After the long wait and much anticipation, Baz Luhrman’s new version of STRICTLY BALLROOM THE MUSICAL has arrived.

The story still has plenty of charge-the romance between Scott and Fran… the credo to live by- a life lived in fear is a life half lived…the vivid portrayal of the small mindedness and competitiveness of the Strictly Ballroom world. There’s a lot to this play which, at first blush,  comes across as a simple love story.  Surely one of its high points is its celebration of the vibrany of multi-cultural life in Australia.

For this new version Luhrman has thrown in some new songs however it’s the classic standards that still hold sway- ‘Time After Time’, ‘Yesterday’s Hero’  and of-course ‘Love is in the Air’.

The  cast lit up the stage with some spectacular dancing to the driving beat of the music.

Thomas Lacey and Phoebe Panaretos made a for a really good Scott and Fran. Also in starring roles were Bob Baines as the buffoonish Les Kendall,  Drew Forsythe and Heather Mitchell as Scott’s rather dysfunctional parents, Fernando Mira as Fran’s vibrant father Rico, Robert Grubb as the  dictatorial Barry Fife, Natalie Gamsu as Abuela, and Mark Owen-Taylor as JJ Silvers.

As expected, the set and costume designs by Katherine Martin were bold, brash and brilliant.

Let me entertain you, STRICTLY BALLROOM THE MUSICAL says, and it does so in a flashy, glitzy, grand, lavish,  larger than life way that is the Bazmark’s style.

It’s great to see an iconic, genuine Australian classic back on the main stage. It’a now some thirty years since the show first began its life as a small, experimental short piece in which  Luhrman even played a role.

STRICTLY BALLROOM THE MUSICAL opened at the Sydney Lyric Theatre, The Star on Saturday 12th April  and is booking well its season. Further information can be found on the official website-www.strictlyballroom.com.