Bert and Patti Newton return to the stage for Follies, Melbourne

Bert and Patti Newton

Australia’s perennial husband and wife team Bert and Patti Newton have been confirmed to join the all-star cast of Follies In Concert, set to play at Melbourne Recital Centre this May.

Bert and Patti Newton

Adrian Storey from exciting new production company Storeyboard Entertainment today announced that Bert and Patti will play the roles of Theodore and Emily Whitman, ex-vaudevillians who perform an old routine from their days in the “follies” (‘The Rain on the Roof’).

Director Tyran Parke has assembled an impressive cast for this exclusive-to-Melbourne event (no, ladies and gents, it’s not going to tour to other states, so if you want to see it, BOOK YOUR TICKETS!) and the production will play for three shows only at Melbourne Recital Centre on May 24 and 25.

Previously announced stars include David Hobson (Buddy), Lisa McCune (Sally), Nancye Hayes (Hattie), Philip Quast (Ben), Anne Wood (Phyllis), Debra Byrne (Carlotta), Cheryl Barker (Heidi), & David Rogers Smith (Roscoe).

Other confirmed cast members include Queenie van de Zant, Rowan Witt, Natalie Gamsu and Robert Grubb.

Follies is set at a reunion of the soon-to-be demolished Weismann Theatre, once the home of the Weismann Follies. Before the wrecking ball demolishes the fated building to make way for a parking lot, the former stars of the follies gather to relive their past experiences, renew old friendships and lie about themselves a little.

With 23 musicians playing the full and original Broadway orchestrations, 19 featured cast and 10 ensemble members, this presentation of the celebrated Broadway musical by James Goldman and Stephen Sondheim will be an evening long remembered.

(Especially since Melbourne will have the chance to see Nancye Hayes reprise the classic showstopper, ‘Broadway Baby’!)

FOLLIES IN CONCERT

Melbourne Recital Centre
Southbank Boulevard, Southbank, Melbourne
May 24 – 25, 2016
TICKETS ON SALE NOW
Tickets from $89.90 – $159.90

www.ticketmaster.com.au
Tel: 1300 723 038
facebook.com/folliesinconcertmelbourne

Erin James

Erin James is AussieTheatre.com's former Editor in Chief and a performer on both stage and screen. Credits include My Fair Lady, South Pacific and The King and I (Opera Australia), Love Never Dies and Cats (Really Useful Group), Blood Brothers (Enda Markey Presents), A Place To Call Home (Foxtel/Channel 7) and the feature film The Little Death (written and directed by Josh Lawson).