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Cross Section single work   musical theatre   revue/revusical   humour  
Issue Details: First known date: 1957... 1957 Cross Section
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

Musical revue.

Loosely set in Sydney's King's Cross, but occasionally going further afield (including Scotland and southern USA), Cross Section followed on from the very successful Phillip Street Theatre revue Around The Loop, which ran for over a year. The King's Cross flavour, which one critic viewed as being far 'from strong', involved scenes of Crucians exchanging hauteur and abuse from assorted apartment windows; a sentimental ballad about some hospitable old lady of Palmer Street (performed by Noel Brophy); a skit on the espresso craze ('You Can't Keep a Good Cup Down'); and a bit of hoyden autobiography from a Rushcutter's Bay conductress (Sydney Morning Herald 12 September 1957, p.14). Other sketches included 'Truth in Advertising' (performed by Peter Batey), Dolore Whiteman's 'Frankie and Johnnie', Rhonny Gabriel's 'Not Negotiable', and a dance number, 'Caribbean Bazaar', performed by Yolanda and Antonio Rodrigues.

The musical aspects of the revue are said to have included an 'Auld Lang Syne' finale and a song about a girl-ruined Bank of New South Wales teller. The original musical numbers were composed by the Phillip Street house composer Dot Mendoza and moonlighting classical composer Peter Sculthorpe. The latter's contributions (set to words by John McKellar) were 'Truth in Advertising', 'Manic Espresso' (scored as a send-up samba rhythm and included in the 'coffee bar cult' sketch), 'Redleaf Revelations', 'Shooting a Lion', 'I Knew a Fella', and 'Something You Can't Pin Down'.

Notes

  • The ABC presented a half-hour special TV transmission (8.30 pm - 9 pm) on 6 January 1958.

  • Excerpts from Peter Sculthorpe's music for Cross Section were later arranged for Louis Armstrong when he toured Australia, and performed by his band at the Sydney Stadium in August 1958. The arrangements (presented under the title 'Three Movements for Jazz Band') were possibly undertaken by Ray Cook.

    The ballet music for the ABC television broadcast Manic Espresso (6 January 1958 in Sydney and 29 March in Melbourne) also contained Sculthorpe's music from Cross Section.

Production Details

  • 1957: Phillip Street Theatre, Sydney, 12 September 1957 - 20 September 1958.

    • Producer William Orr.
    • Cast incl. June Salter, Ruth Cracknell, John Parker, Rhonny Gabriel, Noel Brophy, Peter Batey, Reginald Livermore, Dolore Whiteman, Yolanda Rodrigues, Antonio Rodrigues.
    • Musicians incl. Dot Mendoza (piano), Ray Cook (piano), Carl Mehden (drums).
    • The production ran concurrently with the children's musical The Willow Pattern Plate, between 16 December 1957 and 11 January 1958.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

First known date: 1957
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Related Works

The Birthday Show John McKellar , Lance Mulcahy , Phillip Street Theatre , Dot Mendoza (composer), 1959 single work musical theatre revue/revusical humour

Intimate revue.

Devised in order to celebrate the Phillip Street Theatre's fifth birthday, The Birthday Show comprised a smattering of new material along with popular favourites from previous productions, notably Top of the Bill, Hit and Run, Hat Trick, Two to One, Mr and Mrs, Around the Loop, Cross Section, and Bats.

Songs interpolated into the production included 'Oh What a Year it's Been' and 'Trite Fantastic' (McKellar); 'The Oracle' (Rasdall/Goldman); 'The World is My Ashtray', 'Tiger Moth', and 'Noel' (McKellar/Mendoza); 'Katoomba' (McKellar/Mulcahy); 'Soap Opera', 'Breakfast Delight', and 'White Carnations' (McKellar/Donovan); 'Golden Hair', 'You Came from Outer Space', 'Beside Myself', and 'Wow of a Frau' (McKellar/Donovan/Mulcahy); 'Bread Love and Teddy Bears' (McKellar/Frazer); 'Queen's Square' (Nettheim); 'Letter Song' (Taylor/Mulcahy); 'Circulation', 'Cuckoo', and 'Call of the Wild' (Donovan/Mulcahy); 'April in Fairbanks' (Grand); 'Woy Boy' (Cranko/Swan); 'Don't Let Him Know You Too Well' (Cranko/Addison); 'Surly Girls' (Flanders/Swan); 'Bedside Manners' (Frazer); and 'Happy Birthday' (Mendoza).
Phillip Street Revue Phillip Street Theatre , 1960 single work musical theatre revue/revusical humour

Intimate revue.

Comprising songs and sketches from the Phillip Street Theatre revues staged over the previous six years, this production also included several new faces amongst the cast.

According to a review in the Sydney Morning Herald, the highlights were a sketch titled 'Soap Opera'; Jill Perryman in 'The World is My Ashtray (and you would be my next cigarette...)'; 'Swan Like', a sketch 'where wooden swans creak and ballet is reduced to controlled and humorous gymnastics'; and 'Cinderella on Ice', described as a devastating crack at the slippery surface of pantomime' (28 April 1960, p.6).
VIEW ALL RELATED WORKS (2)

Works about this Work

Sundry Shows : 'Cross Section' 1957 single work review
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 18 September vol. 78 no. 4049 1957; (p. 24)
— Review of Cross Section John McKellar , Eric Rasdall , Phillip Street Theatre , 1957 single work musical theatre
King's Cross Flavour in New Revue 1957 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 12 September 1957; (p. 14)
— Review of Cross Section John McKellar , Eric Rasdall , Phillip Street Theatre , 1957 single work musical theatre
King's Cross Flavour in New Revue 1957 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 12 September 1957; (p. 14)
— Review of Cross Section John McKellar , Eric Rasdall , Phillip Street Theatre , 1957 single work musical theatre
Sundry Shows : 'Cross Section' 1957 single work review
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 18 September vol. 78 no. 4049 1957; (p. 24)
— Review of Cross Section John McKellar , Eric Rasdall , Phillip Street Theatre , 1957 single work musical theatre
VIEW ALL WORKS ABOUT (2)

PeriodicalNewspaper Details

Note:
This entry has been sourced from research undertaken by Dr Clay Djubal into Australian-written popular music theatre.
Last amended 18 Sep 2014 13:25:49
Subjects:
  • Kings Cross, Kings Cross area, Inner Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales,
Settings:
  • Sydney, New South Wales,
  • Kings Cross, Kings Cross area, Inner Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales,
  • c
    Scotland,
    c
    c
    United Kingdom (UK),
    c
    Western Europe, Europe,
  • c
    United States of America (USA),
    c
    Americas,
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