The music of Elton John: your song – for everyone - The Community Leader and Real Estate New and Views

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Bayside Including Wynnum, Manly, Lota, Tingalpa, Lytton, Belmont, Gumdale, Birkdale Redlands Including Capalaba, Cleveland, Raby Bay, Redland Bay, Thorneside, Victoria Point, Wellington Point

Photos: Supplied.

BY JAN NARY

The Little Red Company – which has an impact much more powerful than its name implies – began in 2012 as a happy accident. Long-time friends Naomi Price and Adam Brunes just wanted to write a show together about Adele, called Rumour Has It. They wrote it, people booked it, the company was formed to tour the show, and it’s been going ever since – over four million people have now seen their shows. Naomi says that the audience is central to their decisions in choosing a show’s theme.

“We wanted to base a show on the music of Elton John, but didn’t have a ‘jumping off point’ for it, so we asked the artists involved in the development if any of them had a personal connection to his songs. One of the artists said, ‘My brother’s called Daniel because of the Elton John song’, and he told me the amazing story of his brother. There was the connection we needed – we started asking other friends about connections to Elton John’s tunes, and every single story you hear in the show is true, gifted to us by someone who shared their experience.”

“With a show like this, that is so much about the audience, we wanted to make sure that the audience could see themselves reflected on stage – we wanted gender representation, cultural representation and queer representation,” says Naomi.

“When you’re tackling lots of stories from different lived experiences, it’s really important to have diverse bodies and voices on stage that can share those stories authentically. We’re very lucky to have a cast of singers who are superstars in their own right, from Irena the soprano with the voice of an angel, all the way down to the rich, lush lower tones of John O’Hara’s voice and Jason Arrow’s Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues. When Jason played the lead role in Hamilton, he didn’t get to show what an amazing singer he is.”

Redland audiences will have the special delight of hearing the stories and voices of the Redland City Choir joining the cast to add a unique local flavour to the show.

“Involving local choirs means that the show is different everywhere we play,” says Naomi. “It’s such a beautiful show, and audiences will leave feeling uplifted!”