

Alyce Platt Alyce Mary A Platt (born 19 December 1963) is an Australian actress and singer. As an actress, she had roles in the TV soap operas '' Sons and Daughters'' and '' Neighbours'', and worked as a TV presenter and game show host, including on ''Sal ...

, John Murphy,

Judith McGrath Judith McGrath (21 April 1947 – 20 October 2017) was an Australian actress. McGrath was known for her television roles, including soap opera's ''Prisoner'' (1979–84), as Deputy Governor/Officer Colleen "Poface" Powell, ''A Country Pract ...

, Judith Roberts and Noel Mitchell. The production moved to the

Adelaide Festival Centre Adelaide Festival Centre, Australia's first multi-purpose arts centre and the home of South Australia's performing arts, was built in the 1970s, designed by Hassell Architects. The Festival Theatre opened in June 1973 with the rest of the centr ...

from 20 November 1988, and also played in Tasmania. A remount at the Footbridge Theatre in Sydney played from 16 September 1989. A second production by the Royal Queensland Theatre Company played in

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 ...

from 21 February to 16 March 1991 at the

Suncorp Theatre The State Government Insurance Office Theatre (also known as the SGIO Theatre or Suncorp Theatre), was a 600-seat proscenium theatre built within the SGIO office building at 179 Turbot Street, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. History The Que ...

Reception

''Seven Little Australians'' received generally positive reviews. Leonard Radic in ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

'' called it "a comfortable family-style show: warmhearted, sentimental and ever so wholesome", with the music "bright, conventional and homogenised" while "the book and lyrics follow a familiar pattern too". The cast recording was nominated for an ARIA Award for Best Original Soundtrack or Cast Recording in 1989.

References

{{Reflist

External links

''Seven Little Australians''
at Origin Theatrical (performance rights) Australian musicals 1988 musicals Musicals based on novels Musicals set in Australia Musicals set in the 1880s