Strictly Ballroom!

The Australian stage premiere of Baz Luhrmann's Strictly Ballroom is set to receive its Australian stage premiere in Sydney, transforming the iconic film into a stage production. Featuring songs by Diane Warren, David Foster and others, the stage production will reunite members of the 1992 film's original creative team, including Lurmann who co-wrote with Craig Pearce as well as set and costume designer Catherine Martin(Lurmann's wife) and choreographer John "Cha Cha" O'Connell. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eRSGCIse7M Strictly Ballroom officially opened on 12 April down under, with the cast being led by 18 year old Thomas Lacey as Scott Hastings, opposite Phoebe Panaretos as Fran alongside a very talented team of performers. Baz Lurmann's recipe for making a great piece of theatre contains three crucial ingredients; story, performance and music but there is another which he cannot create himself, the magic. This is the thing which is shared between the stage and the audience. Global Creatures producer Carmen Pavlovic is hopeful that Strictly Ballroom The Musical will have a future Broadway life and beyond. Coincidentally, Lurhmann co-wrote and directed the film about the world of competitive ballroom dancing, which was originally conceived and presented as a stage play. According to the creators, Strictly Ballroom The Musical is the inspiring story of a championship ballroom dancer who defies all the rules to follow his heart. This uplifting and courageous tale originated as a stage play that Baz Luhrmann created as a student at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in 1984. Lurhmann is well known for his films Moulin Rouge, Romeo & Juliet, Australia, The Great Gatsby" and the Broadway production of the Puccini opera La Boheme.