''Strictly Ballroom the Musical'' is a musical theatre adaptation of the 1992 film '' Strictly Ballroom''. It is credited as being created by

Baz Luhrmann Mark Anthony Luhrmann (born 17 September 1962), known professionally as Baz Luhrmann, is an Australian film director, producer, writer and actor. With projects spanning film, television, opera, theatre, music and recording industries, he is re ...

with book by Baz Luhrmann and Craig Pearce adapted by Terry Johnson. There are two versions of the show - one consists of a score of existing music and songs, with previous productions featuring a mix of existing songs alongside new musical numbers written for the show by

David Foster David Walter Foster (born November 1, 1949) is a Canadian musician, composer, arranger, record producer and music executive who chaired Verve Records from 2012 to 2016. He has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations. His music career spans mor ...

Sia Sia Kate Isobelle Furler ( ; born 18 December 1975) is an Australian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Adelaide, she started her career as a singer in the acid jazz band Crisp in the mid-1990s. In 1997, when Crisp disbanded, she rel ...

, Isaac Hasson,

Bernie Herms Bernhard "Bernie" Herms (born March 26, 1972) is a Canadian composer, songwriter, and music producer in Nashville, Tennessee. He has received and been nominated for Grammy Awards, GMA Dove Awards, and GMA Canada Covenant Awards, due to his song ...

, Baz Luhrmann, MoZella, Neff-U, Craig Pearce,

Eddie Perfect Eddie Perfect (born 17 December 1977) is an Australian singer-songwriter, pianist, comedian, writer and actor. Widely known for his role as Mick Holland in Channel Ten's TV series ''Offspring'' in which he performs his own music, he has record ...

and Linda Thompson. Both productions feature songs such as " Perhaps Perhaps Perhaps" and " Time After Time".

Production History

In May 2011, it was announced that ''Strictly Ballroom'' would be adapted into a stage musical. The musical was premièred at the Sydney Lyric on 12 April 2014, featuring Thomas Lacey as Scott and Phoebe Panaretos as Fran, where it received mixed reviews. Parts of the musical were reworked, including a new opening number, for the Melbourne season which opened at

Her Majesty's Theatre Her Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre situated on Haymarket in the City of Westminster, London. The present building was designed by Charles J. Phipps and was constructed in 1897 for actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who established t ...

in January 2015. The Melbourne season was better received, and the musical subsequently toured to the Lyric Theatre, QPAC in Brisbane in September 2015. At the 2014 Helpmann Awards, ''Strictly Ballroom'' received seven nominations including for Best Musical. On 3 December 2019, it was announced the show would embark on a UK Tour directed by Strictly Come Dancing judge

Craig Revel Horwood Craig Revel Horwood (born 4 January 1965) is an Australian-British author, dancer, choreographer, conductor, theatre director, and former drag queen in the United Kingdom. He is also a patron of the Royal Osteoporosis Society. Horwood is best ...

in September 2020. Due to the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the performing arts, the tour has been postponed twice to 2021 and then 2022.

West End Production

With a further revised book, the removal of all new songs, and the introduction of many more popular songs, a new production directed and choreographed by Drew McOnie, received its British premiere on 30 November 2016 at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds. The musical received its North American premiere in Toronto at the

Princess of Wales Theatre The Princess of Wales Theatre is a 2,000-seat live theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located on King Street West, in Toronto's downtown Entertainment District. The theatre's name has a triple meaning: it honours Diana, Princess of Wales, ...

on 25 April 2017. This version transferred to the West End at the

Piccadilly Theatre The Piccadilly Theatre is a West End theatre located at 16 Denman Street, behind Piccadilly Circus and adjacent to the Regent Palace Hotel, in the City of Westminster, London, England. Early years Built by Bertie Crewe and Edward A. Stone ...

on 24 April 2018, following previews from 29 March. The showOn 31 July 2018, Matt Cardle took over the role of Wally Strand.

Musical numbers

Source: ; Act 1 * Love Is In The Air (Vanda/Young) * Let's Dance (David Bowie) *

Let's Groove "Let's Groove" is a song by American band Earth, Wind & Fire, released as the first single from their eleventh studio album, ''Raise!'' (1981). It is written by Maurice White and Wayne Vaughn, and produced by White. The song was a commercial succ ...

(Wayne Lee Vaughn, Maurice White) * Magdalena Mi Amor (Quimbara) (Luis Rios Capeda) * Push It (Herby Azor) * Fireball (Eric Frederic,

Ilsey Juber Ilsey Anna Juber (born April 17, 1986) is an American singer and songwriter from California. Juber co-wrote Mark Ronson's "Nothing Breaks Like a Heart" feat. Miley Cyrus, along with much of Ronson’s ''Late Night Feelings'' album with vocals ...

, Tom Peyton, Armando Perez, John Ryan, Andreas Schuller, Joseph Spargur) *

Get Down On It "Get Down on It" is a 1981 song by American band Kool & the Gang. It was originally released on their '' Something Special'' album in 1981. The single was certified Gold by the RIAA. Track listing Charts The song hit the top 10 of the US P ...

(Bell, Smith, Brown, Taylor, Mickens, Bell, Deodato) *

Happy Feet ''Happy Feet'' is a 2006 computer-animated jukebox musical comedy film directed, produced, and co-written by George Miller. It stars the voices of Elijah Wood, Robin Williams, Brittany Murphy, Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman, Hugo Weaving, and ...

(Jack Yellen, Milton Ager) * La Cumparsita (Conturs, Maroni, Matros-Rodriguez, Raven) *

Dancing With Myself "Dancing with Myself" is a song by the punk rock band Gen X, first commercially released in the United Kingdom in October 1980, where it reached number 62 on the singles chart. It was remixed and re-released by the band's singer/frontman Bi ...

(Billy Idol, Anthony Eric James) *

Think In their most common sense, the terms thought and thinking refer to conscious cognitive processes that can happen independently of sensory stimulation. Their most paradigmatic forms are judging, reasoning, concept formation, problem solving, an ...

(Ted White, Aretha Franklin) * I'm So Excited (Pointer Sisters, Trevor Lawrence) * Os Quindins De Yaya (Angel May Care) (Ary Barroso, Erwin Drake) * Time After Time (Cyndi Layper, Rob Hyman) *

Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" is a song by British rock group the Police from their fourth album, ''Ghost in the Machine''. The song, notable for featuring a pianist (uncommon in Police songs), dates back to a demo recorded in the house ...

(Sting) *

The Blue Danube "The Blue Danube" is the common English title of "An der schönen blauen Donau", Op. 314 (German for "By the Beautiful Blue Danube"), a waltz by the Austrian composer Johann Strauss II, composed in 1866. Originally performed on 15 Februa ...

(Strauss) * Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps (Osvaldo Farres, Joe Davis) * Sway (Pablo Beltran Ruiz, Luis Demetrio Traconis Molinas, Normal Gimbel) *

I Wanna Dance With Somebody "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" is a song recorded by American singer Whitney Houston for her second studio album, ''Whitney (album), Whitney'' (1987). It was released as the lead single from the album on May 2, 1987, by Arista Reco ...

(Rubicam, Merrill) * Scott's Paso Doble (Elliott Wheeler) * Rico's Paso Doble (Elliott Wheeler) * Habanera (Bizet) ; Act 2 * Teardrops (Zeriiya Zekkariyas) *

Get Up, Stand Up "Get Up, Stand Up" is a song written by Bob Marley and Peter Tosh. It originally appeared on The Wailers' 1973 album '' Burnin. It was recorded and played live in numerous versions by Bob Marley and the Wailers, along with solo versions by Pe ...

(Marley) * Slave To The Rhythm (Woolley, Darlow, Lipson, Horn) * In The Hall Of The Mountain King (Grieg) * Mambo No. 5 (Bega, Prado, Zippy) * Hound Dog (Mike Stoller, Jerry Leiber) * Sugar Sugar (Barry, Kim) *

Sing, Sing, Sing "Sing, Sing, Sing (With a Swing)" is a 1936 song, with music and lyrics by Louis Prima, who first recorded it with the New Orleans Gang. Brunswick Records released it on February 28, 1936 on the 78rpm record format, with "It's Been So Long" as th ...

(Louis Prima) * Tequila (Chuck Rio) * Espana Cani (Pascual Marquina Narro) * Fight The Power (Ridenhour, Boxley II, Boxley, Sadler) * It's The End of the World As We Know It (Stipe, Mills, Buck, Berry) *

Dancing In The Street "Dancing in the Street" is a song written by Marvin Gaye, William "Mickey" Stevenson and Ivy Jo Hunter. It first became popular in 1964 when recorded by Martha Reeves & The Vandellas whose version reached No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 ...

(Marvin Gaye, Ivy Hunter, William Stevenson)

Roles and original casts

Original productions

Source:

References

{{Baz Luhrmann 2014 musicals Australian musicals Musicals based on films