text: Limelight Magazine | Kevin Purcell
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  In the latest University of Melbourne, Faculty of the VCA and MCM BROADCAST, a slight pamphlet of self-promotion for the performing arts at the University, the triple-threat, Phoebe Panaretos (currently doing a fine job in the stage version of Strictly Ballroom) is quoted as saying, "We don't have the freedom, like they do in America, to change the cast, cut songs and try it out for a year off-Broadway. … If we're going to get to that level, producers need to be more flexible with time." OK, so I know what Ms. Panaretos is getting at, but the conclusions she draws from some distant observation of the American musical theatre industry are, to be kind, somewhat wide of the mark. Really, there ain't much 'freedom' and secondly, the issue is not got anything to do with the flexibilities of time management by said, grouped, 'producers.' What is definitely true is that the functional systems in place to develop and refine new musical theatre, commonplace as they are in New York, Chicago, Seattle, Toronto etc., do not exist in Australia – and therefore, to be entirely fair to Ms. Panaretos, whilst her facts are erroneous, her instincts are good. Continue Reading →