The official opening night for the Sydney season, the first
stop in the tour, was on Saturday 29th November 1997, exactly
10 years to the day since the original Australian production
opened.
All 3 Valjeans on tour had played the role previously -
Dave Willetts in London, Tim Shew on Broadway and Rob Guest
in the original Australian production.
7 cast members appeared in the original Australian production/tour
- Rob Guest, Delia Hannah, Carrie Barr, Troy Sussman, Vivien
Davies, William Zappa and Kelly Sulikowski.
Kelly Sulikowski who played Eponine in Auckland, Perth
and Brisbane was an original Melbourne Little Cosette in
the original Australian production
11 cast members toured with the Asian/South African Tour
Company - Theresa Borg, Tracey Case, Tania Shedden Dunn,
Chris Fennessy, Paul Hanlon, Brendan Hanson, Donna Lee,
Lara Mulcahy, Helen Walsh, Karlis Zaid.
14 cast members have attended the highly regarded Western
Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) - Gavin D
Andrew, Craig Beamer, Cerrian Clements, Rodney Dobson, Simon
Gleeson, Brendan Hanson, Amanda Harrison, Glen Hogstrom,
Jolyon James, Kane McErvale, Lara Mulcahy, Natalie O'Donnell,
Yvette Robinson and Mark Spencer.
4 cast members have appeared in amatuer productions - Chris
Fennessy in the NZ Consortium Tour as Valjean, Adam Murphy
in the Wellington NZ production (with Chris) as Thenardier,
Natalie O'Donnell in the Geelong production as Eponine,
and Martin Lane in the CLOC production as Joly and in the
ensemble. Chris, Adam and Natalie went on to cover and perform
those same roles in the 10th Anniversary production.
Two sets of siblings were cast in this production - Alexander
and Sebastian Wright shared the role of Gavroche in Auckland.
Olivia Charalambous who was a Melbourne Young Eponine, was
joined by her sister Lisa Marie in the last two weeks of
the Melbourne season. Lisa Marie was a swing and Cosette
cover for the Auckland, Perth and Brisbane seasons.
Both 'Cosettes', Theresa Borg and Ana Marina, were 'Christine'
understudies in Phantom of the Opera opposite Rob Guest
as the Phantom.
Vivien Davies has played almost every female role in the
show! She was a swing in both the original and 10th anniversary
productions, covering the role of Madame Thenardier in both.
She also covered and performed the roles of Fantine and
Eponine in the original production.
