Showtrain premieres in Orange

Showtrain premieres in Orange Presented in a fusion of musical styles that writer and composer Andrew Worboys calls vaudevillian/rock, 'Showtrain' is the story of a bunch of carnies trying to save their showtrain from being sold to a mining company. . Premiering a major new musical in a regional setting offers challenges but also advantages. The world seen on stage will be a snapshot of Australia in the mid 1950s. "An identity crisis was happening. It was perhaps because of this that the live touring shows and boxing tents were shut down in favour of family friendly rides. The musical has been developed over a couple of years with professional staged readings and workshops in Sydney. Cecelia Rochelli, founder of That Other Theatre Company, saw a workshop of Showtrain in Sydney last year and suggested to Andrew that he might like to premiere it in Orange, with a local cast and Robert Dunn directing. The show tests the performers' skills in song, movement, acting and even circus. "His description of a train, which toured with a boxing tent, freak shows, girly shows and circus, was so colourful and evocative. The story centres around Jimmy Roper, an outsider: "a 50 % aboriginal bloke looking for his father. It's a story about identity, place and belonging". Andrew Worboys grew up in Orange and is now a successful composer, video designer, graphic designer, vocalist, pianist and musical director. He co-produced the original Australian soundtrack of Hedwig And The Angry Inch, and Jimmy Somerville's album Suddenly Last Summer, as well playing piano and singing backing vocals on the album. "Instead of trying to secure funding, which is extremely difficult for a new work like this, we opted to workshop and rehearse the show over a lengthy period of time in order to get the show working as well as it possibly can," Worboys said. It will be hard to leave when it's over. Showtrain rolls onto the stage at Orange Civic Theatre June 21-23. The next step is to pitch the show to a bigger production company. "I read about the Showtrain in Jim Sharman's memoirs," creator Andrew Worboys said. Accessing talented performers, though, was not difficult. Showtrain premieres in Orange Trade News selected by Local Linkup on 03/06/2012