''Jonah'' (originally titled ''Jonah Jones'') is an Australian musical with book and lyrics by

John Romeril John Henry Romeril (born 1945) is an Australian playwright and teacher. He has written around 60 plays for theatre, film, radio, and television, and is known for his 1975 play ''The Floating World''. Early life and education John Henry Romeril ...

and music by

Alan John Alan John (born 7 May 1958 in Sydney) is an Australian composer. He studied music at the University of Sydney, graduating in 1980. His compositions include original music for various plays, films (such as ''Holding the Man'', ''Three Dollars'' and ...

. It is based on the 1911 novel ''

Jonah Jonah the son of Amittai or Jonas ( , ) is a Jewish prophet from Gath-hepher in the Northern Kingdom of Israel around the 8th century BCE according to the Hebrew Bible. He is the central figure of the Book of Jonah, one of the minor proph ...

'' by Australian writer Louis Stone. Set in the inner suburbs of

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

in the thirty years prior to

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the musical is an ironic story of the capitalist rise of a hunchback shoe repairer from a leader of a local

Push Push may refer to: * A type of force applied to an object Music * Mike Dierickx (born 1973), a Belgian producer also known as Push Albums * ''Push'' (Bros album), 1988 * ''Push'' (Gruntruck album), 1992 * ''Push'' (Jacky Terrasson album), 201 ...

to an industrial magnate. The musical was commissioned by the

Sydney Theatre Company Sydney Theatre Company (STC) is an Australian theatre company based in Sydney, New South Wales. The company performs in the Wharf Theatre at Dawes Point in The Rocks area of Sydney as well as the Roslyn Packer Theatre (formerly Sydney Theatre ...

and first produced in 1985 after having been in development for six years.

Productions

''Jonah'' premiered (as ''Jonah Jones'') at the Sydney Theatre Company's

The Wharf Theatre The Wharf Theatre is a theatre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. This theatre is part of the Sydney Theatre Company and located on Pier 4/5 of the former Sydney port facility in Walsh Bay at Dawes Point. History In 1829, the first jetty ...

on 26 October 1985, one of the first productions in the newly developed theatre. The cast included

Simon Burke Simon Gareth Burke (born 8 October 1961) is an Australian actor, active in films, television and theatre. Biography Simon Burke began his career at the age of 12, starring in Michael Cove's ''Kookaburra'' (1974); a painful look at a dysfuncti ...

as Jonah Jones,

Geraldine Turner Geraldine Gail Turner (born 23 June 1950 in Brisbane, Australia) is an Australian actress and singer. She has been a leading performer in Australian musical theatre since the 1970s, and has also been active in plays, recordings, film and telev ...

as Mrs Yabsley, Lynne Emanuel as Ada Yabsley, Dianne Smith as Pink Partridge, Alan David Lee as Arthur 'Chook' Fowles,

Wayne Scott Kermond Wayne Scott Kermond is an Australian musical theatre performer. He was born into a show business family. His grandfather, Gordon (1910–1997), and his uncles Norman (1920–2016) and Eric "Tibby" – The Kermond Brothers – were Tivoli perfo ...

as 'Waxy' Collins and Michelle Fawdon as Clara Grimes. Other cast members included Tony Taylor, Peter Carroll and Valerie Bader. The production was directed by

Richard Wherrett Richard Bruce Wherrett AM (10 December 19407 December 2001) was an Australian stage director, whose career spanned 40 years. He is known for being the founding director of the Sydney Theatre Company in 1979. Early life Richard Wherrett was bor ...

with musical staging by Ross Coleman and musical direction by Michael Tyack. It was designed by Roger Kirk with lighting design by Nigel Levings and sound design by Colin Ford. Sydney Theatre Company intended the season at the Wharf Theatre to be a tryout before a transfer to the larger

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue Performing arts center, performing arts centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive b ...

Drama Theatre and a national tour. As it was not a popular success, this did not occur. A revival by the

State Theatre Company of South Australia The State Theatre Company of South Australia (STCSA), branded State Theatre Company South Australia, formerly the South Australian Theatre Company (SATC), is South Australia's leading professional theatre company, and a statutory corporation. It ...

was produced in Adelaide in 1991, at The Space,

Adelaide Festival Centre Adelaide Festival Centre, Australia's first capital city multi-purpose arts centre and the home of South Australia's performing arts, was built in the early 1970s and designed by Hassell (architecture firm), Hassell Architects. The Festival The ...

Neil Armfield Neil Geoffrey Armfield (born 22 April 1955) is an Australian director of theatre, film and opera. Biography Born in Sydney, Armfield is the third and youngest son of Len, a factory worker at the nearby Arnott's Biscuits factory and Nita Armfi ...

directed the musical as a promenade production, with a cast including David Field and

Nancye Hayes Nancye Lee Bertles AM ( Hayes; born January 1943), billed under her maiden name as Nancye Hayes, is an Australian actress, dancer, singer and choreographer/director and narrator. She has been a leading figure in Australian musical theatre sin ...

. ''Jonah'' has also been performed a number of times at the

Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts The Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) at Edith Cowan University (ECU) is a performing arts school in Perth, Western Australia. Established in 1980, it is notable for being the most comprehensive performing arts school in Aus ...

Playscript and recordings

The book and lyrics were published by

Currency Press Currency Press is a leading performing arts publisher and its oldest independent publisher still active. Their list includes plays and screenplays, professional handbooks, biographies, cultural histories, critical studies and reference works. H ...

in 2010 as part of a collection of John Romeril works. Although there is no cast recording, the "Cardigan Street" musical sequence was performed by

, Valerie Bader and Jodie Gillies in a 1994

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

television special on Australian musicals ('' Once In a Blue Moon'') and is featured on its soundtrack.

References

{{Reflist 1980s Australian musicals 1985 musicals Musicals based on novels Compositions by Alan John Musicals set in Australia Musicals set in the 20th century