Falzon, Retallick and Diedrich set to bring another Neglected Musical to life: On The Twentieth Century

It has been officially announced that the new theatre initiative Neglected Musicals will present Comden, Green and Coleman’s On The Twentieth Century in March this year.

Starring music theatre veteran John Diedrich as Oscar Jaffee, Rock of Ages and Ordinary Days star Michael Falzon as matinee idol Bruce Granit and music theatre’s darling chanteuse Katrina Retallick as Lily, On The Twentieth Century will be presented at the Darlinghurst Theatre on Monday 5 March as a staged reading with scripts in hand and musical numbers sung through.

Established in 2010, Neglected Musicals have presented 5 shows including Nick & Nora, No Way To Treat A Lady and Girl Crazy. Directed by Stuart Maunder with Musical Director Luke Byrne, On the Twentieth Century is sure to stir some interest.

“This is one of my favourite shows,” said director, Stuart Maunder. “On The Twentieth Century is such a fun show and it will be wonderful to see this Cy Coleman musical on its feet after all these years.”

On The Twentieth Century opened on Broadway in 1978 under the direction of Harold Prince starring John Cullum, Madeline Kahn, Imogene Coca and Kevin Kline. The show ran for 11 previews and 449 performances on Broadway and won the 1978 Tony Awards for Best Book and Best Original Score. A production on the West End was mounted in 1980, which ran for 165 performances.

The mission behind Neglected Musicals is as straight forward as it sounds, with the company aiming to present music theatre that has never (or rarely) been seen in Australia. There are myriad reasons why certain shows never make it to Australia – but thanks to the hard work of the Neglected Musicals team (all of whom give up their time for this wonderful artistic cause), we are beginning to see more left-of-centre works presented down under.

Other cast members for On The Twentieth Century include Lara Mulcahy, Elise McCann, Blake Ericson, Mark Simpson and Jay James-Moody, supported by a small ensemble: Erica Byrne, Jocelyn O’Brien, Tim Dal Cortivo, Richard Woodhouse.

Two Showings Only

Monday 5 March at 2pm & 8pm
Darlinghurst Theatre

Bookings via the neglected musicals website www.neglectedmusicals.com.au

Or call 0487 436 709