The complete Pulitzer Prize-winning musical will be recreated live on stage in a special concert performance, featuring four singer-actors, a choir of 400 and an orchestra playing the original orchestrations from 1931. This event will be the first full performance of this musical in Australia.
Of Thee I Sing, according to press notes, "lampoons American politics as presidential candidate John P. Wintergreen runs for office on a platform of 'love.' When he falls for the sensible Mary Turner rather than the beautiful pageant winner selected for him, Wintergreen finds himself in political hot water. The original Broadway production ran for 441 performances in 1931 and has been revived on Broadway twice. Of Thee I Sing was also the first musical to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama."
This concert performance will be conducted by Brett Weymark, music director of Sydney Philharmonia Choirs, and directed by Jay James-Moody, artistic director of Squabbalogic Independent Music Theatre Inc.
Squabbalogic aims to "present an eclectic range of local premieres of the best new musicals and reinterpretations from the canon of outstanding musical theatre. Founded in 2006, Squabbalogic provides a stage for Australia's finest emerging and established artists to present exciting and dynamic work, while nurturing a fun, inclusive professional creative environment. Squabbalogic fills a void by connecting with challenging work and writers often neglected by commercial theatre and sharing it with the community."
The company's 2014-15 season continues in February with a reimagined, intimate revival of Man of La Mancha, starring Tony Sheldon as Don Quixote, followed by the Australian premiere of Triassic Parq in June. For more information and tickets, visit SydneyPhilharmonia.com.au or call the box office at (02) 9251 2117.