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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
Musical
Set in the exciting and bizarre world of post-war Kings Cross. Tim, a young writer, arrives in Sydney to explore the temptations offered to delight a war-weary population, but must choose between his love for the city and an offer to try his luck on the international theatre circuit.
Notes
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Play available as sound recording; music from the play is also available.
-
Inspired by autobiographical novel At the Cross (1961) by Jon Rose.
Production Details
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- Commissioned by the New South Wales Bicentennial Council in 1987.
- First produced by the Griffin Theatre Co., Stables Theatre, Sydney, 3 May 1988. Director: Margaret Davis.
- Also produced by the Playbox Theatre Co., Studio Theatre, Victorian Arts Centre, Melbourne, 1989.
- The revised version produced at the Stables Theatre, 3 February 1995. Director :Les Solomon. Its sell-out season at the Stables Theatre caused it to be moved to the Playhouse Theatre at the Sydney Opera House.
- Performed at Hayes Theatre Co. Potts Point Sydney, 26 May - 24 June 2017.
Director Shaun Rennie
Musical Supervisor Daniel Edmonds
Executive Producer Lisa Campbell
Cast: Hayden Tee, Mathew Backer, Blazey Best, Tim Draxl and Ben Hall
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Related Works
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y
At the Cross
London
:
Deutsch
,
1961
Z386036
1961
single work
novel
'"But you’ll love Sydney, and Sydney will be mad about you". Thus opens the first Australian novel to deal with homosexual life, Jon Rose’s At the Cross, published in 1961. It tells the story of Jon, a sixteen year old (who looks fourteen), who defies the wartime ban on interstate travel and sets off for the bright lights of 1940s Sydney.
'His adventures there – as he is rapidly absorbed into the thriving camp community centred on King’s Cross – make for a rollicking good yarn. There’s a sly-grog joint accessed through a wardrobe door; male gypsies wearing tangerine satin, Jon naively delivering ‘Chinese herbs’ to desperate users. The novel’s highpoint, though, is the Gala Drag and Drain Party – a costume ball attended by Peter Pans, Greek soldiers, half a dozen Carmen Mirandas, with dancing, a cabaret … and a riotous police raid and subsequent magistrates hearing.'
Source: Australian Lesbian and Gay Archives (http://alga.org.au/2011/755). (Sighted: 26/6/2014)
Works about this Work
-
The 15 Greatest Australian Musicals, on Stage and Screen – Sorted
2022
single work
review
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 7 August 2022;
— Review of Fangirls 2019 single work musical theatre ; The Legend of King O'Malley 1970 single work musical theatre ; Lola Montez 1958 single work musical theatre ; Bran Nue Dae : A Musical Journey 1990 single work musical theatre ; Only Heaven Knows 1988 single work musical theatre ; Moulin Rouge! The Musical 2016 single work musical theatre ; The Boy from Oz 1998 single work musical theatre ; Keating! A Country Soul Opera 2005 single work musical theatre ; Summer Rain 1983 single work musical theatre ; Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, The Musical 2006 single work musical theatre ; Barbara and the Camp Dogs 2017 single work musical theatre ; Muriel's Wedding : The Musical 2017 single work musical theatre ; Miracle City 1996 single work musical theatre -
Only Heaven Knows Brings 1940s Queer Sydney Roaring Back to Life
2017
single work
essay
— Appears in: The Conversation , 6 June 2017; Only Heaven Knows, a musical about a young Melbourne man who discovers the queer delights of homosexual desire, unexpected intimacies and gender transgressions in Sydney’s Kings Cross in the 1940s, has been revived in its thirtieth anniversary year at the Hayes Theatre in Elizabeth Bay. The director Shaun Rennie had reservations about staging a late 1980s musical about the 1940s, wondering if it would be a “museum piece”. -
'Because They're My People' : An Interview with Alex Harding and Barry Lowe
Philip Bilton-Smith
(interviewer),
1997
single work
interview
— Appears in: Australasian Drama Studies , October no. 31 1997; (p. 57-70) -
A Liberated Look at Sydney's History
1995
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 7 February 1995; (p. 16)
— Review of Only Heaven Knows 1988 single work musical theatre -
Untitled
1989-1990
single work
review
— Appears in: Australasian Drama Studies , October/April no. 15-16 1989-1990; (p. 205-210)
— Review of After Dinner 1988 single work drama ; Only Heaven Knows 1988 single work musical theatre ; Full House, No Vacancies 1989 single work drama
-
A Liberated Look at Sydney's History
1995
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 7 February 1995; (p. 16)
— Review of Only Heaven Knows 1988 single work musical theatre -
Untitled
1989-1990
single work
review
— Appears in: Australasian Drama Studies , October/April no. 15-16 1989-1990; (p. 205-210)
— Review of After Dinner 1988 single work drama ; Only Heaven Knows 1988 single work musical theatre ; Full House, No Vacancies 1989 single work drama -
The 15 Greatest Australian Musicals, on Stage and Screen – Sorted
2022
single work
review
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 7 August 2022;
— Review of Fangirls 2019 single work musical theatre ; The Legend of King O'Malley 1970 single work musical theatre ; Lola Montez 1958 single work musical theatre ; Bran Nue Dae : A Musical Journey 1990 single work musical theatre ; Only Heaven Knows 1988 single work musical theatre ; Moulin Rouge! The Musical 2016 single work musical theatre ; The Boy from Oz 1998 single work musical theatre ; Keating! A Country Soul Opera 2005 single work musical theatre ; Summer Rain 1983 single work musical theatre ; Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, The Musical 2006 single work musical theatre ; Barbara and the Camp Dogs 2017 single work musical theatre ; Muriel's Wedding : The Musical 2017 single work musical theatre ; Miracle City 1996 single work musical theatre -
'Because They're My People' : An Interview with Alex Harding and Barry Lowe
Philip Bilton-Smith
(interviewer),
1997
single work
interview
— Appears in: Australasian Drama Studies , October no. 31 1997; (p. 57-70) -
Only Heaven Knows Brings 1940s Queer Sydney Roaring Back to Life
2017
single work
essay
— Appears in: The Conversation , 6 June 2017; Only Heaven Knows, a musical about a young Melbourne man who discovers the queer delights of homosexual desire, unexpected intimacies and gender transgressions in Sydney’s Kings Cross in the 1940s, has been revived in its thirtieth anniversary year at the Hayes Theatre in Elizabeth Bay. The director Shaun Rennie had reservations about staging a late 1980s musical about the 1940s, wondering if it would be a “museum piece”.
Awards
Last amended 13 Jun 2017 10:31:48
Subjects:
- Kings Cross, Kings Cross area, Inner Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales,
Settings:
- 1940s
- 1950s
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