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John Faassen
- Adaptor, Devisor, Director, Playwright, Producer, Writer
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The Sins of Society, 7 August 1969
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O'Vile Pretender, or, The Maiden and the Actor, 13 March 1969
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The Face at the Window, 26 November 1968
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Her Only Mistake, 21 February 1968
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Virtue in Peril, or, Castles, Curses and Caresses, 21 June 1967
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The Dreadful Fate of HMS Revenge, 14 September 1966
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A French Affair, 16 March 1966
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How the West Was Lost, 30 September 1964
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The Little Mermaid, 11 July 1964
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The Evil Men Do, 4 March 1964
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Beauty and the Beast, 30 November 1963
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The Face at the Window, 1 July 1963
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The Tinder Box, April 1963
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Lady Audley's Secret, 20 November 1962
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The Shifting Heart, 30 April 1962
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The Beast of Belgrave Square, 14 February 1976
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The Spring Heeled Terror of Stepney Green, March 1972
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Exposed to Danger, or, Little Nell in the Klondyke, 10 February 1971
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O'Vile Pretender, or, The Maiden and the Actor, 13 March 1969
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The Face at the Window, 26 November 1968
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Her Only Mistake, 21 February 1968
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Virtue in Peril, or, Castles, Curses and Caresses, 21 June 1967
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The Dreadful Fate of HMS Revenge, 14 September 1966
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A French Affair, 16 March 1966
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How the West Was Lost, 30 September 1964
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The Little Mermaid, 11 July 1964
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The Evil Men Do, 4 March 1964
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Beauty and the Beast, 30 November 1963
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The Face at the Window, 1 July 1963
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Lost to the Devil, 16 February 1979
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The Spectre of Wycombe Manor, 10 July 1974
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The Spring Heeled Terror of Stepney Green, March 1972
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Exposed to Danger, or, Little Nell in the Klondyke, 10 February 1971
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The Trials of Hilary Pouncefortt, 22 April 1970
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The Sins of Society, 7 August 1969
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O'Vile Pretender, or, The Maiden and the Actor, 13 March 1969
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The Face at the Window, 26 November 1968
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Her Only Mistake, 21 February 1968
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Virtue in Peril, or, Castles, Curses and Caresses, 21 June 1967
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The Dreadful Fate of HMS Revenge, 14 September 1966
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A French Affair, 16 March 1966
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The Gallant Imposter, or She Wooed and She Would Not, 6 October 1965
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The Face at the Window, 1 July 1963
James Murray
- Costume Designer, Designer, Set Designer
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The Spring Heeled Terror of Stepney Green, March 1972
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Exposed to Danger, or, Little Nell in the Klondyke, 10 February 1971
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O'Vile Pretender, or, The Maiden and the Actor, 13 March 1969
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Her Only Mistake, 21 February 1968
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Virtue in Peril, or, Castles, Curses and Caresses, 21 June 1967
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The Dreadful Fate of HMS Revenge, 14 September 1966
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A French Affair, 16 March 1966
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The Gallant Imposter, or She Wooed and She Would Not, 6 October 1965
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How the West Was Lost, 30 September 1964
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The Evil Men Do, 4 March 1964
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Beauty and the Beast, 30 November 1963
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The Face at the Window, 1 July 1963
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Lost to the Devil, 16 February 1979
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The Beast of Belgrave Square, 14 February 1976
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The Spectre of Wycombe Manor, 10 July 1974
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The Spring Heeled Terror of Stepney Green, March 1972
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Exposed to Danger, or, Little Nell in the Klondyke, 10 February 1971
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The Trials of Hilary Pouncefortt, 22 April 1970
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O'Vile Pretender, or, The Maiden and the Actor, 13 March 1969
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The Face at the Window, 26 November 1968
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Her Only Mistake, 21 February 1968
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Virtue in Peril, or, Castles, Curses and Caresses, 21 June 1967
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The Dreadful Fate of HMS Revenge, 14 September 1966
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The Sins of Society, 7 August 1969
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O'Vile Pretender, or, The Maiden and the Actor, 13 March 1969
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The Face at the Window, 26 November 1968
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Her Only Mistake, 21 February 1968
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Virtue in Peril, or, Castles, Curses and Caresses, 21 June 1967
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The Gallant Imposter, or She Wooed and She Would Not, 6 October 1965
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How the West Was Lost, 30 September 1964
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Exposed to Danger, or, Little Nell in the Klondyke, 10 February 1971
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The Trials of Hilary Pouncefortt, 22 April 1970
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The Sins of Society, 7 August 1969
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O'Vile Pretender, or, The Maiden and the Actor, 13 March 1969
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Her Only Mistake, 21 February 1968
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Virtue in Peril, or, Castles, Curses and Caresses, 21 June 1967
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The Dreadful Fate of HMS Revenge, 14 September 1966
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The Sins of Society, 7 August 1969
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O'Vile Pretender, or, The Maiden and the Actor, 13 March 1969
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Her Only Mistake, 21 February 1968
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Virtue in Peril, or, Castles, Curses and Caresses, 21 June 1967
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The Dreadful Fate of HMS Revenge, 14 September 1966
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A French Affair, 16 March 1966
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The Gallant Imposter, or She Wooed and She Would Not, 6 October 1965
Trevor McCosker
- Actor, Assistant Director, Stage Manager
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O'Vile Pretender, or, The Maiden and the Actor, 13 March 1969
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The Face at the Window, 26 November 1968
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Her Only Mistake, 21 February 1968
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Virtue in Peril, or, Castles, Curses and Caresses, 21 June 1967
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The Dreadful Fate of HMS Revenge, 14 September 1966
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A French Affair, 16 March 1966
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O'Vile Pretender, or, The Maiden and the Actor, 13 March 1969
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The Face at the Window, 26 November 1968
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Her Only Mistake, 21 February 1968
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Virtue in Peril, or, Castles, Curses and Caresses, 21 June 1967
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The Dreadful Fate of HMS Revenge, 14 September 1966
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A French Affair, 16 March 1966
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The Sins of Society, 7 August 1969
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O'Vile Pretender, or, The Maiden and the Actor, 13 March 1969
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The Face at the Window, 26 November 1968
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Her Only Mistake, 21 February 1968
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Virtue in Peril, or, Castles, Curses and Caresses, 21 June 1967
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How the West Was Lost, 30 September 1964
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The Trials of Hilary Pouncefortt, 22 April 1970
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O'Vile Pretender, or, The Maiden and the Actor, 13 March 1969
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The Face at the Window, 26 November 1968
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Her Only Mistake, 21 February 1968
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Virtue in Peril, or, Castles, Curses and Caresses, 21 June 1967
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The Dreadful Fate of HMS Revenge, 14 September 1966
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O'Vile Pretender, or, The Maiden and the Actor, 13 March 1969
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Her Only Mistake, 21 February 1968
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Virtue in Peril, or, Castles, Curses and Caresses, 21 June 1967
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The Dreadful Fate of HMS Revenge, 14 September 1966
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A French Affair, 16 March 1966
Don Harvie
- Composer, Musical Director
Michael O'Reilly
- Actor, Choreographer, Dance Director
Moira Craigen
- Wardrobe Master/Mistress
Mark Herbert
- Assistant Stage Manager
A Vincent Jones
- Musical Arranger, Musical Director, Musician: Pianist
Michael Boddy
- Director, Lyricist, Playwright, Writer
Paul Albano
- Sound Operator/Engineer
Peter Casey
- Songwriter, Vocal Arranger
John Hawley
- Assistant Stage Manager
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| Resources |
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Article:  Gaslight and Gravy, Theatrescope, The Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust, Number Three, December 1976, 6-8
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Theatre-restaurant in Neutral Bay Junction, Sydney, opened on 8 November 1961 by George and Lorna Miller. Closed 6 September 1980. first production East Lynne. Cast included Barry Creyton. Director: Bette Bailey Stainton. last production East Lynne.
At a time when serious theatre was renewing itself in smaller and smaller venues, the Music Hall Theatre Restaurant offered actors a rare opportunity to battle with an audience from the footlights on an almost Shakespearean scale. In its heyday the Music Hall was a red plush affair with stalls and a gallery seating 500 at tables covered with red-checked cloths, and a foyer crammed with Victorian bric-a-brac. Moustachioed waiters in Edwardian waistcoats would serve the hearty patrons while the genial George and Lorna Miller, moved among them, playing violin and accordion. At 8.30 p.m. the musical director, Don Harvie, would begin the overture at the piano and the velvet curtain would rise upon an extravagant setting and an absurdly complicated plot. The audience might choose to attend to it or not. It was a challenge for any actor. The Millers opened the Music Hall in 1961 with the melodrama East Lynne, which they had produced successfully at the Bowl Music Hall in Melbourne. The new Sydney production starred Barry Creyton. The early shows were rough affairs. The villain had to learn to duck not only bread rolls but spoons and other missiles. But it was secure work and as the Music Hall's reputation grew and seasons extended to a year or more, many well-known performers learned new skills there. David Atkins, Pat Bishop, Neva Carr Glyn, Beryl Cheers, Linda Cropper, Ron Haddrick, Alexander Hay, Sheila Kennelly, Frank Lloyd and John Unicomb were among them.
Barry Lovett, a versatile actor, was the much-loved master clown; he spent ten years with the company Alton Harvey was the longest-running villain. The designs, created by opera designers like Tom Lingwood, became more extravagant year by year.
The mood gradually changed after John Faassen, an actor and singer, took over as director in 1966 and began writing his own shows. The plays became more sophisticated burlesques of musical and dramatic genres, particularly opera. By 1968 nationalism was making its mark. Her Only Mistake was the first show set in colonial Australia. Stanley Walsh replaced Faassen in 1970 and his first show, The Trials of Hilary Pouncefortt, tapped the new preoccupation with Australian history. It was a melodrama, critical of military authority, set in colonial Sydney in 1850. Walsh in turn was succeeded by Michael Boddy as director and resident playwright. He mounted two successful shows in 1977-78 but when he retired in 1979 the Music Hall returned to revivals. It had run out of energy by 1980, when, despite protests by loyal supporters, it closed after a two-year battle with the local council and the state government over fire safety.
Article:  Katharine Brisbane, Music Hall Theatre Restaurant, Companion To Theatre In Australia, 380
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Article:  Norman Kessell, Whispers, Rumours and Facts, Theatre Australia, 5, 1, August 1980, 9
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Article:  Peter Pinne, The magic of George Miller's Music Halls (Part 2), On Stage, 11, 4, 2010, 4-7
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Article:  Peter Pinne, The magic of George Miller's Music Halls (Part 3), On Stage, 12, 1, 2011, 26-29
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Article:  Peter Pinne, The magic of George Miller's Music Halls (Part 4), On Stage, 12, 2, 2011, 30-32
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Article:  Peter Pinne, The magic of George Miller's Music Halls (Part 5), On Stage, 12, 3, 2011, 20-23
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Article:  Returns to Stage in New Medium, The Age, 1 June 1963, 8
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Book:  Ailsa McPherson, A dream of passion: theatre activity in North Sydney, Stanton Library, North Sydney Council, Sydney, NSW, 1993, 55pp
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