Coast OK to get carried Away now
The arrival of an award-winning international stage show at HOTA is a major coup for the city but perhaps this is just the beginning of a theatre revolution that can allow the GC and its many arts lovers to dream big
Broadway, West End … and Bundall Road. With HOTA set to stage its first ever world-class Tony Award-winning musical this week, it’s an incredible moment for the city … our very own debut as an international touring circuit destination.
So break a leg, Gold Coast. Ticket sales are running hot for the smash hit Come From Away, the feel-good true story show about a remote Canadian town that rushed to help stranded plane passengers after the 9/11 terror attack, but there’s more than just the bottom line at stake here for the city.
Cynics may scoff, but producers overseas are already waiting in the wings to see if a star is born in Bundall … and are ready to add the city to their schedules.
Indeed, while the threeweek limited season of the Broadway sensation is a coup for HOTA, it could prove to be a game-changer for the city.
Just ask producer Rodney Rigby.
The Australian has been with the Come From Away team from its first developmental production at California’s La Jolla Playhouse in 2015, following it through to its Broadway premiere in 2017, then the West End in 2019, and was instrumental in
bringing the show to the Gold Coast in 2022. While he may be the first to bring a first-class production to this city, he’s confident he won’t be the last.
“This show is being presented exactly as it is seen on Broadway and London’s West End on the HOTA stage, that’s the first time that’s happened,” says Rodney.
“But I believe this is only the start for the Gold Coast. The facilities at HOTA are outstanding and you’re talking a 600,000-strong population in Australia’s sixth-largest city. Why wouldn’t producers bring their shows here?
“Australia is always a difficult market because it’s a huge size but a small audience, so the more markets we can create the better – and the Gold Coast is perfectly placed for that.
“There are a lot of people watching what happens with Come From Away and the Gold Coast.
“With its population and access to a large drive market, not to mention already being the national capital for resorts, beaches, leisure and theme parks it just makes total sense to include performing arts as part of the tourism experience.
“Every show that plays Brisbane should be playing a shorter season on the Gold Coast – or possibly just the Gold Coast.
“A lot of my colleagues are looking very carefully at what’s happening here, there are a lot of medium-sized shows that should be playing HOTA to great success.
“There are two musicals and a play that I’m doing in the near future that would be very suitable to play the Gold Coast. That’s just me. I look around and there are many others that would work well in HOTA’S 1000-seat theatre.”
However, it certainly seems a piece of poetic justice that a musical about a town inundated with visitors should be the very show that welcomes tourists back to a city which has seen so few “come from away” over the last two years. Rodney says the heart of the show – about community, kind
ness and human spirit – is also perfectly reflected by recent global and local events.
“If we look at what’s happened in the last few months with the floods across Queensland and New South Wales, the pandemic these last two years and before that, the bushfires across New South Wales and Victoria, we’ve seen communities come together and work together and that’s the heart of Come From Away,” he says.
“It’s about community and people working together to help each other in times of need.”
Indeed, Rodney says the city should be applauded for its commitment to the arts, especially during Covid and in particular the development of the HOTA precinct.
While the Home of the Arts itself has been the subject of intense scrutiny, it recently posted its ts biggest gg April numbers with the highest visitation numbers and best financial results in its history, including under its former Arts Centre branding, in a significant start to the city’s Covid recovery.
“You just can’t have a dynamic city without sports and the performing arts – they are the backbone of any civilised society, they bring people together,” says Rodney.
“The Gold Coast has invested in both and it’s paying off. In fact, it was the awarding of the Olympics to this area that really got us thinking about bringing Come From Away to HOTA.
“You can’t host the Olympics if you can’t host a musical or plays or art exhibitions and rock concerts … and the Gold Coast is doing all of that.
“But it’s interesting that, when it comes to dollar figures, it’s the arts that really pays off.
“For every person that travels here to see Come From Away, they’re spending about $850 per person, per day – that’s including accommodation, travel, food and so on … it’s a lot of money so it’s worth the investment.”
Indeed, the recent Queensland Ballet performance of Sleeping Beauty at HOTA generated an estimated spend of almost $500,000 over two nights.
But Rodney says the key to future success is not just about attracting first-class shows but developing homegrown audiences – and talent.
“With an art gallery, amphitheatre, a 1000-seat theatre, cinema and more, HOTA is the perfect place to start seeding the future,” he says.
“The more shows that come through, the more experience and inspiration for the next generation. g It gives them the opportunity to not just see great shows but work with them too.
“But it’s great to see the development of our own domestic and local market as well, which HOTA has really championed throughout the pandemic.
“The most important next step is building audience development. With the performing arts, it’s not just a case of ‘build it and they will come’, it takes a lot of energy to build an audience.
“But what really breeds excitement and patronage is when audiences can see the best shows in the world.
“And hopefully, this is just the start.”
So Gold Coast, let’s get the show on the (Bundall) Road.