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Drew Anthony (born 14 January 1969[citation needed]) is an Australian performer, director, choreographer and producer.[1] His productions of the hit musicals Grease, Chicago - A Musical Vaudeville and Strictly Ballroom recently played to sell-out audiences at Perth's The Royale Theatre at Planet Royale.[2]
Drew Anthony
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| Born | (1969-01-14) 14 January 1969 (age 55)
Mackay, Queensland, Australia
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| Occupation(s) | Director, choreographer, producer, actor, presenter |
| Years active | 1984 - present |
| Children | 3 |
His most recent production at The Royale Theatre was Saturday Night Fever, with other recent productions including 42nd Street at Limelight Theatre and The Boy From Oz at The Empire Theatre in Toowoomba. He was the Director/Choreographer for the 2021 production of The Boy From Oz, starring Ethan Jones as Peter Allen, at Crown Theatre, Perth.
From 2019 until COVID, he was the Creative Director for Flash EntertainmentinAbu Dhabi. In 2017 and 2018, he was the Creative Director for Kaleidoscope, Perth's light and illumination festival. Before this, he spent six years as Associate Artistic Director/Producer for David Atkins Enterprises (DAE).[3] He was the Associate Artistic Director/Producer for the 2017 editions of White Night Melbourne and White Night Ballarat.
Additionally, he served as the Associate Artistic Director for the 2000 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, the Ceremonies of the 12th Arab Games, Doha 2011, the Rugby World Cup 2011, and the 2010 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Vancouver.[4] Anthony directed the Sony IFA event in Berlin, Germany, and the Olivia Newton-John and Friends charity gala event at the State Theatre in Sydney.
Anthony was born in Mackay, Queensland, and raised on the Gold Coast with his four brothers and sisters.[5] His mother, Kay, ran a successful performing arts school, and his father, Bryan, was the manager of the Queensland Tourist Bureau in Coolangatta. At the age of four, he had his first dance lesson.
During his childhood years, and while a student at Currumbin State Primary School and later Palm Beach Currumbin State High, he performed in many musicals for the local Spotlight Theatre Company and won numerous trophies and awards in local dance competitions.
Anthony gained notoriety when, in 1984, he won the Fred Astaire International Jazz and Tap Championship in New York City in both the tap and jazz finals for his age group.[5] This experience marked the beginning of his love affair with New York City and cemented his passion for musical theatre.
While still a student in Queensland and in his early teens, Anthony sang, danced, and acted in a number of concerts, corporate shows, and local theatre restaurants. At 16 years old, he was given an opportunity to join the famous Regmat Productions at Australia's then-only casino, Wrest Point Hotel Casino in Hobart, Tasmania, as a dancer.
After six months he returned to Queensland and immediately received a phone call from the producers of the J.C. Williamson production of Me and My Girl, directed by Mike Ockrent. They offered him an ensemble role for the Australian tour without an audition, on the recommendation of Australian showbusiness legend Sheila Bradley, with whom he had performed a few years earlier in Brisbane.[citation needed]
After finishing his contract with Me and My Girl, Drew was cast in a succession of Australian musical theatre productions, including the original Australian production of Cats (musical), Rasputin, 42nd Street (musical) and Hot Shoe Shuffle. He was a member of the notorious Pardon Me Boys with Ignatius Jones and made regular appearances on variety television programs such as Midday, Good Morning Australia, and Mornings with Kerri-Anne.
He has appeared in Home and Away, Dirtwater Dynasty, the Logie Awards, Royal Command Performances and worked on the Kennedy Miller hit feature film Happy Feet. He continues to perform and recently played The Narrator in Stephen Sondheim's Putting it Together.[citation needed]
Anthony's choreographic credits include the Australian musicals The Boy From Oz, Jolson, Buddy - The Buddy Holly Story, the world premiere of the West End theatre musical Jailhouse Rock: The Musical and the John Williamson (singer) Australian folk musical Quambatook, which costarred his son, Benson. He also choreographed Orpheus in the Underworld for Opera Australia, segments of Red Hot and Rhonda for Rhonda Burchmore, and Young Judy for Rachael Beck.[citation needed]
Anthony served as the Creative Director/Producer for the NRL State of Origin and the World Handball Championships in Doha, Qatar. He was also the Associate Artistic Director for the Gold Coast Flag Handover Ceremony at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games. Additionally, he directed the Sony IFA event in Berlin, Germany, and the Olivia Newton-John and Friends charity gala event at the State Theatre in Sydney. The event raised money for the Olivia Newton-John Cancer and Wellness Centre Appeal[6] and featured performances by Christine Anu, Carl Barron, Daryl Braithwaite, Kate Ceberano, Tim Freedman, Mark Gable (The Choirboys), Todd McKenney, Ian Moss, Paulini, James Reyne, Guy Sebastian, and the Brent Street Dancers, accompanied by a 25-piece symphony orchestra.
In June 2008, Anthony wrote and directed A Musical Send Off, an all-star concert aimed at benefiting the Australian Paralympic Team, raising over $100,000. A critic wrote:
"If any of the other charity benefits that hit Sydney each year wanted to really learn how to do a benefit properly, organisers should have been well and truly present last night at the Capitol Theatre for the spectacular A Musical Send Off, a charity benefit to assist the Paralympic team go to Beijing later in the year."[7]
For his production company 'Drew Anthony Creative', Anthony has directed a variety of productions including Your Village Peeps (2022), Grease (2022), Chicago - A Musical Vaudeville (2022), 42nd Street (2022), Strictly Ballroom (2023), A Chorus Line (2023) and Saturday Night Fever (2024). His upcoming production is slated to be The Wedding Singer (2024).
Anthony has also directed productions of The Boy From Oz, Disney's High School Musical, Carlotta's KingsX and A Very PBC Christmas.
Anthony served as associate director on the Australian national tours of Pirates of Penzance, Me and My Girl, Jolson (Mo Award Nomination), 42nd Street, Singin' in the Rain, as well as for the US and UK tours of Hot Shoe Shuffle.[8]
Anthony has extensive experience in directing corporate and large-scale events, spanning both Australia and international venues. He notably served as Associate Director of the Closing Ceremony for the Sydney 2000 Summer Olympics. In 2006, he relocated to Doha, Qatar, where he held the position of Associate Artistic Director for the largest entertainment event globally staged, the 2006 Asian Games.[8] He also served as the Associate Artistic Director for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver in 2010.[4]
Anthony has a diverse portfolio of achievements, including appearing as the Australian Olympic team mascot at the Seoul 1988 Summer Olympics, recreating the famous 'Dancin Man' character to lead the VP Day Parade in Sydney, received a Mo Award nomination for 'Achievement in Musical Theatre', and teaching 5,000 people the famous Gene Kelly routine from Singin' in the Rain at Melbourne's Federation Square to open the 2003 'Dancin in the Streets' arts festival.