Shane Warne: The Musical

Shane Warne: The Musical
Music	Eddie Perfect
Lyrics	Eddie Perfect
Book	Eddie Perfect
Basis	Shane Warne
Productions	2008 Australian Tour
Awards	2009 Helpmann Award Best New Australian Work 2008 Green Room Award Best New Australian Musical

Shane Warne: The Musical is a musical comedy based on the life of Australian cricketer Shane Warne. First performed at the Athenaeum Theatre in Melbourne on 10 December 2008, the musical was written by Eddie Perfect and directed by Neil Armfield.^[1] The Daily Telegraph described the musical as "a warts-and-all account of the spin bowler's controversy-laden career and roller-coaster personal life set to soul, rock, opera, gospel music – and even a bit of Bollywood."^[2]

While initially suspicious of the project,^[3] Warne later gave his approval after watching the show, saying "I think Eddie and his team have written the musical in a respectful and sympathetic way, and that they have captured my fun, larrikin side."^[2] The musical has been able to draw an audience that would not normally attend musicals with Perfect saying "You see young blokes making their way to their seats carrying armfuls of beers for their mates, just like they do at the cricket. It’s like Reformation theatre when people were buying oranges to throw at the actors – why shouldn’t they have fun."^[4]

Contents 1 Plot 2 Reviews 3 Awards and Nominations 4 References 5 External links

Plot

The musical consists of two acts: the first act covering Warne's aborted Australian rules football career, his marriage and his rise to success as a Test cricketer while the controversial issues that Warne was involved in; such as his drug offence, infidelity and the John the bookmaker controversy feature in the second act. The musical finishes with a chorus "Everyone's a little bit like Shane".^[5]

The musical contains a series of songs about various incidents in Warne's life both on and off the cricket field, including:

• "The Tale Of Warne";
• "Run";
• "Get Offa The Couch";
• "How do you spell success? AIS";
• "We're Going There";
• "Piss It All Away";
• "Hollywood";
• "The Ball";
• "Payin' Attention Now";
• "Dancing With The Stars";
• "We Never Cross The Line";
• "The Away Game";
• "Is The Sun The Moon?";
• "I'm Coming Home";
• "Shine Like Shane";
• "What About That, Shane?";
• "The Ashes";
• "Bunny in the headlights" (about Daryll Cullinan); and
• "What an SMS I’m in".^[6]

Reviews

Reviews for the musical have been mainly positive.

• Australian Stage: "The story is thin, the songs are wordy and the sound wasn’t great, so many of the lyrics were lost. [...] Without wanting to cut down a tall poppy, there are certainly holes in the script and score. But who cares!? The performances by the ensemble cast are brilliant, the packed audience loved it, the upfront this-is-what-I-am-and-who-gives-a-shit-what-you-think-about-me attitude (reflecting Shane’s own character) is refreshing, the show will bring in thousands of audience-goers who love sport and Shane, but rarely go to the theatre (which is fantastic), so what more can a new Australian musical do?"^[7]
• The Independent "The mid-field marriage of a likeable star, fake bowling, plenty of sporting puns, and a moderate raunch factor had the crowds chuckling and clapping along. [...] [The musical makes] his life an appealingly debauched song and dance, playing with musical styles from nicely-harmonized gospel to gangsta rap."^[5]
• Gideon Haigh, The Guardian: "Perfect's vision is an almost unimprovable mingling of satire and homage, cheek and deference, music and comedy."^[8]
• Herald Sun: "[The musical] is a wild, funny, outrageous, and by the end, surprisingly moving account of the champion spin bowler's life so far. [...] Among the fun, there's genuine respect for [Warne's] enormous talent but it doesn't gloss over his personal failings."^[9]

Awards and Nominations

• 2008 Green Room Awards
  • Best New Australian Musical (winner)
  • Male Artist in a Leading Role - Eddie Perfect (nominated)
  • Female Artist in a Leading Role - Rosemarie Harris (nominated)
  • Featured Ensemble Performance - The Ensemble (nominated)

• 2009 Helpmann Awards^[10]
  • Best New Australian Work - Eddie Perfect (winner)
  • Best Musical (nominated)
  • Best Choreography in a Musical - Gideon Obarzanek (nominated)
  • Best Male Actor in a Musical - Eddie Perfect (nominated)

• 2009 Victorian Premier's Literary Award^[11]
  • Prize for Musical Theatre Script (winner)

References

External links

• Shane Warne: The Musical – Official site