It’s the Summer of Shane in Melbourne…and Billy
Australia’s champion leg-spinner and Melbourne boy Shane Warne has always been a drawcard with the media, but with the opening of two new Melbourne events dedicated to the cricketer – the National Sports Museum’s new permanent 3D experience Cricket Found Me and the highly anticipated Shane Warne: The Musical – he looks set to become a major tourist attraction as well.
A permanent and exclusive addition to the National Sports Museum at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Cricket Found Me utilises the latest simulated hologram technology to give viewers the feeling that they are actually in the room with Warne, while he talks them through some of the finest and more difficult moments of his sporting career.
The other highlight in Melbourne’s ‘Summer of Shane’ is the world premiere of Shane Warne: the Musical, billed as ‘a new breed of Aussie music theatre that smokes, drinks, carries a few extra kilos and still brings home the Ashes’, opening December 10 at the Athenaeum Theatre. The creation of comedian and songwriter Eddie Perfect with direction by Neil Armfield (director of Keating! and the film Candy) with editorial assistance from Casey Bennetto (creator of Keating!), Shane Warne: The Musical features a sizzling live band, an exceptional cast (including Perfect as the man himself) performing all new original songs – such as the soon-to-be memorable What an SMS I’m In.
But Warne is not the only unlikely musical character who will be setting Melbourne stages alight this summer. This December will also be the time when the highly anticipated blockbuster musical Billy Elliot the Musical opens at the Her Majesty’s Theatre.
A critical and box office smash in London, Billy Elliot - based on the movie of the same name - is the gritty, funny and heart-warming tale of a young boy with a dream, and a celebration of his triumph against the odds.
Set against the historic British miners strike for the 1980s, Billy Elliot the Musical is a funny, feel-good celebration of a young boys dreams to be a dancer in a man’s world of hard hats, football boots & boxing gloves.
Directed by Stephen Daldry who also directed the film and music composed by Elton John, performances for Billy Elliot begin on December 13, with the official gala opening taking place on New Years Eve.
For further information on the show and the excellent travel and dining packages available, go to www.billyelliot.com.au
For further information:
Billy Elliot: The Musical: www.billyelliotthemusical.com.au
Cricket Found Me (National Sports Museum): www.nsm.org.au
Shane Warne: The Musical: www.shanewarnethemusical.com.au
Media contacts:
Billy Elliot: The Musical: JP Bolton (02) 9264 7750 or jp@jppr.com.au
Cricket Found Me (National Sports Museum): Katrina Hall Ph: 0421 153 046 or kathall@ozemail.com.au
Shane Warne The Musical: Tatia Sloley, Ph: (03) 9419 8837, mobile 0403 305 395 tatia@tspublicity.com.au