Hollywood Stars at the Helpmanns

Every year the Helpmann Awards for live theatre in Australia has become a bigger and grander event and this year it did not disappoint.
Held at the Capitol Theatre guests were treated to a two hour extravaganza featuring numbers from the Lion King and Strictly Ballroom and plenty more. And a host if international names turned up from Geoffrey Rush, Baz Luhrmann and Lou Diamond Phillips.
You can read the full list of winners here : but special congratulations must go to the superb new intimate Kings Cross theatre, the Hayes Theatre which opened just 6 months ago. Their production (and the Shuttle watched it from the very back row which has a superb view of the stage) of Sweet Charity, an ambitious feat, picked up three well deserved gongs.

Lisa McCune & Lou Diamond Phillips     Robyn Nevin & Nicholas Hammond   Silvia Colloca & Richard Roxburgh

Andrew Upton                          Baz Luhrmann & Catherine Martin                  Kelley Abbey & Craig McLachlan

Below : Nancye Hayes with Hayes Theatre Director David Campbell : Sweet Charity

Mary Poppins Revealed.

Julie Andrews is in town on her very first visit to Australia for her show An Evening With Julie Andrews in which she reminisces about her 60 year career on the stage and in movies.
At a press conference today she gave the assembled media a taste of what's in store including anecdotes about her many co-stars and some revealing information about her loss of voice 15 years ago:
"I was in denial for about a year thinking maybe I just wasn't healing as fast as I should. When it was quite obvious that I was not, then I had to deal with it."
She's a warm and friendly lady and full of charm and has some quite fascinating tales to tell. We can't tell you any of them though as we are sworn to secrecy. You have to buy tickets to the show-pretty cheap at $99 to hear all!

An Evening With Julie Andrews premiers in Brisbane on May 18 and then moves to Perth, Sydney, Adelaide and Melbourne.
It will be hosted by Sydney based actor, Nicholas Hammond, who played Friedrich von Trapp in The Sound of Music.