Cast

One of Australia’s most versatile performing artists, Todd McKenney is an award winning and critically acclaimed performer on stage and screen. As an actor and the leading man of song and dance in musical theatre productions, he has entertained Australia for over 30 years from main stage to intimate venues. As a radio and television host, and the sometimes outspoken judge, he has shared his personality, humour and passions with us. It’s not surprising that Todd is a household name.

Todd’s stage credit roll and career highlights include his most notable role of Peter Allen in the Australian hit production The Boy From Oz in which he performed over 1000 shows nationally and became one of the longest running and most successful musical productions in Australian history. But his first professional musical role was in 1983 in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Song and Dance. Todd’s career followed with lead and headline roles in Cats, 42nd Street, West Side Story, Crazy For You, Born Yesterday, Camelot, Pirates of Penzance, Cabaret, Strictly Ballroom, La Cage aux Folles, Singin’ In the Rain, Anything Goes, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Orpheus In the Underworld for Opera Australia, Annie the Musical, Grease and Anything Goes. In 2018 he stepped into the stilettos and successfully took on the role of Frank N’ Furter in The Rocky Horror Show in Melbourne.

As a dancer his journey started at the age of three age of three at his mother’s dancing school in Perth, training in jazz, tap, acrobatics and ballroom dancing. He represented Australia in ballroom and Latin American dancing, winning many international dance titles. Amongst his Australian awards for performance in musical theatre he has two ‘Mo Awards’, the ‘Variety Club Heart Award’, the ‘Glug Award’, the ‘Green Room Award’, two ‘Australian Dance Awards’ and a ‘Helpmann Award’.

On Television he has shared his wisdom and honesty as the colourful and often controversial judge on the Channel 7 hit series ‘Dancing With the Stars’. Todd has also appeared as a guest judge on ‘Australia’s got Talent’, hosted on a range of morning Television programs and appeared as an entertaining guest across all networks. He recently starred with Shane Jacobson as the choreographer in the hit Seven Network special ’The Real Full Monty’

On radio Todd co-hosted Sydney’s MIX106.5FM breakfast radio program with Sonia Kruger for 2 years and is a regular guest on the airwaves.

On a personal level Todd is a student of ‘Auslan’ sign language and has worked within the deaf community all around Australia. He also works with The Children’s Tumour Foundation.

Todd had the delight of becoming a father in 2007 and his daughter Charlotte is the light of his life.

One of Australia’s leading performers, Rachael Beck can currently be seen on stage in The Wharf Revue for Sydney Theatre Company and will next be seen on screen in the soon to be released feature film A Long Night. She also recently opened The Long and the Short of It with Rhonda Burchmore at the Thebaton Theatre.

Rachael won acclaim for her recent performance of ‘Diana’ in Black Swans production of Next to Normal, she also played ‘The Bakers Wife’ in Harvest Rain’ s Into The Woods at QPAC in 2015 and in 2016 returned to the stage with the Queensland Ballet’s production of Strictly Gershwin.

Rachael’s further theatre credits include ‘Truly Scrumptious’ in TML Enterprises national production of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang; ‘Sally Bowles’ in IMG’s Cabaret, directed by Sam Mendes; ‘Kathy Selden’ in Singin’ in the Rain directed by David Atkins, earning her a Mo Award nomination; ‘Maria’ in The Gordon/Frost Organization/SEL production of The Sound of Music; Me and My Girl – which toured Australia and New Zealand for the Adelaide Festival; for The Production Company, The Pajama Game, and Call Me Madam and for QTC, Mother and Son.

Rachael is widely remembered for her award-winning role as ‘Belle’ opposite Hugh Jackman in Beauty and the Beast, which won the 1996 ARIA Award for the Best Australian Soundtrack/Cast/Show Release. Her outstanding credits include her Green Award nominated performance as ‘Fantine’ in Les Miserables and ‘Rumpleteaser’ in Cats, both produced by Cameron Mackintosh. Rachael’s theatre credits for the STC include Summer Rain; A Little Night Music; Henry IV and for Malthouse Theatre Secret Bridesmaid’s Business. Rachael performed the role of the Narrator in Joseph and His Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat for the Lindisfarne Anglican Grammar School, Directed by Darren Yap with Musical Direction by Max Lambert.

A highly skilled concert performer, Rachael appeared with Todd McKenney and Tommy Tycho in Broadway to Hollywood with the National Symphony Orchestras’ in Australia. Her other credits include the tour of War Of The Worlds, Promac Productions’ Morning Melodies Concerts, Broadway Hits for Queensland Pops Orchestra, Goodnight Hamer Hall for The Arts Centre, Victoria and QPAC’s Christmas in Concert and Spirit of Christmas. She toured with The One Night Only Australia with acclaimed New York composer Jason Robert Brown and performed at QPAC’s Twelve Acts of Cabaret and Cradle Songs, and More Than Words at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival.

Rachael’s screen credits include Home & Away, It Takes Two, City Homicide, Stingers, Mercury, The Feds, This Man This Woman, GP, Flying Doctors, and Hey Dad!.

Rachael is director of ‘Lionhearted’ an arts based mental Health programme for middle high schools across Australia.

Born in Aberdeen, Scotland and raised in Perth, Australia, Suzie received a Bachelor of Arts (Music Theatre) from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts.

Theatre credits include: Original cast of ‘I Wish My Life Were Like a Musical’ (Live at Zédel, London), ‘Kathy’ in Company (AAC,UK) ‘Glinda’ in the 10th Anniversary cast of Wicked (Apollo Victoria Theatre, London) ‘Cinderella’ in Cinderella (Cambridge Arts Theatre, UK), ‘Glinda’ in Wicked (Australasian tour), ‘Sophie’ in Mamma Mia! (Australian tour), ‘Edith Faulkner’ in The Good Fight (NY Music Theatre Festival, NYC)

Appearances include: Suzie Mathers – Live at Zédel (Live at Zédel, London), West End Live (Trafalgar Square, London), The Musical Marathon (The Other Palace, London), ’Minnie Fay/Mabel Normand’ in Hello Jerry! (RTE Orchestra, Dublin) An Afternoon with Stephen Sondheim (Her Majesty’s Theatre, Melbourne)

Awards: 2017 Australian Young Achiever of the Year in the UK 

Born and raised in New Zealand, Akina graduated from the National Academy of Singing and Dramatic Arts (NASDA) in Christchurch in 2008 with a Bachelor of Performing Arts via Music Theatre.

In her graduating year, Akina was cast in the Australian tour of Buddy Holly the Musical.

For the following ten years Akina continued her work in the Australian Music Theatre industry and went on to join the casts of major musical productions including Avenue Q, Hairspray, An Officer and a Gentleman, a co-op of Children of Eden, two and a half year Australian tour with Disney’s The Lion King, Australasian premiere of Sister Act the Musical, where not only did she get to play the starring role of Deloris van Cartier but more honourably – her first project on home soil.  She is now chilling in post show awesomeness after having the pleasure to work for Michael Cassel on his production of Beautiful; The Carole King Musical, where she played a Shirelle and Janelle Woods. 

Akina is pretty chuffed to be running away from home and joining the circus!!!!

Kirby Burgess is the true definition of a triple threat. Spanning stage and screen, Kirby has made her mark as an actor, singer, dancer, choreographer, stylist and Art Director. Some of her career highlights include Jenny in Network 10’s Wonderland, Heather Chandler inHeathers the Musical, herself in Jerry’s Girls, Sweet Charity, Jenny Hill in Big Fish the Musical, Rizzo in Grease the Musical, Anna inHere come the Habibs, featured dancer in Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby, Hairspray The Musical, An Officer and A Gentleman, Stylist and Art Direction for Mess Maker’s Life Lessons and the list goes on.Kirby is a proud graduate of the Talent Development Project and a finalist of the Rob Guest Endowment winning the ‘Production Company Award’. Most notably, Kirby played the role of Frances ‘Baby’ Houseman in the 10yr anniversary Australian tour of Dirty Dancing the Classic Story on Stage.

Born and raised in Western Sydney, Joshua graduated from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) in 2018 with a Bachelor of Arts: Music Theatre.

Josh has always loved the performing arts. He discovered dance when he was quite young, taking up Jazz and Hip hop lessons at local dance studios. At the age of 12, Josh was introduced to the amateur Music Theatre community and never stopped performing. 16 amateur shows and a few small screen engagements later, Joshua graduated high school and dropped everything to fly across the country to begin his training at WAAPA.

During his studies, Josh played roles such as Usnavi in In The Heights [dir. Crispin Taylor], Dennis in Sunday in the Park with George [dir Tyran Parke], Captain Watson & Ensemble in Carousel [dir. Jason Langley], Bandleader and Andrew Jackson understudy in Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson [dir. Shaun Rennie], and Ralph in Lord of the Flies [dir. Crispin Taylor].

Tom Thumb is Josh’s professional debut and he is extremely excited to be working on this production with such an experienced group of artists and creatives.