Aussie Aussie Aussie: John Frost to develop Red Dog the musical

BREAKING NEWS

John Frost is arguably Australia’s most prolific and successful theatre producer, presenting both blockbuster imported musicals and newly developed musicals across the country.

While presenting imported hits such as Wicked, Annie and Legally Blonde is a large part of his job as Managing Director at the Gordon Frost Organisation, he is also passionate about producing new work for the Australian musical stage. His involvement with shows like Dr Zhivago and An Officer and a Gentleman has cemented his formidable reputation for supporting the development of new stage musicals in Australia.

Today, he has raised the bar once more with the announcement that he will be joining forces with the producer of the award winning Australian film Red Dog, Nelson Woss, to explore developing the Red Dog story into a musical production.

Released in 2011, Red Dog has proved to be one of the most popular and critically acclaimed Australian films of all time. Based on the legendary true story of the Red Dog who united a disparate local community while roaming the Australian outback in search of his long lost master, Red Dog is the 8th highest grossing Australian film of all time at the box office and the biggest selling Australian DVD of all time.

Producer of the film, Nelson Woss believes that the show will translate well to the stage.

Nelson Woss said, “The film and its 1970’s Aussie Rock soundtrack have been embraced by audiences in Australia and worldwide. The filmmakers are excited to see Red Dog roam to the stage. John Frost and I go way back and the Red Dog musical will appeal to dog lovers, people who like to rock or anyone who enjoys a good Aussie yarn.”

It is understood that the musical hasn’t been assigned a creative team for development at this stage, but with Woss citing the “Aussie Rock Soundtrack” as a selling point, it is unclear as to whether this show will involve a brand new contemporary score, or a combination of jukebox hits.

No doubt the producers will be searching for collaborators in the coming months, and fingers crossed the talents of an Australian creative team will have the chance to shine – in both development and production.

While this idea is still in its formative stages, the prospect of a new Australian musical is exciting. Frost was one of the producers of the hugely successful musical Priscilla Queen of the Desert which is currently running on Broadway, in Milan and Sao Paulo, and recently closed in London after a very successful season.Could Red Dog the musical be the next big hit for Australia’s musical theatre scene?

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