Sydney wins an Officer and a Gentleman

NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell announced today that Sydney has won the hosting rights for the world premier season of the new musical An Officer and a Gentleman in 2012.

The stage version of the hugely successful Academy Award-winning film has been adapted by the original screen writer Douglas Day Stewart and co-writer Sharleen Cooper Cohen.

Music and lyrics are by Grammy® nominees Ken Hirsch and Robin Lerner.

Produced by Sharleen Cooper Cohen and John Frost, and directed by Simon Phillips ( Priscilla Queen of the Desert The Musical), An Officer and a Gentleman looks set to build on the popularity that musicals are seeing in Australia at this time.

Barry O’Farrell, Premier of NSW, said, “It is with great pleasure that I am able to announce another World Premiere musical for Sydney, An Officer and a Gentleman. Sydney is now officially the number one city for first run musicals in Australia. Sydney was chosen over London and New York for the World Premiere of this new stage production.”

Producer John Frost said he was thrilled to be able to bring this classic tale to life in musical theatre form. “When we held a workshop of the musical in 2009, I knew instantly that I wanted to produce this wonderful show. And with the assistance of the NSW Government and the Events team at Destination NSW, I can produce the World Premiere right here in Sydney.”

The 1982 film has become a phenomenon in cinema history, recently listed by the American Film Institute as one of the top ten love stories in cinema history. Featuring the iconic hit song “Love Lifts Us Up Where We Belong” and a new score this tale of struggle, success, friendship and love promises looks set to be the next musical blockbuster.

Sharleen Cooper Cohen said that she was excited to be working in Australia, “The audiences are welcoming and enthusiastic, the performers are so talented, the designers are outstanding and we all love our director, Simon Phillips.”

“It’s a joy to work in Australia. I always believed that this moving and timeless romance, one of the most popular films of all time, would make the perfect musical, so I began pursuing it back in 2000. Now, I am thrilled to see it coming to fruition,” she added.