The Source: Daniel Andrews debuts post-parliament designer stubble as he casts Yes vote
As hit musical Sunset Boulevard gets set to open in Melbourne its brutal showbiz themes have been echoed on social media, where stars aren’t holding back on their feelings about who will play the lead.
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Putting the squeeze on Victoria’s movers, shakers and headline makers.
Broadway and West End hit Sunset Boulevard, set to light up Melbourne’s Princess Theatre in May, is a cautionary tale about the brutality of showbiz.
British performer Sarah Brightman will play the lead role of tragic film star Norma Desmond in the Opera Australia and GWB Entertainment production.
However, the cruel showbiz themes of the show have spilled over to social media, where Australian musical theatre doyennes have criticised the casting of Brightman.
Geraldine Turner, whose credits include Sweeney Todd, Into the Woods, Oliver, and Chicago, said on a Facebook thread: “Imported artists have always been allowed for commercial theatre. It is just that she is vocally wrong ... and does she act?”
Debra Byrne, who played Norma Desmond in a 1996 production of Sunset Boulevard, with a young Hugh Jackman on the side, also wrote on Facebook: “We have great performers here absolutely qualified to play Norma”.
Bernadette Robinson, who recently toured her Divas show, performing as 10 singers including Amy Winehouse, Barbra Streisand, Kate Bush, Miley Cyrus and Judy Garland, added: “There would be many of us here in Australia who could play the role. And much better than her! It’s outrageous. We have so many great singers who could smash that role.”
Brightman was formerly married to composer Andrew Lloyd Webber. His shows include Sunset Boulevard, Cats and Phantom of the Opera.
Brightman was Lloyd Webber’s muse for Phantom’s leading lady, Christine Daae.
When announcing Sunset Boulevard’s 2024 dates earlier this week, producers said: “This newly imagined version starring undeniable superstar Sarah Brightman will delight Australian audiences”.
Get on the beard’: Dan flexes designer stubble
Ex-premier Dan Andrews has said yes to many things of late, from wine to golf to farewell drinks.
And it’s little surprise that he has announced his “Yes” vote to this weekend’s referendum, complete with an Insta photo that suggests he’s also said an emphatic yes to five-o’clock shadow.
Happily, Andrews explained why: that the Voice is “really, really simple” (which cynics might argue is not the case with some political messes, such as the Commonwealth Games cancellation or, indeed, the Indigenous plight for which no government, state or federal, left or right, has ever threatened to find a solution).
Flexing designer stubble that channelled a 1987 George Michael, Andrews debuted a post-parliament look that said “unfussed meets unkempt.”
“The Voice is our opportunity to do things differently,” Andrews said on Instagram. “It’s not a big ask. But it’s a big first step to a better future. That’s why I voted yes.”
His post elicited the usual collection of lovers and haters. But many noticed that the unofficial ambassador of North Face had turned decidedly Hairy Face since leaving office.
“Get on the BEARD,” one witty Insta follower posted.
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