ALL HANDS ON DECK TO DISH UP A DOUBLE FEATURE

WELL-KNOWN Tassie act Croon cruised around Hobart atop one of the city’s double-decker buses on Friday and belted out a tune or two.

Entertainers Andrew Colrain, Colin Dean and John Xintavelonis jumped on the bus to launch their new show The Best is Yet to Come, which will be staged at the Theatre Royal from August 31 to September 3.

Croon’s seventh show in 10 years sees the three men team up once again with Matthew Ives’ 18-piece big band to bring a new list of classic songs to their Hobart audiences.

Across five performances, the trio will also be joined by the Croonette dancers and the Baby Croon back-up singers.

Xintavelonis, who has performed on stage as Pumbaa in The Lion King and the Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz, joked that the members of Baby Croon were like Croon but “younger, thinner and with hair”.

For the second time, the men will be performing a show in the renowned Studio Theatre.

“The space is very intimate and allows us to engage with the audience all night,” Xintavelonis said.

“It very much has a close cabaret feel about the whole thing.”

He also told the Mercury that there were two reasons behind the show’s name.

“In case people don’t enjoy it as much as they’ve enjoyed our previous shows, we tell them that’s why it’s called The Best is Yet to Come,” Xintavelonis said.

“And the other reason is it’s the title of a song that opens the show.”

The men have performed together as Croon for 10 years and released an album five years ago.

“We just thought we’d get out and about and brave the cold,” Xintavelonis said of the bus ride.

It was not the first time Croon has jumped on a double-decker bus, with Hobart shoppers treated to a similar swinging, singing surprise back in 2017.

Tickets to the new show are $79 and are available online from