Opening Night

Amelie Peters is an award winning, classically trained vocalist, international performer, songwriter and BAST accredited vocal coach.

Amelie holds a Bachelor of Music in Classical Voice (Performance and Pedagogy) from the Elder Conservatorium of Adelaide. Her professional performance work includes Carmen (2019) and Carmina Burana (2020) with the State Opera of South Australia as well as successful tours in Australia and the US, where Amelie was invited to sing at the Soho Playhouse in New York City. Her credits as a vocal director for youth theatre include High School Musical 2 (2016), Hairspray the Musical (2018) and Mary Poppins the Musical (2019.) Amelie has also produced and performed original music in Cabernet the Cabaret (2019) and Cabernet Refined (2020) at the Adelaide Fringe Festival.

While she specialises in classical voice, Amelie also has a strong background in musical theatre, jazz and contemporary music. She has worked with renowned opera singers, musical theatre composers and Broadway stars from around the world.

Amelie’s ability to inspire, guide and nurture talent has led to consistently outstanding results for her private students and vocal ensembles, making Amelie one of the most sought after young vocal coaches in Adelaide.

Ben has many years of musical experience. His training has taken him around Australia, to Hong Kong, Paris and to London where has performed in the West End and The Royal Albert Hall. He has a number of musical theatre credits including The Little Mermaid (Prince Eric), Pirates of Penzance (Frederic), Jesus Christ Superstar (Jesus) and Barnum (P.T Barnum). Opera credits with the State Opera of South Australia include Cloudstreet! (Lon Lamb), Carmen and La Bohemé. Drama credits with Independent Theatre include Peter and Alice (Peter Pan), Amadeus (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart), Brideshead Revisited (Sebastien Flyte) and Old Wicked Songs (Stephan Hoffman).

In 2017 and 2018, Ben produced and starred in Private Peaceful, which won the Theatre Association of South Australia’s ‘DramatiCAL’ award for Best Drama. Ben was also awarded Best Youth Actor for his performance. Off stage, Ben’s accolades include director, musical director, orchestral conductor, producer and writer. Ben has musically directed and conducted several local productions, including Bugsy Malone and 13! with Adelaide Youth Theatre, and Beauty and the Beast with Shane Davidson Presents. He is currently working as Musical Director of Chicago with Pelican Productions.

As co-founder of the highly successful youth performing arts company, Promise Adelaide, Ben has provided opportunities for over 100 young performers while raising over $20,000 for charity organisations. Ben is also the lead vocalist and musical arranger of The 60 Four, where he scales the vocal heights of Frankie Valli in venues around Australia in Adelaide’s first-class ‘60s tribute act.

David Gauci, proudly from Adelaide’s western suburbs, wouldn’t stop singing from an early age – so much so that the Sisters of St Joseph at primary school wished he’d just shut up and do maths.

At Woodville High, teachers and parents suggested – after David showed interest in acting or journalism – a career in accounting. He did study accountancy but also theology and music (Elder Conservatorium). David was introduced to opera and classical singing but went down the dark path of corporate functions, cabaret and music theatre. He worked in piano bars for 20 years in Adelaide, Darwin, Melbourne, Sydney and Townsville.

David wrote cabaret shows New York According to Bernstein, The Sinatra Show and The Broadway Show, performed with co-writer and accompanist Matthew Carey in Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne, Townsville and Darwin.

He performed at the inaugural Adelaide Cabaret Festival and again in 2016 when he returned with the award-winning It was Worth the Weight. David also wrote and performed in The Big Book of Broadway, Cole’s Girls, Leading Men I’ll Never Play and Wireless.

He was equal winner in the 2015 Australian Cabaret Competition Adelaide final and most recently performed in the Australian Touring production of Hairspray as understudy to the role of Edna Turnblad – adding to professional stage roles in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney

David’s also appeared in TV commercials and films, e.g. The Brush Off, directed by Sam Neill.

This led to forming his own Davine Interventionz Productions in 2013 with a string of shows he’s produced, directed and/or designed to glowing reviews and a welter of awards. And David’s still singing!

Em is a 24-year old teacher back down under on a break from Ye Olde Englande. She began performing at age five but didn't enter the magical land of musical theatre until the age of 12. She enjoys reading, history, piña coladas, getting caught in the rain, and obviously, musicals.

She has performed and crewed for many shows. The highlights of her time treading the boards include playing Annie Oakley in Annie Get Your Gun (UHS), Bet in Oliver! (G&S), and possibly her favourite role at the tender age of 12 - the Pirate King (Pelican Productions). Other credits include Les Misérables (G&S), Thoroughly Modern Millie (G&S), Cinderfella the Pantomime (Royal Holloway), Young Frankenstein (MCMT), Calamity Jane (MCMT), Music Theatre Camp 2008 - 2013 (Pelican Productions).

From pantomime Prince to neurotic pianist, Emma treasures every moment she has spent on stage. Some of her favourite roles include: Morticia in MBM's Addams Family the Musical, Portia the wind up doll in Grey (2010 Adelaide Fringe) and Nancy in G&S SA's production of Oliver!

Professionally, Emma has performed around Adelaide as a singer in various bands and vocal groups, acted in several Adelaide Fringe Festivals, toured interstate as a dancer in Elvis If I can Dream starring Mark Anthony, and in 2012 she had the great pleasure of working with Six Foot Something Productions and The Factory, performing as Natalie Goodman in the award winning SA Premiere of Next To Normal.

Emma has recently had the honour to work with renowned composers Matthew Robinson (Metro Street, Happy People) and Scott Evan Davis (Cautiously Optimistic, Picture Perfect) and also had the pleasure to sing some new material written by young and upcoming Australian composers as a soloist at Adelaide's first Home Grown performance. In early 2015 Emma performed as Holly in the Australian premiere of Darkle (Lazy Saturday Productions) written by Bill Gallager as part of the Adelaide Fringe Festival. Emma is thrilled to be understudying the role of Kate in the Australian Tour of Amity Dry's Mother Wife and The Complicated Life, as well as sinking her teeth into a classic tale re-told in Foul Play's production of Eurydice. She is also set to appear as a victim of a violent crime in Director Gareth Wilkes' short film Aftershock.

Felicity O'Brien has been performing around Adelaide (and Australia) since 2001, but mostly in the contemporary and folk scene. Since having her children she has begun to branch out into fresher waters and has recently discovered a new love for musical theatre songs. With a powerful presence and a powerful voice we hope you'll enjoy Felicity's new-found love of musical theatre, and in particular, her performance at the first-ever Broadway Sessions!

Katie has played such roles in Adelaide as Little Buttercup in HMS Pinafore, Lady Thiang in The King & I, Antonia in Man of La Mancha as well as Footnote in Pratchett Pieces for the Adelaide Fringe Festival. After moving to Melbourne in 2005 she played The Narrator in Joseph & The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Lt. Janice Fury in M*A*S*H, Pamela Lukowski in The Full Monty and received Lyrebird Award nominations for playing Sister Amnesia in Nunsense & Nunsense 2. She also played one of her dream roles, The Witch in Into The Woods as well as the wonderful Eulalie Mackecknie Shinn in The Music Man. Since moving back to Adelaide in 2015, Katie has portrayed Margaret Johnson in The Light In The Piazza for the 2016 Adelaide Fringe Festival and Jen in John & Jen. She had the opportunity to work with composer John Bucchino on his show It’s Only Life for the 2018 Adelaide Fringe Festival, to be a part of the small ensemble cast of Godspell, and portrayed Judge Jackie Justice in Judge Jackie: Disorder in the Court for the 2019 Adelaide Fringe Festival. Most recently she portrayed Alice Tinker in The Vicar of Dibley.

Katie has Musically Directed The Outsiders, All The New Stuff, Kids On Broadway, Monty Python’s Spamalot, Godspell, Little Shop Of Horrors, A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum, The Wedding Singer, Seussical The Musical, The Wizard Of Oz, Annie, Once Upon A Mattress and most recently Betty Blue Eyes. She also had the opportunity to co-direct for the first time with Avenue Q in 2014.

Hailing from Balaklava, Kelly has a great passion for the Arts in her local community of Balaklava, where she has been President of the Balaklava Community Arts for 18 years. Kelly has performed, directed, choreographed, stage managed etc in over 30 of their productions, including Leader of the Pack (2017 Darlene Love), Seussical (2016 Director), The Addams Family (2015 Morticia),  and has just recently Directed Shrek the Musical, as well as playing the 'Dragon'.  When not banging sets together or rehearsing lines, she works as Executive Assistant at Horizon Christian School, and is a wife and mother.

Born and raised in Johannesburg, South Africa, Lauren Renée got an early taste of performing, putting on visionary "plays" in her parent's lounge-room. The love affair continued as Lauren sang in several choirs and performed in musicals throughout her high-school career, training in Classical Voice and culminating in a performance as Betty Rizzo in St Andrew's School's 2006 production of Grease.

After a sabbatical, Lauren made her return to the musical stage playing romantic lead Amalia Balash in Therry Dramatic Society's She Loves Me in 2014. She also appeared with the Metropolitan Musical Theatre Company of South Australia in their 2014 production of My Fair Lady, capping off the year playing Gracie in Soul Factor Gospel Choir's Christmas musical, For Unto Y'all.

In July 2015, Lauren appeared as the title character in the SA Premiere of Disney's and Cameron Mackintosh's Mary Poppins: The Broadway Musical produced by Matt Byrne Media. She was also very excited to take on some of Stephen Sondheim's most famous work in the acclaimed Hills Musical Company production of Company later that year, and the chance to capture another childhood icon in a tip to Katharine Hepburn's Tracy Lord in Therry Dramatic Society's The Philadelphia Story in 2016. Both shows were nominated for Adelaide Theatre Guide Curtain Call Awards 2016.

Lauren is now embarking on her first major project for 2017, as Rita - a lively Liverpudlian hairdresser - in IpSkip Productions' upcoming version of Willy Russel's Educating Rita.

Lindsay has performed over the past decade in both musical theatre and cabaret, having enjoyed success in various genres: classical roles such as John Brooke in Little Women (The Musical) (Therry Dramatic Society 2013) and Cinderella's Prince in Into the Woods (Northern Light Theatre Company 2012); to contemporary roles such as Abraham in the Adelaide premiere of Altar Boyz (Davine Interventionz 2013), Sonny Malone in Xanadu (The Musical) (Davine Interventionz 2014), George in The Drowsy Chaperone (Hills Musical Company 2013), Kyle the UPS Delivery guy in Legally Blonde (HMC 2014) and most recently Elliott Garfield in The Goodbye Girl (Therry 2015). Lindsay has also appeared in countless other shows, favourites including Urinetown, 42nd Street, Crazy for You & Les Misérables. Most recently he premiered in Adelaide the role of Fabrizio for Davine Interventionz's 2016 Adelaide Fringe Show, The Light In The Piazza.

Aside from musical theatre, Lindsay has a keen passion for cabaret, having written, co-produced and performed at numerous cabaret events over the years. Stepping out side his usual genre, Lindsay played the role of Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby (old sport), produced by Independent Theatre.

Lisa has been singing since a very young age and has been receiving singing tuition since the age of 14 – most recently with David Gauci. Lisa has also been a vocal coach & singing teacher for almost 9 years and became involved in Adelaide community theatre around this time. Since then Lisa has gone on to be involved in many shows – some of her favourite roles include Ellie Greenwich in Leader of the Pack (NLTC, 2011), Mrs Potts in Disney's Beauty & the Beast (2011), Motormouth Maybelle in Hairspray (MBM 2012) and most recently Mama Cass Elliott in the South Australian premiere of Flower Children (Davine Interventionz, 2015).

Lisa has also had the opportunity to be involved with performing in the Adelaide Fringe Festival (Michelle & the Gentleman's Club, 2013 & Flower Children, 2015) & several workshops & masterclasses during the Adelaide Cabaret Festival (with Jason Robert Brown, Adam Guettel, Matthew Robinson & Scott Evan Davis). She was also recently in New York this year in July and was lucky enough to have a one on one class with Adam Guettel (lyrical writter for Light in the Piazza). By night she is a performer but by day works as a midwife at the Women's & Children's Hospital, where the song of choice is 'Happy Birthday' for all the new babies she gets to welcome into the world!

Millicent Sarre (Mim) is a cabaret artist, singer-songwriter, vocal coach, and musical theatre performer, brought up and working on Kaurna Land. She has toured her original cabaret works Australia-wide; her most recent show Millicent Sarre is Opinionated won ‘Best Cabaret’ of the Adelaide Fringe 2023, and the album of the original songs from the show was released in February 2023. Previous musical theatre roles include Mrs Lovett in Sweeney Todd (ECMT, dir. James Millar), Hildy in On the Town (ECMT, dir. Erin James), Rona Lisa Peretti in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (ECMT, dir. Joseph Simons), and Ivy in the Australian premiere of Ivy + Bean: The Musical (The Gemini Collective, dir. Sarah Williams). Mim will graduate with a Bachelor of Music Theatre from the Elder Conservatorium in 2023.

Paris started her professional career when she was just three years old, being chosen in a national performing arts and photographic contest as overall winner and with most potential to succeed. Since then Paris has worked with Wayne Scott Kermond in Candy Man and various other local and interstate productions. She has performed in many dance, drama and theatre competitions and is trained in all facets of dance and musical theatre. Paris is currently in Year 11 at Scotch college on a Performing Arts Scholarship where she continues to receive intensive training in dance, drama and music.

Paris was recently cast as the main role of Mary Magdalene in the latest Scotch College production of Jesus Christ Superstar, and was part of the ensemble and nominated dance captain with special feature roles in Scotch College's Pirates of Penzance and Adelaide Youth Theatre's Hairspray the Musical. In 2015 Paris was asked to be choregrapher for Promises Adelaide and is thrilled to be asked back as an upcoming soloist and performer in November. In the future Paris hopes to be working in LA on stage professionally in her chosen passion of musical theatre. She would like to thank her family, friends and teachers for all their ongoing support wisdom and encouragement, with a special thank you to her mum and dad for raising her to dream the dream. Paris one day would love to be part of the professional cast in her all time favourite musical The Phantom of the Opera.

Paul is a co-founder of Six Foot Something Productions, producing and performing in Picture Perfect (Adelaide Cabaret Festival), playing Dan in Next to Normal (nominated for an Adelaide Theatre Guide award as best professional performance, Male) as one of the five performers in Elegies: Song Cycle and as Jamie in The Last Five Years. He is a regular performer with the State Opera Chorus (most recently appearing as God in Faust) and has appeared as a soloist at a number of corporate events.

With Swamp Fairy Paul appeared in a touring production of Loving Lloyd Weber and sang for the Cancer Council (opening for Rhonda Burchmore at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre). He performed as part of Fright Night for CanDo4Kids and sung the national anthem from a diving board for the National Junior Diving Championships. He has also sung with the Adelaide Chamber Singers and the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, including the first performance of Peter Sculthorpe’s Requiem (Adelaide Fringe Festival). Paul was nominated for an Adelaide Critic’s Circle award for his performance as Grosvenor in Patience (opposite Denis Olsen). He has performed many lead roles in amateur theatre, including both plays and musicals. Favourite roles include Bill Sikes (Oliver), Jack (Into the Woods) and Enjolras (Les Misérables).

Rosanne's performance career spans over 20 years and has taken her all around Australia (and overseas). She has enjoyed exploring her natural versatility on the operatic, musical theatre, cabaret and contemporary stage. Her professional theatrical debut was in the Australian cast of The Phantom of the Opera with which she toured Australia and New Zealand.

Most recently, Rosanne played the role of Miriam in the World Premier of new Australian musical, The Front at the 2015 Adelaide Cabaret Festival and in 2013 she toured Australia with Amity Dry's musical, Mother Wife and the Complicated Life in the role of Lily. In 2012, she was awarded the Adelaide Theatre Guide Curtain Call Award - Best Professional Female Performance, for her portrayal of Diana Goodman in Adelaide's premiere of the musical, Next to Normal (Six Foot Something Productions & The Factory).

Her other professional theatre credits include The Venetian Twins (Beatrice) for the Sydney Olympic Arts Festival, South Pacific (Dinah) for Seabiscuit Productions/Festival Centre and Sunday in the Park with George (Frieda). She has also performed in State Opera of South Australia seasons of Don Giovanni, A Masked Ball and Turandot.

Rosanne has made appearances both nationally and internationally as a concert artist. Highlights have included Off the Air with ABC ClassicFM presenter, Guy Noble and performing Mozart's Exsultate Jubilate with the Austral Sinfonietta in London. In addition, she is a well-respected vocal coach based in Adelaide. Rosanne lectures in singing and music at the Adelaide College of Arts, works regularly with Pelican Productions as a Vocal & Musical Director, runs workshops for the Primary Schools Festival of Music and also runs her own private studio assisting professional and emerging artists.

Scott has always had a love of the theatre, but his real obsession began in high school, with performances as the Foreman, Pimp and a Student in Les Misérables, Priam in Paris and Action in West Side Story. Since completing high school he performed non-stop for a number of years, starting with Gerald Bolingbroke in Me and My Girl, an Apostle in Jesus Christ Superstar and Ugly in Honk! (Marie Clark Musical Theatre). After playing Cornelius Hackl in Hello, Dolly! and Asher and the Butler in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Metropolitan Musical Theatre Company of SA), Scott joined Northern Light Theatre Company’s production of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast as Monsieur D’Arque to round out 2011. The following year started with an incredible experience: Scott won the role of Henry in Six Foot Something’s pro-am Production of Next to Normal. After a mild performance hiatus in more recent times, Scott starred as Hunter in Irregular Productions sell out 2015 Adelaide Fringe season of [title of show].

If there’s one thing he regrets, it’s not starting singing and performing (publicly of course) at an earlier age. Off-stage (but in the theatre) Scott enjoys both sound and lighting design, and the challenges each of these areas brings to his knowledge of design in the digital world. Broadway Sessions is certainly the start of a new chapter, bringing together many ongoing stories and plot lines, but allowing the love of theatre (musical theatre in particular) to continue in new and exciting ways.

When not strutting his stuff on stage, or manically helping out backstage or in the roof of a theatre, Scott is a web designer & developer, creating sites like this one! You can see more of his work at www.scottreynolds.com.au.

Serena began performing with the Adelaide Youth Theatre in 2011 and since, has played many roles for the youth theatre such as Tracy in Hairspray, Mrs Potts in Beauty and the Beast, The Baker’s Wife in Into the Woods, Dragon in Shrek the Musical and most recently as Elphaba in their production of Wicked. Serena has also performed in many shows for Emma Knights Productions, including as Ado Annie in Oklahoma: On a Farm!, Buffy in Buffy Kills Edward and as New York Woman in I Love You Because.

Recently, Serena performed the role of Christine in The Phantom of the Opera for the G&S Society of SA, and has played Elphaba in Wicked and Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance. Serena has also performed many roles professionally for companies such as The Entertainment Store and Heaps Good Productions, most recently in the successful season of Snowmageddon at the South Australian Maritime Museum. In addition to musical theatre, Serena performs regularly with The Three Little Sisters, an Andrews Sisters tribute show, and performs in and directs The Honey-Bees, a 60s-tribute show.

Tahlia has been performing since the age of three and has never stopped loving it. Currently she is dancing at Rachel Symons Dance School and taking voice lessons with Kirsty Roberts. Her very first musical was The Sound of Music as Gretle and since then Tahlia has been fortunate enough to perform various other roles. Some of her favourites include Eponine in Les Misérables, Olive Ostrovsky in The 25th Annual Spelling Bee, Anita in West Side Story, Gertrude in Seussical the Musical, Patrice in 13 A New Musical, Sally Brown in You're A Good Man Charlie Brown, Lily St Regas in Annie and Little Sally in Urinetown.

Tahlia was a seasoned performer with Adelaide Youth Theatre and went to Scotch College, graduating in the class of 2013. She has also been a resident performer with Heaps Good Productions, performing in various children's shows including Shipwrecked, Rumpelstiltskin, Gory Stories and most recently Monsters, Myths and Madness.

Since 2009 Tahlia has performed with the group Dream Voices, performing at various events through the years and at their annual Christmas Eve show. She was fortunate enough to get the chance to travel and live in Singapore for five months last year teaching dance and since then has performed with Promise in Songs from Stage and Screen and Heart to Heart, which she greatly enjoyed. Tahlia is looking forward to the coming years and hopes that she can continue to perform as much as possible!

Zali is sixteen years old and has been performing in musicals since she was ten. She has been involved in many musicals with Adelaide Youth Theatre, and in 2018 she has played Dragon in Shrek the Musical and Melman from Madagascar Jnr. Zali has also performed with Impact Entertainment (Gen Z for Adelaide's Royal Show), Heaps Good Productions, Broadway 4Kidz and the Australian Classical Youth Ballet Company.

Peter is a music director, accompanist, repertoire coach, and the founder of Irregular Productions - one half of the brains behind Broadway Sessions.

He has been a theatre music director since 2005, with a number of his shows winning local awards. Theatre Credits include: (as Music Director) Beautiful, Mamma Mia, Les Misérables, Next to Normal, Violet, The Story Of My Life, Songs For A New World, The Light In The Piazza, You're A Good Man Charlie Brown, Into the Woods, Disney's Beauty and the Beast, [title of show], Edges, Avenue Q, Bring It On, Singing In The Rain, Fiddler on the Roof, Oliver!, Monty Python’s Spamalot, Chicago, Sweeney Todd, The Sound of Music, Urinetown the Musical, Scrooge, The Witches of Eastwick, Little Shop of Horrors, Seussical the Musical, Grease, Once Upon a Mattress; (as Associate Music Director) Kinky Boots; (as Conductor) City of Angels, The Addams Family; (as Associate Conductor) Rent; (as Assistant Music Director) Jesus Christ Superstar, Godspell, South Pacific, Copacabana; as well as playing keyboard in over 25 other productions.

Besides co-producing Broadway Sessions, Irregular Productions has also staged the South Australian premieres of Songs for a New World, [title of show] and Edges, as well as a new production of Godspell (with Lydian Productions).

Peter is also the music director for Civic Park Carols, Australia's second-largest candlelight carols event, working with some of Adelaide’s finest musician’s and performers, as well as artists such as Justine Clarke, Guy Sebastian, Rachel Beck, and Jimmy Giggle.

Louis has been playing both double bass and bass guitar as long as he can remember. Beginning with lessons at the age of 7, he quickly developed his skills and decided that music was the career for him. Louis began playing for Musical Theatre shows in 2011, with the Northern Lights Theatre Company’s production of Beauty and the Beast, which coincidentally, was the beginning of a long-standing working relationship with Musical Director, Peter Johns! Since, Louis has played for many theatre companies around Adelaide, including Adelaide Youth Theatre, Lydian Productions, Pelican Productions, Davine Productions, Irregular Productions, Marie Clarke Musical Theatre, The Gilbert & Sullivan Society of South Australia, and Hills Musical Company. Some of his favourite shows to play for have been In the Heights, for Pelican Productions in 2019, and Beautiful: The Carol King Musical, for Davine Productions in 2020. In 2018, Louis had the privilege of playing in the pit for the Gordon Frost Organisation’s touring production of The Wizard of Oz. Louis graduated from the Elder Conservatorium of Music in 2016, with a Bachelor of Music (Classical Performance.) That same year, he began performing as a casual member of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra - some of his favourite performances include Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in Concert at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre, and Last Night of the Proms at the Adelaide Festival Centre.