Pining for Affection: A Tree Musical (2023)
Composer
Green Room Award Nominated for ‘New Australian Musical Theatre Writing’
An all-original musical adventure about the most unlikely of heroes.
Sick of being the scenery for a royal affair, our titular tree dreams of growing above and beyond his humble roots. With the help of his nocturnal friend, a catchy beat and a bloodied axe, this hero to root for will branch out of his comfort zone towards a life in the spotlight.
5 years after its Melbourne debut, the team at Marshall and Marrows are bringing Pining For Affection: A Tree Musical back to audiences by popular demand. Some might even call it a Tree-union special.
‘One of the most joyous experiences I have had in the theatre for a long time. A super fun and witty story with brilliant, earworm-inducing music and fantastic performances, gorgeous singing, and great direction. The team are absolutely at the top of their game. The audience went absolutely wild!’
- Melbourne Fringe Judge
‘Pining for Affection: A Tree Musical is brilliant entertainment that could well compete with Broadway musicals of far bigger magnitude’
- Theatre Matters
Composer
When Cassie Russell transfers to the prestigious Brentwood Prep for her senior year, she is single-minded in her pursuit of joining their champion show choir. But as she fights her way into their exclusive social circles, led by cold choir captain Brianna Morgan, Cassie learns that the criteria for earning a spot at Nationals is far more complicated than just talent. For Show examines the complexities of harassment, complicity, and the price of success
For Show was written and developed as part of the NYU Tisch Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program. It was subsequently workshopped by the New Studio on Broadway in 2021 and performed at acclaimed New York Cabaret Venue 54 Below in 2022. It has also been performed in Toronto, Canada at York University.
Book and Lyrics by Carrie Caffrey
Music by Earl Marrows
For Show (2021)
Wakey Wakey (2019)
Composer
Red Stitch, Melbourne
A celebration and a meditation on life; a stand-up style provocation that prompts us to re-examine our relationship to the world. Will Eno’s Wakey, Wakey explores how human dignity and our eloquence in the face of annihilation are the most powerful and affecting theatrical story there is. Intelligent, clear sighted and utterly devoid of sentimentality, this exciting new play is an immersive, transforming spectacle.
“Sobering and confronting but simultaneously life affirming and joyful”
-Australian Stage
Directed by David Myles
Holloway (2018)
Composer/Musical Director
Imagine your life rocked by trauma. Imagine sharing that trauma with the 300 strangers you live with. This is the reality for the students of Holloway College. On the precipice of adulthood, how do you react when everything you know is turned upside down?
Holloway: A New Musical is a proud original Australian production. By young people for young people, Holloway articulates the problems and trauma they face. It examines friendship, community and trust; how can these things be shaped and how can they broken?
Book and Lyrics by Fraser Mitchell
Music by Earl Marrows
Directed by Kathryn Yates
Tone Death: A Ghost Musical (2019)
Composer/Musical Director
What advice do the dead have for the living? You’re about to find out.
Halfway through their set, a comedian dies on stage, adding them to the ranks of a small group of ghosts who live in the theatre. Inspired to go about their post-mortem days scaring patrons and forming a musical troupe, the arrival of the comedian brings tensions between the ghouls boiling to the surface and sees the return of an old enemy they would much rather forget.
Packed full of witty puns, killer dance moves and catchy tunes, this international premiere of all original, Australian musical Tone Death is sure to leave you in stitches.
“Tone Death is a fun hour which is lifted beyond the ordinary by great lyrics, rousing composition and the most incredible harmonies which are almost angelic in quality”
-What Did She Think
Book and Lyrics by Dylan Marshall
Music by Earl Marrows
Directed by Dylan Marshall and Earl Marrows
Pining For Affection: A Tree Musical (2018)
Composer/Musical Director
It’s a Musical. About a Tree. Take it or Leaf it.
Sick of being the scenery for a royal affair, our titular tree dreams of growing above and beyond his humble roots. With the help of his nocturnal best friend, a catchy beat and a bloodied axe, this hero to root for will branch out of his comfort zone towards a life in the spotlight.
“The smile on my face stayed plastered on for the entire duration of the show and stayed on after I left”
-WeekendNotes
Book and Lyrics by Dylan Marshall
Music by Earl Marrows
Directed by Dylan Marshall and Earl Marrows