{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Top 5 Australian Cast Recordings with Blake Erickson","description":"I just got back from the US after a holiday with the family. I was going through my emails and I saw one that was entitled \u2018Love the Podcast\u2019. It was from Blake Erickson. It\u2019s always nice to get positive feedback for the things that you\u2019re doing and there was only one thing to do upon receiving this email \u2013 which was to get Blake on the show! The great thing about Blake is that he brings a wonderful mix of community theatre experience and professional theatre experience. It gave us the chance to discuss the Top 5 Australian Cast Recordings as well as community theatre, professional theatre and theatre in Australia. About Blake\u2026 Blake has worked throughout Australia, Asia, Britain, and the United States as a writer, actor, and singer. He studied drama and musical theatre at the University of Sydney &amp;amp; The Actor\u2019s Connection New York.&amp;nbsp;In early 2019 Blake co-wrote the new Australian musical&amp;nbsp;The Dismissal, which premiered at the Seymour Centre. Prior to this he appeared in the&amp;nbsp;international tour of Cameron Mackintosh's&amp;nbsp;Les Mis\u00e9rables.&amp;nbsp;For his performance in the title role of the one-man show&amp;nbsp;Pearls Before Swine: An Evening With Orson Welles&amp;nbsp;(Neil Gooding Prod.), Blake won Best Actor at the inaugural Sydney Fringe Festival Awards. Other credits include:&amp;nbsp;CRY-BABY,&amp;nbsp;High Fidelity, Melba,&amp;nbsp;and his acclaimed cabaret&amp;nbsp;Hold Me Closer Logies Dancer&amp;nbsp;(all at Sydney\u2019s Hayes Theatre);&amp;nbsp;Mamma Mia!,&amp;nbsp;the Australia &amp;amp; New Zealand tour of&amp;nbsp;Madiba,&amp;nbsp;Of Thee I Sing&amp;nbsp;at the Sydney Opera House,&amp;nbsp;Grey Gardens,&amp;nbsp;and&amp;nbsp;Sondheim on Sondheim&amp;nbsp;for Squabbalogic. Blake\u2019s Top 5  Jesus Christ Superstar (1992) Muriel\u2019s Wedding (2019) Man of La Mancha (2015 \u2013 Squabbalogic) Smoke and Mirrors (2010) Pirates of Penzance (1995)  Honourable Mentions  Miracle City (The Hayes) Priscilla Queen of the Dessert  FANTASTIX BITS IN THE INTERVIEW  The apprenticeship nature of community theatre Are professional performers embarrassed by their community theatre roots? Exactly how much can you learn from community theatre? Does going pro take the fun out of theatre? Do you know your \u2018Why?\u2019 Mr Erickson is very eloquent. The meaning of rubric or zeitgeist can be found in our show notes? How Aussie casts and crew put their own unique spin on musical recordings Show of hands. Who else can trace back their love of G&amp;amp;S to the 1995 Aussie recording of Pirates? After the success of the Greatest Showman, will we see the return of Smoke and Mirrors? Can we smell a 10-year rerun for 2020? We know that symmetry will appeal to Blake! You can still buy a copy of #3! See the show notes below All those Aussie firsts rockets a \u2018terrible\u2019 musical into the runners up place #1 was always going to be #1 \u2013 it went into the Top 40 Charts Some tongue in cheek basic geography for our American listeners Daddy versus Papa Bear \u2013 get it right, Paul! Border control alert for the first Shrek rehearsal A gentle reminder that Warlow\u2019s career was made on Australian stages The cheers and boos of a memorial service AND a musical! Stand by for a fast five question change from comfort food to a death row meal!  SHOW NOTES Man of La Mancha&amp;nbsp; Shrek the Musical&amp;nbsp; Rubric&amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;&amp;nbsp;Zeitgeist&amp;nbsp; The Dismissal Love Fantastix? Support the show! Be like Blake and drop us a line.&amp;nbsp; You could be our next guest! Join the conversation in our Fantastix Cast &amp;amp; Crew Community Group on Facebook Follow our Facebook Page Leave a  rating or review in iTunes Keep listening: Subscribe via  iTunes Subscribe via  Spotify Subscribe via  Stitcher ","author_name":"Theatre in a Box Trivia Podcast","author_url":"https:\/\/theatreinabox.com.au\/","html":"<iframe title=\"Libsyn Player\" style=\"border: none\" src=\"\/\/html5-player.libsyn.com\/embed\/episode\/id\/11957156\/height\/90\/theme\/custom\/thumbnail\/yes\/direction\/forward\/render-playlist\/no\/custom-color\/88AA3C\/\" height=\"90\" width=\"600\" scrolling=\"no\"  allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen><\/iframe>","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/assets.libsyn.com\/secure\/item\/11957156"}