A Chorus Line

Last night I was lucky enough to go along to the red carpet opening night of A Chorus Line in Adelaide. I'd heard quite a few good things about this show, but hadn't been to a musical in Australia since attending the Pirates of Penzance when I was 12 (after finding out that the lead, Simon Gallagher, was gay, my childhood heart was broken & I never returned to the theatre).

The show started at 6:30pm and we only just arrived in time to take our seats. Our amazing, fourth row from the stage, seats.

Photo: Tony Lewis

We were next to Sean Craig Murphy and his lovely wife, and were surrounded by a host of Adelaide faces including Fashion Designer Liza Emanuele and her husband Chris, Adelaide City Councillor Houssam Abiad, Hilton Adelaide's GM Michael Shmidt, Francis Wong & Jane Doyle to name a few.

The show itself was great. I wasn't sure how captivating a performance would be that essentially captured a moment in time, rather than playing out a full storyline (such as Wicked or Phantom), but the creativity with the scripting, the amazing dancers and the classic one liners from Sheila (played by gorgeous Adelaide girl Debora Krizak) kept me entertained throughout.

The show depicted how difficult the lives of professional dancers were - the uncertainty of work, the lack of security, the possibility of physical injury ending their careers - and yet it also showed each dancer's passion for their profession and why they persisted with it. One couldn't help but wonder how aligned these story lines were with the actual cast members in the show - who could almost have been playing versions of themselves.

You don't have to be a lover of the arts to get something out of this performance. And anyone who had 'fitness' or 'losing weight' on their New Year's Resolution list, could certainly get some inspiration from the hard bodies of these singing, dancing sensations up on stage. I'm certainly heading back to the gym in a hurry!

The strictly limited season of A Chorus Line will run until 28 January.
For more information check out http://www.adelaidefestivalcentre.com.au

New Year's Resolutions. Bah Humbug.

Does anyone actually do that whole 'new year's resolution' thing? I certainly don't. Never have. I think it's because I tend to do things as the urge takes me, rather than waiting for a whole year to roll around before I start a new mission to be healthier/happier/fitter etc. I quit smoking one night at a club about ten years ago, after my third packet of cigarettes for the night, and that was the end of that. Any time I want to lose weight, I just sign up for another round of Hypoxi in North Adelaide. Drinking? Well pregnancy gave me a well-needed detox from that. This year I think I'm going to try and take more holiday time. Give myself a break from being a workaholic & try to be more family oriented. But that doesn't count as a resolution though, or does it?

Henley Beach, Adelaide - A Place Where I Need To Spend More Time