Metro Street
Encyclopedia
Metro Street is an original Australian musical
with book, music and lyrics by Matthew Robinson
. It was awarded the Pratt Prize for Musical Theatre in 2004, and went through many workshops and readings, including at The Adelaide Cabaret Festival in 2006, before its world premiere season with the State Theatre Company of South Australia
in April 2009.
, and fleshed out this draft to enter for the Pratt Prize. The first two workshops for the piece occurred in August 2004. This first draft which won he Pratt Prize had a mother, her son, his girlfriend, a country girl and a street-side busker; the busker was cut in draft two, and replaced with the grandma character.
In 2005 Metro Street received its Pratt Prize workshop and showcase production at Chapel off Chapel in Melbourne, with a cast of Carrie Barr, Lucy Durack, Verity Hunt-Ballard, Benjamin Lewis and Sally-Anne Upton, directed by Tom Healey and music directed by Michael Tyack.
A concert version of Metro Street was presented for one performance at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival, 2006, with an entirety Adelaide based cast of Nicholas Cannon, Melissa McCaig, Jacqy Phillips, Sky Ingram and Libby O'Donovan, directed by Terance O'Connell, with Matthew Robinson as the music director.
Metro Street was also presented as part of the Magnormos
OzMade Musicals
in 2004 and 2005, and many readings and workshops through 2007 and 2008 in Melbourne, Sydney and Perth.
In October 2008, Metro Street was announced as a part of the 2009 season for the State Theatre Company of SA.
In June 2009, the STCSA production of Metro Street was the opening show at the Daegu
International Musical Festival in South Korea, where it was named in the top 10 musicals playing in the country.
At the 2009 Helpmann Award
s on 5 August, for which the STCSA production was nominated for five awards, Nancye Hayes, Debra Byrne, Cameron Goodall, Jude Henshall and Verity Hunt-Ballard performed the closing song, "My Hands" (referred to as "Invitation" in STCSA material).
Chris’s mum, Sue is recently separated from her husband and is trying to cope with being alone. ("Never Going To End") Her ex is demanding a divorce hearing so that they can split up their assets. What she doesn’t know is that he has already moved on with someone else. Chris doesn’t want to tell his mother, as he knows she won’t cope with this.
Chris and Amy talk about what’s going on in their life. ("How’s Life") Chris tells Amy that he’s
been accepted to study in London, which is a huge opportunity for him, but Amy doesn’t want to go and doesn’t believe that Chris wants her there anyway.
A few weeks later they go out for a two year anniversary dinner but Chris is running late. ("Mobile Phone Quartet") This forces Amy to see that they are on two different paths and that he doesn’t seem to want her in his life. They break up. ("Never Going To End") Sue discovers that she has breast cancer and doesn’t want to tell her son, even though Jo is telling her that she needs his support. Kerry is now working in a call centre and seeing someone new. The Act finishes with the company singing. ("Overcome")
Amy and Kerry have become good friends and spend many nights together drinking and going out on the town. ("A Girl Like Me") Amy is working in an office and has a brief relationship with the photocopy boy. She starts to do things because she wants to, not because her parents like it, such as joining the young labour party. Kerry is still her outgoing self and is a good influence on Amy.
After a big night on the town we see Kerry at a café that Chris works at. He asks about Amy and she tells him that she always liked him. Amy turns up and she talks to Chris about how he’s behaving. She’s worried about him, but he is too angry to care. ("As Night Descends")
Sue is going through chemotherapy and is not strong enough to go to Chris’s graduation, so Jo goes in her place. The first signs that Sue isn’t coping with her illness start to come through. ("Dignity")
After another bust up with his grandmother he goes to Amy’s apartment and tells her that he misses her. ("The Best Thing")
Kerry asks Jo how Sue is doing and what it’s like to be a mother. ("Love Is") This is when we find out that Kerry has had an abortion, which is why she left home and why she thinks her family don’t love her anymore. Kerry gets an amazing job as a personal assistant to a music company head, but is reluctant to take it. With a little convincing from Jo and Amy she jumps at the opportunity, even though it means going to Spain. She takes a leap of faith and organises to spend a week home with her family, who are excited to see her. Meanwhile, Sue’s cancer has spread.
The story ends with Chris, Jo and Sue having a picnic together. Chris is finally getting back
on track, but Sue is very ill. When Jo leaves to pack up the car Sue and Chris get some alone time and they talk about how scared they are and she talks about how she would like to be remembered. ("Invitation")
Act II
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
with book, music and lyrics by Matthew Robinson
Matthew Robinson (performer and composer)
Matthew Robinson is an Australian performer and composer.Robinson was born in Queensland and graduated from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts...
. It was awarded the Pratt Prize for Musical Theatre in 2004, and went through many workshops and readings, including at The Adelaide Cabaret Festival in 2006, before its world premiere season with the State Theatre Company of South Australia
State Theatre Company of South Australia
The State Theatre Company of South Australia is South Australia's leading professional theatre company. It is based in the Dunstan Playhouse at the Adelaide Festival Centre. The current artistic director is Adam Cook...
in April 2009.
Development
Robinson penned the title song to Metro Street while catching a tram in Melbourne in 2002. In 2004, Robinson wrote a first draft script for submission to the New York Musical Theatre FestivalNew York Musical Theatre Festival
The New York Musical Theatre Festival is an annual three-week fall Festival which presents more than thirty new musicals at venues in New York City's midtown theater district...
, and fleshed out this draft to enter for the Pratt Prize. The first two workshops for the piece occurred in August 2004. This first draft which won he Pratt Prize had a mother, her son, his girlfriend, a country girl and a street-side busker; the busker was cut in draft two, and replaced with the grandma character.
In 2005 Metro Street received its Pratt Prize workshop and showcase production at Chapel off Chapel in Melbourne, with a cast of Carrie Barr, Lucy Durack, Verity Hunt-Ballard, Benjamin Lewis and Sally-Anne Upton, directed by Tom Healey and music directed by Michael Tyack.
A concert version of Metro Street was presented for one performance at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival, 2006, with an entirety Adelaide based cast of Nicholas Cannon, Melissa McCaig, Jacqy Phillips, Sky Ingram and Libby O'Donovan, directed by Terance O'Connell, with Matthew Robinson as the music director.
Metro Street was also presented as part of the Magnormos
Magnormos
Magnormos is an independent musical theatre production company based in Melbourne, Australia, that specialises in producing musicals written by Australian writers, and landmark international works....
OzMade Musicals
Magnormos
Magnormos is an independent musical theatre production company based in Melbourne, Australia, that specialises in producing musicals written by Australian writers, and landmark international works....
in 2004 and 2005, and many readings and workshops through 2007 and 2008 in Melbourne, Sydney and Perth.
In October 2008, Metro Street was announced as a part of the 2009 season for the State Theatre Company of SA.
Productions
The world premiere season of Metro Street was presented by the State Theatre Company of South Australia with Arts Asia Pacific and Power Arts in April 2009. Previews began 3 April, opening night was 7 April, and it ran to 25 April. The cast was Debra Byrne, Cameron Goodall, Nancye Hayes, Jude Henshall and Verity Hunt-Ballard. Sets by Victoria Lamb, lighting by Geoff Cobham, directed by Geordie Brookman, with Matthew Carey as the musical director.In June 2009, the STCSA production of Metro Street was the opening show at the Daegu
Daegu
Daegu , also known as Taegu, and officially the Daegu Metropolitan City, is a city in South Korea, the fourth largest after Seoul, Busan, and Incheon, and the third largest metropolitan area in the country with over 2.5 million residents. The city is the capital and principal city of the...
International Musical Festival in South Korea, where it was named in the top 10 musicals playing in the country.
At the 2009 Helpmann Award
Helpmann Award
The Helpmann Awards recognize distinguished artistic achievement and excellence in Australia's live performing arts sectors. The recognized disciplines include musical and physical theatre, contemporary and classical music, opera, and dance, with a comedy category introduced in 2006...
s on 5 August, for which the STCSA production was nominated for five awards, Nancye Hayes, Debra Byrne, Cameron Goodall, Jude Henshall and Verity Hunt-Ballard performed the closing song, "My Hands" (referred to as "Invitation" in STCSA material).
Synopsis
Sue is dealing with a marriage that has broken down and a recent diagnosis of breast cancer that she doesn't know how to communicate to her son, Chris. Chris and his girlfriend Amy are having troubles of their own nearing the end of their University courses and unsure where life is leading. Chris and Amy's neighbour, Kerry, has come to the city to escape her small country town, meanwhile Jo, Sue's Mum, is trying to hold things together for her daughter and grandson.Act one
Amy and Chris who are both studying at university and have recently moved in together. ("Love Is") A new girl moves in next door, Kerry, who is loud, friendly and sensual, everything that Amy isn’t. ("The Girl Next Door") Amy is studying feminism and is a bit of a prude, but she befriends Kerry and takes her out shopping, along with Chris’s grandmother, Jo. Jo and Kerry have very similar taste in clothing and in the beauty of being female. ("Yes I Know") Amy is against the flaunting of women’s sexuality in advertising.Chris’s mum, Sue is recently separated from her husband and is trying to cope with being alone. ("Never Going To End") Her ex is demanding a divorce hearing so that they can split up their assets. What she doesn’t know is that he has already moved on with someone else. Chris doesn’t want to tell his mother, as he knows she won’t cope with this.
Chris and Amy talk about what’s going on in their life. ("How’s Life") Chris tells Amy that he’s
been accepted to study in London, which is a huge opportunity for him, but Amy doesn’t want to go and doesn’t believe that Chris wants her there anyway.
A few weeks later they go out for a two year anniversary dinner but Chris is running late. ("Mobile Phone Quartet") This forces Amy to see that they are on two different paths and that he doesn’t seem to want her in his life. They break up. ("Never Going To End") Sue discovers that she has breast cancer and doesn’t want to tell her son, even though Jo is telling her that she needs his support. Kerry is now working in a call centre and seeing someone new. The Act finishes with the company singing. ("Overcome")
Act two
The act opens with, ("Got to Get to"). Six months have passed and Chris has stayed in Australia and moved back in with his mum to help her out. Jo is looking after her daughter and gets frustrated when Chris doesn’t pull his weight. Chris has finished university, but is working in a café. This has made him angry, frustrated and selfish telling everyone that he put his life on hold for this.Amy and Kerry have become good friends and spend many nights together drinking and going out on the town. ("A Girl Like Me") Amy is working in an office and has a brief relationship with the photocopy boy. She starts to do things because she wants to, not because her parents like it, such as joining the young labour party. Kerry is still her outgoing self and is a good influence on Amy.
After a big night on the town we see Kerry at a café that Chris works at. He asks about Amy and she tells him that she always liked him. Amy turns up and she talks to Chris about how he’s behaving. She’s worried about him, but he is too angry to care. ("As Night Descends")
Sue is going through chemotherapy and is not strong enough to go to Chris’s graduation, so Jo goes in her place. The first signs that Sue isn’t coping with her illness start to come through. ("Dignity")
After another bust up with his grandmother he goes to Amy’s apartment and tells her that he misses her. ("The Best Thing")
Kerry asks Jo how Sue is doing and what it’s like to be a mother. ("Love Is") This is when we find out that Kerry has had an abortion, which is why she left home and why she thinks her family don’t love her anymore. Kerry gets an amazing job as a personal assistant to a music company head, but is reluctant to take it. With a little convincing from Jo and Amy she jumps at the opportunity, even though it means going to Spain. She takes a leap of faith and organises to spend a week home with her family, who are excited to see her. Meanwhile, Sue’s cancer has spread.
The story ends with Chris, Jo and Sue having a picnic together. Chris is finally getting back
on track, but Sue is very ill. When Jo leaves to pack up the car Sue and Chris get some alone time and they talk about how scared they are and she talks about how she would like to be remembered. ("Invitation")
Musical numbers
Act I- "Metro Street" - Chris and Cast
- "The Girl Next Door" - Kerry
- "Love Is" - Amy and Chris
- "Never Going To End" - Sue and Chris
- "Yes, I Know" - Amy
- "How's Life" - Chris and Amy
- "Taxi To The City" - Sue
- "Mobile Phone Quintet" - Company
- "Never Going To End (Reprise)" - Amy and Chris
- "Overcome" - Company
Act II
- "Got To Get To" - Amy, Kerry and Chris
- "A Girl Like Me" - Amy and Kerry
- "Dignity" - Sue
- "Love Is (Reprise)" - Jo
- "As Night Descends" - Chris
- "The Best Thing" - Amy and Chris
- "My Hands" (AKA "Invitation") - Company
Casts
| Productions | Sue Barnes | Chris Barnes | Jo McAuley | Amy Francis | Kerry Malone |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 Pratt Prize Workshop | Carrie Barker | Benjamin Lewis | Sally-Anne Upton | Lucy Durack Lucy Durack Lucy Durack is an Australian musical theatre performer most recognised for playing Glinda in the Australian production of Wicked.-Biography:... |
Verity Hunt-Ballard |
| 2006 Adelaide Cabaret Festival | Melissa McCraig | Nicolas Cannon | Jacqy Phillips | Sky Ingham | Libby O'Donovan |
| February 2007 Reading | Genevieve Lemon Genevieve Lemon Genevieve Lemon is an Australian actress who has appeared in a number of soap operas – as Zelda Baker in The Young Doctors, Marlene "Rabbit" Warren in Prisoner and Brenda Riley in Neighbours... |
Benjamin Lewis | Nancye Hayes | Lucy Durack | Amelia Cormack |
| October 2007 Reading | Robyn Arthur | Graham Foote | Nancye Hayes | Lucy Durack | Verity Hunt-Ballard |
| 2009 State Theatre Company | Debra Byrne Debra Byrne -Career:Byrne made her television debut on Brian and the Juniors, an early predecessor of Young Talent Time, which was hosted by a young Brian Naylor. She stayed with the show for 12 months. In 1971 she was cast as one of the original six Young Talent Time cast members... |
Cameron Goodall | Nancye Hayes | Jude Henshall | Verity Hunt-Ballard |
| 2009 DIMF | Debra Byrne | Matthew Robinson | Nancye Hayes | Esther Hannaford | Hollie Andrew |
Awards and nominations
- 2004 Pratt Prize for Musical Theatre - Matthew Robinson (winner)
- 2009 Daugu Musical Awards
- Best Musical (nominated)
- Best Female Actor in a Leading Role - Debra Byrne (winner)
- Best Male Actor in a Leading Role - Matthew Robinson (nominated)
- Best Female Actor in a Supporting Role - Nancye Hayes (nominated)
- 2009 Helpmann AwardHelpmann AwardThe Helpmann Awards recognize distinguished artistic achievement and excellence in Australia's live performing arts sectors. The recognized disciplines include musical and physical theatre, contemporary and classical music, opera, and dance, with a comedy category introduced in 2006...
s- Best New Australian Work - Matthew Robinson (nominated)
- Best Lighting Design - Geoff Cobham (nominated)
- Best Music Direction - Matthew Carey (nominated)
- Best Choreography In A Musical - Jo Stone (nominated)
- Best Direction Of A Musical - Geordie Brookman (nominated)
- 2009 Adelaide Theatre Guide "Curtain Call" Awards
- Best Show - Musical (Professional) (winner)
- Best Male Performance (Professional) - Cameron Goodall (nominated)
- Best Female Performance (Professional) - Debra Byrne (nominated)
- Best Female Performance (Professional) - Verity Hunt-Ballard (winner)
- Best Technical (Professional) - Victoria Lamb, set design (nominated)
- 2009 Victorian Premier's Literary AwardVictorian Premier's Literary AwardThe Victorian Premier's Literary Awards were created by the Victorian Governmentwith the aim of raising the profile of contemporary creative writing and Australia's publishing industry....
s- Prize for Best Musical Theatre Script (shortlisted)
- 2009 Adelaide Critics Circle Awards
- Group Award (nominated)