A JCW reunion

A day trip to the Gold Coast to have lunch with old mates was a mini-J. C. Williamson's reunion. The fabulous Sheila Bradley who has starred in OLIVER!, GRAB ME A GONDOLA, MAME, ONCE UPON A MATTRESS, FINIAN'S RAINBOW, HELLO, DOLLY! and THE KING & I has lived up here for years. Neville Burns (left), a dancer in FIDDLER ON THE ROOF, FUNNY GIRL and CHARLIE GIRL, moved up here a few years ago and Jack Webster (A CHORUS LINE, NO, NO, NANETTE, GYPSY, DAMES AT SEA) is the most recent arrival.

The view from Neville's apartment is enough to tempt anyone to re-locate!!

Doing the Town

The Brisbane Festival is happening all over town but the Spiegeltent is right outside our door.

So, I was fortunate enough to catch a stunning show called LIFE presented by a company called Strut and Fret. The cast included a Dutch clown and a Brazilian comedienne as a man and woman embarking on married life, a sensational female vocalist from New York, two marvelous girl dancers,  a flying saxophone player, an African American tap dancer who paid tribute to Bill Robinson's staircase routine, and a thrilling young German gymnast named Tim Kriegler.

Kriegler and his partner performed an extraordinary routine inside a floor-to-ceiling plastic tube.

Another moment saw the cast taking turns pulling on a red rope which cascaded endlessly from the ceiling until the clown disappeared beneath it.

All of this accompanied by a wonderful score covering all genres. Hilarious, confronting and jaw-dropping, if this show comes your way be sure to catch it.

The view from my accommodation is pretty spectacular.

A quick visit to Fortitude Valley unveils some interesting venues.

I also checked in on the old Regent Theatre in the city which, sadly, is now a tourist information bureau. But the magnificent foyer remains untouched.

A glimpse of how the auditorium once appeared...

Brisbane!

I was born in this city (although we moved on to Melbourne within a few months) and I haven't been back since 2004 when TT and I were both in Mel Brooks' THE PRODUCERS so I'm looking forward to winding up our PRISCILLA tour here.

The Arts Centre is on Southbank, across the bridge from the CBD

Southbank was the site of Expo '88 and some of the custom built features have been retained, such as the Rainforest Walk

and the man made beach

the whole area is now positively teeming with glamorous bars and restaurants, and is currently one of the focal points of the Brisbane Arts Festival

a whole exhibit devoted to art made from colored yarn

and at night the Spiegeltent hosts cabaret and music acts. Not quite so glam during the day, though...

Ah, but at night....!

How very thoughtful of the Brisbane Festival to paint the town Priscilla Pink!

Birthday Cake (out in the rain)

Those of you who have seen PRISCILLA may recall that Bernadette is found asleep face down in the cake which inspires the song "MacArthur Park". So for my birthday, the company ingeniously recreated the cake with the indentation of my face in it. (I don't eat sugar but it was chocolate cake and, I'm told, delicious!!)

Even the lipstick was edible!

Final Week in Adelaide

I don't think I knew that one of Australia's most famous comedians was born in Hindley Street, Adelaide: Roy Rene, a.k.a. Mo McCackie

A life size statue stands smack in the middle of the city.

Today's weather warranted a trip to Semaphore Beach

A walk through Port Adelaide revealed my favorite style of building.

Then back home, where I discovered the Pride Walk, a history of gay Adelaide on the pavement at Light Square.

David Roche House

From the website: "David J Roche AM (1930–2013), a collector for almost sixty years, spent his lifetime developing what has become the David Roche Collection. The collection, which spans the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and includes European furniture, ceramics, metal ware, clocks and paintings, is remarkable in its quality and range. It contains many luxury works by leading designers displaying exquisite workmanship, as well as the quirky and playful, and as such reflects the many interests and engaging personality of its creator."

The dapper young Mr. Roche.

He was passionate about dogs and had many Best in Show awards.

I think this is the carpet he had copied from a pattern at the White House.

The guide couldn't tell me where this drawing came from or who did it.

But this beauty came from the collection of Mick Jagger!

This item also caught the guide by surprise!

This butcher shop is a diorama in a box.

A somewhat overdone Japanese bathroom...