November Session: Performer’s Choice (Bye ’22!)

Ali is a proud Scot continuing his Aussie adventure working as Box Office Manager for Adelaide Fringe. He is an experienced amateur performer being a member of various musical theatre groups, having also worked as a Singing Waiter at weddings, functions and events. His previous musical roles include Tick in Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Eddie in Sister Act, Link in Hairspray, Cortina in Made in Dagenham and ‘Star to Be’ in Annie. He has been immersed in the world of local pantomime in the UK, both on and offstage, as a performer, writer and director for the last 17 years.

Amber Fibrosi is an Adelaide performer and musician who performs regularly in gigs. Over the years she has been involved in several performances, most recently performing as a pianist and back-up vocalist for Jennifer Trijo’s Adelaide Fringe Festival Cabaret show Someday. Amber has performed as a soloist for Trevor Jones Piano Bar in the Cabaret Festival. Amber also played Radio Voice, a Greasette and understudied Sandy in AYT's production of Grease. She played the role of ‘Wendy’ in Adelaide Theatre Academy’s Fringe show of Peter Pan , along with being a soloist in another fringe show Musical Moments. Amber has also been a featured ‘Defying Gravity’ soloist in the Catholic Schools Music Festival in 2019 and since graduating from school has been gaining further experience in the music industry. She enjoys writing her own music as an outlet of self expression. Amber is currently studying a Bachelor of Music Theatre at Adelaide University.

Annabelle is fourteen and has established herself as a strong, versatile and confident performer. A member of the Australian Girls’ Choir for eight years, Annabelle has performed in many concerts and youth stage productions - most recently in School of Rock, Grease and The Lion King as well as Pelican Productions Musical Theatre Camp and Spotlight shows for the past six years.

Bennett is a passionate performer who has had a love for singing since as long as they can remember, they started taking singing lessons at age eight and their love only grew from there. They started acting/singing/dancing lessons at Theatre Bugs at age ten and began to fall in love with musical theatre from there. With an extensive resume, Bennett has performed in many shows such as The Little Mermaid Jr (Pelican Productions), Peter Pan (Adelaide Theatre Academy), Moana Jr (Adelaide Theatre Academy), Beauty And The Beast Jr (Adelaide Youth Theatre), Mary Poppins (Adelaide Theatre Academy), 13: The Musical (Adelaide Youth Theatre), Chicago: High School Edition (Pelican Productions) and earned their first title role in the recent production of Dr Dolittle Jr (Adelaide Theatre Academy) to name a few.

Bennett has also performed in many cabarets, the 2020 Junior Theatre Festival and was chosen from there to be part of OzTheatrics’ pilot program for Finding Nemo Kids and also recently got selected to travel with OzTheatrics to America for their 2023 Aussie All-Stars group. Bennett one day hopes to perform professionally all over the world and to inspire other young performers to work hard and follow their dreams.

Daisy Jury is a twenty year old performer from Adelaide, currently undertaking a Bachelor of Music in Classical Performance (Voice) at The Elder Conservatorium of Music, University of Adelaide. Daisy’s love of music and performing knows no bounds, with several years of choral experience, voice lessons, and a lifelong passion for musical theatre! Being a student at The Studio and Star Factory since 2019, Daisy has developed a strong musical theatre sound with a contemporary twist. In April of 2023, Daisy was honoured to play the lead role of Audrey in Adelaide Youth Theatre's Little Shop of Horrors, her amateur theatre debut. Daisy then went on to perform in The Boy with the Golden Fox with The Flying Elephant Company, and will reprise this role in the 2024 season of the Adelaide Fringe. Most recently she performed as Serena Katz in Adelaide Youth Theatre's FAME. Daisy aspires to continue performing whenever she can, with the hopeful ambition of pursuing a career in the performing arts.

Danielle started performing at age 5 within her school and also in the Australian Girls Choir. She landed her first lead role in a musical at age 6 starring as Henny Penny in the year 1 & 2 production of The Sky is Falling, where she was seen pulling actors into their correct spots and mouthing everyone's lines. Nothing much has changed... You may have seen Danielle recently, since returning to theatre after havinga child, in Northern Lights Les Misérables playing a crazy lady of the night who quite partial to a porcelan doll, asleep throughout G&S's Into the Woods as Sleeping Beauty, or in Northern Lights Catch Me If You Can in the Ensemble. You will next be able to see her belting out some pop bangers as a Diva in G&S's Priscilla, Queen of the Desert in September 2023.

Emily Hartwell is currently 20 years old and studying a Bachelor of Music (Popular Music) at the University of Adelaide. Since her first musical High School Musical in 2016, she has gone on to do many shows with Adelaide Youth Theatre, including the opportunity to perform at Disneyland and Universal Studios with their Australian Youth Performing Arts Team (AYPAT). Since starting her university course in 2021, Emily has started writing and recording her own songs, and has been learning how to compose music for films. Along with Uni, she is working as a Music Tutor, teaching Piano and Voice, and is also part of a company that throws birthday parties for kids as a performer. She is very keen to do more performing in 2023!

Hannah has taken part in all things performance since a young age: whether that be musicals or cabarets, concerts or choirs, in school or at co-curriculars. She is a lover of the jazz style, and chances are if you find her performing, that's what she'll be singing. Hannah is currently involved in the premier choir at her school, and is working towards completing Stage 1 music in preparation for the Stage 2 Solo Performance course she'll undertake in Year 11.

Jaxon is an avid 19 year old musical theatre performer and fan in Adelaide. Since he began performing regularly in 2017, Jaxon has explored various outlets of Adelaide theatre, performing in major shows, original musicals, and even his own cabaret. Jaxon’s love of Music Theatre has only grown since finding his niche, a challenge for him as a performer on the spectrum. Some notable roles include Captain Hook in Adelaide Theatre Academy’s Peter Pan (2020), Grantaire and Courfreyac in two productions of Les Misérables; the first with Adelaide Youth Theatre (2021), the latter with Northern Light Theatre Company (2022), and Joe Pesci in Northern Light Theatre Company’s Jersey Boys (2022). Jaxon is also keen within the background of theatre as the youngest MD in the history of Scouts SA's Performing Arts Branch for Adelaide Gang Show, where he initiated the return of a full youth band. Jaxon is also a keen Theatre Technician, working casually in a northern adelaide theatre. Jaxon is currently studying the Bachelor of Music Theatre at the Elder Conservatorium, with an aim to finish at the end of 2025.

Most recently, Jaxon performed in the Fringe-award winning Show Fountain Lakes: A Very Foxy Parody Musical, where he played the role of Kel Knight.

Jess has been involved in Adelaide's theatre scene since 2015, from Guys and Dolls to The Addams Family, to (most recently) A New Brain with Davine Productions. Working as a Stage Manager and general backstage all-rounder, for companies such as Adelaide Festival Centre, State Opera, and Slingsby; they still love to perform – though it's mostly in the car on the way to and from work!

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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 Northern Light 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.

After a busy 2023, Maddy is excited to be back on stage performing at Broadway Sessions. She has performed with Pelican Productions in their annual musical theatre camps for the past five years where she has had some wonderful roles including Mal from Descendants. In 2021 she played the role of Summer in School of Rock (Pelican Productions) alongside her wonderful vocal coach and mentor, Mim Sarre. Maddy has more recently played the role of Matilda in her schools production of Matilda, the loveable seagull Scuttle in the The Little Mermaid Jr (Shane Davidson Presents) and was fortunate to be selected as a soloist in the Public Primary Schools Festival of Music in September, 2022.

Mat Monti is a proudly pansexual, non-binary artist with a passion for theatre and activism. With training in musical theatre, cabaret, comedy and jazz, Monti is a performer with a diverse skill set; having performed in the Adelaide Cabaret Festival, Fringe Festival, and was part of the Australian Premiere of Considering Matthew Shepard as part of Feast Festival in 2019. Monti took every opportunity thrown their way at the Elder Conservatorium, having played Chip Tolentino and U/S Mitch Mahoney in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Judge Pitkin in On The Town: In Concert and Judge Turpin in Sweeney Todd.

Matthew began performing in Brisbane, playing the roles of Ren McCormack in Footloose (dir. Emilia Keene), Marius Pontmercy in Les Misérables (Savoyards, dir. Robbie Parkin), and Harry in Kinky Boots (Phoenix Ensemble, dir. Sherryl-Lee Secomb). He also performed in the Queensland Theatre Youth Ensemble where he played Laertes in an adaptation of Hamlet named The One the River Didn’t Keep (Queensland Theatre, dir. Chris Beckey) and Love and Information (QT, dir. Travis Dowling). Most recently Matthew appeared in ECMT's The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.

Max has been playing percussion for 15 years, and has been involved in numerous music performance groups throughout that time. Attending Marryatville High School 2006-2010, and being a part of the Raiders Drum Corps since 2007, he learned performance etiquette pretty quickly, and grew comfortable performing in front of people. Max participated in the Big Band program at high school, and as such was able to attend Generations in Jazz multiple times. His drumkit playing further improved after high school where, during his studies for his Bachelor of Music (Percussion), he was a part of the Jazz SA Youth Superbands. While studying his Bachelors, Max competed in and won First Place in the 2011 MSO Snare Competition.

Musical theatre has been part of his life since 2009, and as luck would have it, Max has been working with Peter Johns since his very first show! Productions Max has been involved in include: Sweeney Todd, Fame, Spamalot, Beauty and the Beast, Oliver!, Annie, The Full Monty, You're a Good Man Charlie Brown, Violet, Wicked, Bring It On!, Edges, Beautiful, Mamma Mia, and Les Miserables.

Outside of music, Max has developed a passion for gridiron, and plays for the Port Adelaide Spartans. He is also a personal trainer, and his love for craft beers is pretty strong!

Michelle has been involved with the performing arts since the age of eight. Some of her favourite shows and roles include Rosie in Mamma Mia!, a Laker Girl in Spamalot, Ellie Greenwich in Leader of the Pack and Lina Lamont in Singin’ in the Rain with NLTC, a rebel in Urinetown, Kate/Chutney in Legally Blonde with the Hills Musical Company, Little Red in Into the Woods, Urleen in Footloose, Marcy Park in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and Tracy Turnblad in Hairspray with Matt Byrne Media, and an Alabama Lamb in Big Fish, and Helen in The Hello Girls with Therry. Michelle has taught Musical Theatre for years and directs youth musicals for companies across Adelaide. Currently she is rehearsal with the Hills Musical Company for their production of Urinetown and feels very lucky to be a part of such an amazing cast and team!

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.

Neveah is musical theatre performer, having opportunity to be part of Adelaide Youth Theatres 2023 Frozen Jr, and will be taking part in Pelican Productions Legally Blonde in mid 2023. Neveah hopes to gain more experience in the community, and enjoys singing and performing with people who also have a passion for theatre.

Olivia Emmett is a 12 year old girl who is obsessed with musical theatre. Ever since she listened to her first musical album she has been in love with theatre and music. She has only just recently gotten into it but it feels like she has been doing it all her life. She was in a company called the Australian Youth Talent Academy in which she has played Annie in their production of Annie, before it shut down for unforeseen reasons. This show left her with heaps more experience and confidence. She has lessons with her vocal teacher Felicity Eckert with whom she has recently done a show with. She is very grateful of all of the opportunities she has had to perform and is look forward to the future.

Sahra is ecstatic to meet the live performance stage yet again. Celebrating a year out of graduating a Bachelor of Musical Theatre, she reflects on the first year of many to come. Taking opportunities where offered and gaining new skills wherever possible. Taking a special interest in acting, mainly for screen, Sahra has focused herself on honing in this new skill. This found her successfully gaining a minor role in Finding Freya, a yet to be released TV series by Scuti Productions. A favourite project was More Than A Game, a charismatic musical that travelled her to Melbourne. She has met and worked with successful artists such as Andy McPhee, Matthew Lee Robinson, Sandra Bell and Thea McLeod. She describes that the life of an artist is difficult at times, but very much worth it and feels incredibly lucky to be pursuing a career that pushes her in ways she never imagined. In the new year she’d like to focus more on developing herself as an artist and eventually creating and performing her own craft.

Trevor hasn't been particularly active in the theatre community of late, having only performed in Pretty Boys in the 2017 Adelaide Fringe Festival since returning from interstate a few years ago. In the meantime, he has been busying himself with the Festival Statesmen Chorus, performing a variety of a cappella music. Highlights have included singing back-up for Adele, performing with Rob Mills and headlining the National Choral Festival in the past 12 months.

Trevor's theatre credits include Avenue Q (Matt Byrne Media), Curtains and Anything Goes (Therry), Orpheus in the Underworld and HMS Pinnafore (G&S SA), and Gypsy and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat (MS Society). Trevor's most recent theatre engagement was working on Promise Adelaide's 2017 production of All Is Calm which will be his musical directing debut; where he is excited to be combining his love of musical theatre and acapella together.

This is Zoe’s fourth time performing at a Broadway Sessions over the years, and she loves gaining the experience of performing in front of a live audience, having missed the stage since appearing in the ensemble of Strictly Ballroom in 2019. Zoe now works as a Speech Pathologist but is always keen get back on the stage and immerse herself into the world of performing arts and musical theatre whenever possible.

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.