Encore goes to Rio: The Boy From Oz back on stage at the Princess

In The Boy from Oz, which arrives at the Princess Theatre on October 20, the tale of the flamboyant, legendary Australian entertainer returns to Launceston's stage in bombastic form.

Presented by Encore Theatre company, the Australian jukebox musical follows Allen's meteoric rise from charismatic back-country boy to world-stage superstar, and all the triumphs and tragedies in between.

"At times, Peter was total trash and I mean that endearingly: he was fun and glitz and camp," said Belinda King, the show's director.

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"But he was also a hugely personal man who told the stories of his grandfather and father's lives, and how some of the tragedies of his family affected him his whole life, as well as the AIDS crisis which claimed the life of his lover and eventually himself.

"Oz as a musical balances that perfectly; its joy and drama unconfined."

Memorably making its Broadway debut - with Allen played by Hugh Jackman - in 2000, Oz runs the gamut of Allen's music career, from I Go to Rio to I Still Call Australia Home, and is no stranger to the Princess Theatre's stage and no stranger to King.

In 2009, Encore - with King as director - first staged what's billed as the musical of a lifetime in a smaller scale, and now King has the chance to revisit the show with a stellar cast and a tighter focus.

One such cast member bringing expertise to their role is Victorian actor Will Hanley as Allen.

"Boy from Oz is an incredible story with a wonderful person at its core which can be at times an utmost spectacle and a window into a man's heart," Hanley said.

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"He gave so much to not only the Australian performing arts industry but Australian society.

"These songs that he wrote are part of the Australian psyche."

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The show is also a big ask for its performers, tasking them with becoming triple threats - singers, dancers and actors.

For Brooke Target, who takes on the role of Judie Garland, there have been multiple levels of challenge and excitement.

"She had distinct mannerisms and the way she talked," said Targett, who has a history as a performer with Encore and Launceston Musical Society.

"It's been a fantastic experience getting to play an actual person where I've had to put myself really into who they were and what they struggled with as well as how witty they can be - she was quite a character."

There's an extreme contrast in Oz, where stories of joy are balanced with extreme sadness, all of it packaged in a larger-than-life format only Allen's story could be told in, and one that is distinctly relevant to our times according to its director.

"The interesting thing for me with the show is realising that many of us, myself included, have really lived through two pandemics: COVID and AIDS," King said.

"I think, with that backdrop, we're really in a place to tell the stories of what these people meant to each other through wonderful music that touches the heart."

Encore Theatre Company's production of The Boy from Oz arrives at the Princess Theatre on October 20 and runs until November 4.

More information and tickets can be found at the Theatre North website.

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