The Lion King, Matilda, Wicked... big musical theatre shows no signs of dying.
In Aotearoa we may not have a West End, Broadway or the long runs of the likes of some megashows in Melbourne, but local and touring shows - when we can get them - are popular with audiences.
Amélie the Musical is getting its Australasian premiere in November in Poneke. It first opened on Broadway in 2017 and the West End in 2019 and then after Covid 2021. Based on the popular film, that's no small deal and it's being produced by an adventurous self-billed alternative musical theatre company Witch.
Witch have done everything from familiars like Sweeney Todd and Into the Woods to Carrie the Musical, and a recent acclaimed Broadway musical adaptation of an extract of Tolstoy's War and Peace.
Amélie naturally focuses on the beloved mischievous dreamer Amelie Poulain of the popular film. She is being played in Wellington by Rachel McSweeney.
Joining Culture 101 to discuss the vitality of the contemporary musical in Aotearoa are Rachel McSweeney and Witch coproducer and director Ben Tucker-Emerson.
