Edition 6, 2011

Onstage E-News

Tom’s illustrious career stretches from acting and singing, to television host and theatrical producer. He first shot to stardom in the 80’s when he was cast in the title role in the box office hit, The Man from Snowy River, which became one of the most suc-cessful Australian films ever made. This led to a string of starring roles in movies such as Phar Lap, Eureka Stockade, Flesh and Blood, The Legend of Kootenai Brown, The Man from Snowy River II, and many more.

In the 90’s, Tom revealed that as well as being an immensely talented actor, he also had an amazing voice. His first profes-sional singing engagement was as the voice of young Frank Sinatra in the Warner Brothers mini-series Sinatra.

More recently, Tom created and starred in the acclaimed theat-rical production ‘Frank—A Life in Song’, which played highly successful seasons at premier venues around Australia, includ-ing Sydney’s Star City and Melbourne’s Crown Casino.

Now, Tom has delved even deeper into the Great American Song Book to create ‘Now We’re Swingin’, a montage of swing classics by Tony Bennett, Sammy Davis Jr, Nat King Cole, Dean Martin, Bobby Darin and Frank Sinatra, through to the songs made famous by supercool swingers of the current era—Harry Connick Jr, Michael Bublé and Robbie Williams.

“This music is, to a degree, timeless.” says Tom. “A lot of the songs in the show are written for musicals produced in the 20’s, 30’s and 40’s. They have intelligent lyrics and melodic struc-ture, and that’s why they’ve become classics of the genre.”

Tom’s show includes the greatest songs from the era of swing, and the ones for which the individual singers became best known.

“I have included classics from Tony Bennett, who has fantastic pipes and was Sinatra’s favourite singer; Nat King Cole, who was smooth and jazzy; the multi-talented, high-energy Sammy Davis Jr, Dean Martin, who was the epitome of cool, and Bobby Darin who also had some big hits.

“I don’t set out to imitate how they sang these songs, but many of the arrangements in the show are based on the originals, whether by Nelson Riddle, Billy May, Quincy Jones and George Rhodes. If people know a song well, they’ll be familiar with our versions.”

Tom says swing has become ‘cool’ again due to the immense popularity and success of artists such as Harry Connick Jr, Robbie Williams and Michael Bublé, who have added their own spin to some of the greatest swing songs.

“If you like these people, you will like what I’m doing in this show. I’ve found that younger audiences don’t realise that the-se songs were originally written and performed back in the 40’s and 50’s. I like to set the record straight and make sure the audience knows who they were originally done by.

The song-list for the show is a feast of swing classics, including Sway, Just in Time, Beyond the Sea, L-O-V-E, Birth of the Blues, The Way You Look Tonight, Isn’t That a Kick in the Head? and Feeling Good. It also includes Anything Goes and I Won’t Dance from the albums Song’s for Swingin’ Lovers and Tom’s favourite Sinatra album, A Swingin’ Affair.

Accompanying Tom on stage will be a sixteen piece band, in-cluding some of Australia’s best jazz musicians.

Book now for an evening of timeless music with a dash of style as Tom Burlinson takes to the stage Now We’re Swingin’ at the Barossa Arts & Convention Centre on Friday, 2nd December @ 8pm.

Magnolia Road, Tanunda SA 5352

P: 8561 4299 W: www.barossaconvention.org

Onstage E-News . . .

Wednesday, 5th October @ 11am All Tickets: $22.50

(Including Morning Tea @ 10.30am)

With her popularity at an all time high, and a starring role on ‘Dancing with the Stars’, Fiona chucked herself off the wagon and onto the pages of the national media. The Australian queen of comedy’s public battle with booze has taken her on a journey. This show reveals the sometimes poignant, always hilarious journey she took from rock bottom to redemption (well almost redemption?). Fresh from appearances at the Just for Laughs Festival and Edinburgh Fringe Festival, don’t miss this great opportunity to see Fiona’s Helpmann Award-nominated show On A Wing and a Prayer performing on Saturday, 26th November @ 8pm.

Ireland’s most celebrated show, THE RHYTHMS OF IRELAND, will return to the Barossa Arts & Convention Centre on Tuesday, 22nd November @ 8pm.

Following the highly-successful and critically acclaimed sell-out Australian and World tour 2009/2010 and European tour 2011, Ireland's most celebrated and elite company of dancers, THE RHYTHMS OF IRELAND, return with their awe-inspiring and innovative production to Australia.

THE RHYTHMS OF IRELAND has been seen by over two-million worldwide amassing an unsurpassed reputation for their "stunningly executed performances". The incomparable quali-ty and pure unadulterated spectacle of their work perfectly blends the ancient traditions of Irish dance and music with the innovative and flawlessly choreographed production values of contemporary Irish excellence.

Legend, folklore and enchantment are interwoven in a voyage of discovery without falling into the trap of sentimentality. That's not to deny that some passages make the hairs on the nape of the neck rise . . . the troupe's adaptation echoes the

past as the dancers seem to fly across the stage to the beat of the bodhron by performers of zipping quality and enthusiasm make you want to clap in time, the best of the Irish experience, THE RHYTHMS OF IRELAND

Experience a spectacular evening of traditional Irish dance, music and song enhanced by stunning costumes, lighting and sound. This is indeed, THE RHYTHMS OF IRELAND.

The Real Culture - The Real Passion

RHYTHMS OF IRELAND

Barossa Area Fundraisers for Cancer Inc Presents

The ‘Flaming Sambucas’ in

ABBA GOLD Tribute Show

With the same musical line-up as the original

Abba, the ‘Flaming Sambucas' nationally

acclaimed Abba tribute show features the

greatest hits of Abba including Waterloo, Dancing

Queen, Mamma Mia and many more. This fun

sing-a-long show will lift your spirits and have

you dancing in your seats.

Saturday, 5th November @ 8pm

Barossa Area Fundraisers for Cancer Inc Presents

The ‘Flaming Sambucas’ in

ABBA GOLD Tribute Show

With the same musical line-up as the original

Abba, the ‘Flaming Sambucas' nationally

acclaimed Abba tribute show features the

greatest hits of Abba including Waterloo, Dancing Queen,

Mamma Mia and many more. This fun

sing-a-long show will lift your spirits and have

you dancing in your seats.

Saturday, 5th November @ 8pm

Onstage E-News . . .

DIRECTOR’S NOTES

Theatre is the most lifelike of the Arts. Its subject matter is the individual inter-

acting with others, confronting life’s pressures, making decisions and acting on

them and ultimately dealing with the consequences of chance and choice.

Theatre is also the art form born of the human impulse to explore and symbolise

life and individual feelings. In the lead up to the initial workshops for the early

development of the piece Fake is Real I came across a report about the fact that

a large number of teenage girls as young as 13 had embraced the notion of

cosmetic surgery to ‘improve’ their physical appearance. Around that time

results of a national survey were published stating that ‘body image’ was the

most important issue for young people. I began to talk to young people both in

Australia and overseas to canvas views on these issues and come across many

stories; some of these stories influenced the characters and the plot of this piece

of theatre.

This was the starting point of Fake is Real, a piece of theatre based on reality

but at its heart entirely fictional and presented in a heightened dramatic context.

Joachim Matschoss MONDAY, 5TH DECEMBER @ 7PM

UPCOMING EVENTS 2012

Bookings on 8561 4299 www.barossaconvention.org