Sydney cements musical theatre reputation

NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell announced last week that Sydney will next year stage the world premiere of the musical An Officer and a Gentleman.

Lord Mayor Clover Moore MP pointed to the forthcoming world premiere of Strictly Ballroom and the Australian premiere of The Addams Family Musical in 2013 as further proof that the city ranks alongside New York’s Broadway and London’s West End as a home of blockbuster musicals.

“Sydney has cemented its place on the cultural world stage, with more first-run musical theatre than ever before,” Moore said.

Show producers report significant impacts on the local economy from their productions, with up to 40 percent of tickets sold to tourists coming to Sydney.

“Major musicals like Jersey Boys and The Addams Family attract significant audiences from New Zealand, interstate and regional New South Wales,” producer Rodney Rigby said.

“People throughout our region want reasons to visit Sydney and Jersey Boys provided that incentive, with 42 percent of business coming from international, interstate and regional New South Wales audiences.”

Producer John Frost said that, in the case of Wicked, one in three audience members were visitors to the city.

“The benefits to the city in which productions are staged are enormous,” he said. “People coming to the theatre don’t just come to see the show, they come for an experience — this often translates into an afternoon of shopping, dinner before the show and perhaps an overnight stay.”