Opening Night - The Wrap-up..

Firstly, thankyou to all those people who went out of their way to say "Welcome back to Sydney Shelley. We missed you." It was very touching that so many people were there to support me (and the other girls!) and I sincerely thankyou. It is wonderful to be back on the strip again!

Last night was opening night, and thankfully, the shows went well.

Our re-cast, re-edited and re-mounted version of A Dummer Shade of Blonde went down a treat, with many people in the audience miming the words to the songs and the movie audio grabs all the way through the 15 minute show! When speaking with Candy Box about what shows to put on for a Saturday night, we both knew Dummer would hit the mark - and it did! Yayy!

Ricca Paris was saying after the show that not only will everyone know the words to the entire show soon, they will be doing the choreography while watching it! Well that means should one of us break a leg, we will certainly have replacements available!

A big THANKYOU to my friend Abbey Road, for remaking our pink Finale outfits. She has taken what she made for us originally and remade them from a more sophisticated set of fabrics. There are quite a few layers in those outfits, which anyone watching may not be able to tell, but then that's the point! When you look at the inside, you see the incredible detailed (and neat) work that has been done. They are fabulous... Thankyou again..

Next we had our brand new show Rough Trade Hers.

That show I think all up went a little smoother, but that was probably because we had less props and easier costume changes.

Charisma Belle looked fantastic in her Opening outfit, as did we all, for Watching You. THANKYOU to Kirsten Damned for her costumes and for the fabulous wig that Charisma wore - HOT!

Well done also to Charisma on the choreography for her number. It was beautiful to perform!

Cleo Coupe then stole the spotlight with her eye-catching Union Jack outfit. The number Way To Go went off, as we all energetically performed the choreography to a pumping audience.

THANKYOU to Chelsea Bun for Cleo's lead costume and our schoolgirl skirts.

For my Finale, Voodoo Child, Abbey Road again made the costumes and I just love them! Based on the idea of a marching band, the girls had one piece dresses which went down into box pleats in the colours of Silver and Black. They fit like a glove, and again, so much detail on the inside and outside.

We were discussing ways to make this number even better, and might add a little more to my outfit. We may even organise an onstage costume change! Stay tuned!

In any case, as always, Abbey you are a star - there is no-one else in all of Sydney I would want to do my costumes! I felt like royalty in the black velvet, and you deserve much more than our budget can afford. THANKYOU!

For those who were there last night, we were to perform the Finale on the bar, but didn't have any room to get up there from our changing area, but we hope to have that ironed out from next week onwards.

I didn't mention it on stage (I'm sorry Cleo!), but THANKYOU to Cleo Coupe for editing the soundtrack to both shows for us. You always do such a great job, and we are so lucky to have your talents available to us.

THANKYOU to your dresser, Jason. You coped very well with two large shows that contained many props and costume changes, and you did it all without even watching the shows in rehearsal! You're a star!

The last THANKYOU is to my boyfriend. Thankyou so much darling for putting up with me over the long show prep period, and of course for running around organising the last minute things for us. We all thankyou, but more importantly - I love you.

Now, if you didn't make it to our show last night, then you certainly missed a fun night! Opening nights are always a bit of a panic on and off stage, but they also rock! Seeing (and performing) a show for the first time is so much fun.

Come along and see us at Stonewall Hotel over the 13 weeks. We had a photoshoot last night before the first show, so we will be advertising the the night - so no excuses! Pick up a paper if you forget and look for our ad! Or of course visit my website for show information.

Well it's time to clean up my house and get started on the next show, GREASE at the Imperial Hotel (opening Thurs 13th April). We have a meeting this evening with the whole cast. This one will be fun for sure! Stay tuned for more info...

Take care..

Shelley xoxox