New Zealand's favourite TV serial drama, Shortland Street, which has just had its musical theatre debut in Auckland, is going on tour and Tauranga is one of seven stops.
Directed by long-time Shortland Street producer and stage director Simon Bennett, Shortland Street – The Musical is an affectionate parody of the TV soap genre.
The show will take place in Tauranga at Baycourt Addison Theatre from April 10 – 13, 2019.
Simon says fans of the show will recognise the characters and classic stories from the earliest years of the popular New Zealand drama, which are specifically drawn from 1992 to 1995.
'After 26 years, Shortland Street has firmly cemented itself at the heart of Kiwi popular culture. The TV show has put social and topical issues at the centre of its storylines and in this way has traced the social history of NZ through a tumultuous quarter-century.
'Shortland Street - The Musical takes the characters and storylines of the early years of the show and whips them up into a comic musical confection.”
Highlights include iconic moments like when yuppie playboy Dr Chris Warner had his feathers ruffled over humanitarian Dr Hone Ropata arriving in town fresh from Guatemala; and when bratty teenager Rachel McKenna got struck by lightning and fell in love with her gormless bestie Nick.
In this musical theatre adaptation, Chris and Hone have to ignore their mutual loathing when they find themselves charged with saving a rugby team, defending a murder case and rescuing the clinic from Chris' capitalist father Sir Bruce Warner, who wants to turn Shortland Street into a medical resort for the rich and famous.
At the Nurse's Station, Alison Raynor dreams of true love, Robo-Nurse Carrie Burton wants a baby and Jaki Manu gives breaking the glass ceiling a crack.
Adding a hit of adrenaline to the show are the hilarious songs written by Guy Langford, including Stuck in a Love Triangle, Cliffhanger, The Five Wives of Doctor Warner and, of course, Not in Guatemala Now.
Langford, who conceived and composed the musical, collaborated with Simon Bennett (Outrageous Fortune, The Almighty Johnsons, Assassins, Into the Woods) over a number of years to create this show. The multi-talented Langford (Amadeus, Altar Boyz, King Lear, The Hound of the Baskervilles) plays the pivotal role of Dr Chris Warner.
Award-winning comedy actor Chris Parker (Hudson and Halls Live, Funny Girls, 7 Days) plays the dorky Nick Harrison. Rachel McKenna, the role made famous by Angela Bloomfield, is played by Comfrey Sanders (Don Juan, Jekyll & Hyde, Lord of the Flies). Katherine McRae dazzles in the role made famous by her mother, Elizabeth McRae - Marj Neilson, while Lisa Chappell (McLeod's Daughters, Fallen Angels, Peer Gynt [recycled], Menopause The Musical) plays the role of Nurse Carrie Burton.
Shortland Street – The Musical comes to the stage with the blessing of both the TV show's creators and broadcaster, South Pacific Pictures and TVNZ.
The live show has been pegged as a riotous celebration of everything that is uniquely Kiwi about Shortland Street.
The production will tour to Tauranga, Hamilton, New Plymouth, Wellington, Blenheim, Christchurch and Dunedin in March and April 2019.
The tour is being produced by Struck By Lightning Ltd. Tickets are on sale now via www.shortlandstreetthemusical.co.nz

Dates:

Dunedin - Regent Theatre, March 7 – 9

Christchurch - Isaac Theatre Royal, March 12 – 16

Blenheim ASB - Theatre, Marlborough, March 19 – 20

New Plymouth - TSB Theatre, TSB Showplace, March 23 – 24

Wellington - The Opera House, March 27 – 31

Hamilton - Clarence Street Theatre, April 3 – 6

Tauranga - Baycourt Addison Theatre, April 10 – 13, 2019