The best musicals in Sydney

After a cancellation the previous evening due to the raging storm and winds, the opening night of The Phantom of the Opera was looking dire. But magically at the stroke of 6pm, when the team of Opera Australia’s Handa Opera rolled out the red carpet, the rain dissipated and a warm setting sun floated over Sydney Harbour. The Phantom still has magic left up his sleeve after all. Phantom of the Opera on Sydney Harbour represents that age-old maxim, “The show must go on”. And go on The Phantom of the Opera shall! Rain, wind, or sun, the show is at the mercy of nature, but overcoming the natural challenges from Mother Nature makes it all the more thrilling to witness. Every outdoor spectacle presented by Handa Opera is consistently infused with decadence, and this restaging of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s classic is no different. This is a highbrow spectacle at its most luxurious. What type of show is The Phantom of the Opera? The musical version of the mysteriously masked Phantom living beneath the Paris Opera House has captivated audiences around the world for 40 years. His obsession with the young Christine Daaé and subsequent devious nurturing of her talents has played to more than 160 million people in 58 territories and 205 cities in 21 languages.  As a character, Christine is at the mercy of the men she’s surrounded by. Be it the Phantom’s obsessive love, her saviour in the shape of Raoul, Vicomte De Chagny, or the whims of the new owners of the Paris Opera House, Monsieur...

The Old Fitz Theatre space is perhaps one of the most transformative in the independent theatre scene in Sydney. With it quite literally being a black box, it can become whatever a production needs it to be. But one thing that it is notoriously a challenge to transform the space into, is one that can deliver a musical. The acoustics and density of the space mean you need a balance between the voice and the orchestrals and the tight space is limited for choreography. In short, it’s a real obstacle before you’ve even started. It’s with a great sigh of relief then to say that the world premiere of the new Australian hyperpop musical A Transgender Woman on the Internet, Crying overcomes this obstacle with ease – serving a whole heap of c*nt along the way. What type of show is A Transgender Woman on the Internet, Crying? The rise of the influencer – both as a noun and as a career – has dominated the online world over the past few years. Now, anyone with a camera and an opinion can be the next “influencer”. All you need is to find your niche. But what does being an “influencer” actually mean? Is it a two-way relationship between audience and self, or are influencers puppeted and built by the audience that grants them fame and clout?  For Avis O’Hara (Cassie Hamilton), AKA @theDIYDoll, she is the latter. The most fabulous and famous trans influencer on the internet, her relationship with her followers – coined The Dollmakers – is founded on allowing them to physically build her...