Crush: The Musical

Music and Lyrics by Kath Gotts, Book by Maureen Chadwick.

Directed by Beng Oh

Musical Direction by Daniel Tusjak

Choreography by Teresa Colantuono & Eden Read

Helen Macpherson Smith Theatre, Camp St Campus

It’s 1963 Britain and love is running rampant through the Dame Dorothea Dosserdale School for Girls, a progressive all-girls boarding school. The new headmistress is determined to CRUSH this outbreak of indecent and Unnatural behaviour and impose her Victorian values and standards. Meanwhile the girls are learning to stand up for themselves and for true love.

Brimming with catchy tunes and witty lyrics, CRUSH is a subversive and funny pastiche of Girls' School stories – a blend of Malory Towers and St Trinian's – written by life partners Maureen Chadwick and Kath Gotts.

First conceived in 1989 it’s a show that took over 25 years to come to fruition. Drawn from “the tragicomic emotional territory of first love and adolescent angst” among schoolgirls it was first met with bewilderment and confusion before finally premiering in 2015 and finding success as “a big-hearted show for all the family”.

CRUSH: a romantic musical comedy with heart and hockey sticks!

Set Design by Ken Edwards

Costume Design by Adrienne Chisholm

Lighting Design by Sidney Younger

Host or Publisher School of Arts, Federation University Australia