Four show pile up: Melbourne’s four major musicals in one big photo

On Saturday July 5, the cast and crew of Les Miserables, The King and I, Wicked and The Rocky Horror Show celebrated Melbourne’s East End Theatre District’s ‘full house’ with an historic photo shoot on the steps of Parliament House.

It’s been over 5 years since all four heritage theatres in Melbourne were simultaneously housing a musical production and Jason Marriner (of Marriner Theatres) joined Arts Minister, Heidi Victoria MP and several hundred arts workers for a special celebration of all things music theatre.

“A tourist arriving in Melbourne could quite easily be mistaken for thinking they had arrived on New York’s Broadway or in London’s West End given the amount of theatre currently on offer in the city”, Marriner said, speaking on  behalf of the East End Theatre District at the event.

“Musical theatre is a week-in, week-out major event for Melbourne. Its consistency and longevity when you consider theatre is a year-round proposition, makes it a very valuable attraction for the State, and an essential element of the Melbourne economy.”

With a combined capacity exceeding 7,000 seats (excluding the Forum), and up to eight performances at each theatre per week, the East End Theatre District has the potential to attract over 50,000 people to the city each week and is a driving force behind the city’s tourism economy.

Oliver Toth from Accent Photography was at the event and took these incredible shots to capture the momentous occasion for AussieTheatre. Check out our four special photo features by clicking through via the orange buttons!

 

Set Up

There is a chill in the air as the casts of Rocky Horror, Wicked and Les Miserables catch chartered buses to Spring Street in full costume, while the The King and I cast make their way across from The Princess Theatre on foot to begin set up on the steps of Parliament.