Prospero Arts will celebrate the classic film’s 70th anniversary with its concert style take on the beloved show from November 11 to 13, with Irish singer Bobby Fox in the leading role of Don Lockwood.

Fox has starred in major musicals including Jersey Boys, Riverdance, and Hot Shoe Shuffle, and said he cannot wait to perform with the 19 piece orchestra on stage.

“Of course I jumped at the chance, it was just a no brainer for me,” Fox said.

“The whole show happens with one week of rehearsal and then with four performances only. So there’s a lot of pressure I would say, in terms of actually getting it mounted and getting it off the page.

“It’s been a crazy year in terms of especially going from nothing to everything, and all at once. I think people, just having spent obviously two years inside, are really appreciating what the arts means to them and what the joy of musical theatre is and what the joy of live performance is.”

He said he found it fascinating that a musical seven decades old can have such a contemporary spin on current events, as it’s all about navigating change.

“It’s so timeless in terms of its construction, the themes being the world moving on in front of everyone and people needing to adapt,” Fox said.

“I know that it certainly has affected how I want to live my life and how I want to enjoy my life.

“I think what makes this quite timeless is, it’s just the quality of the songs, the writing, the direction, the flow, and those hits, those songs, Singing in the Rain, Good Morning, Make ‘Em Laugh, Got to Dance, all of those and so many more that you will know when watching it.

“The quality of the writing…The quality of any good music that has lasted the test of time has been always comes down to the quality of the writing itself.”

As he sings these songs and works on the choreography, Fox has come to a deeper understanding of what keeps audiences coming back to this classic.

“We have the orchestra on stage with us and we perform the show, the show is staged, choreographed, some performed live around the orchestra, but at the same time we are not losing any of the creative elements. We still have the full script, we still have all of the dance numbers,” he said.

“All of the choreographic moments, all of the music and all of the arrangements are adapted to be more orchestral.

“We have to do the Broadway ballet and we have to do Singing in the Rain. We have to do Make ‘Em Laugh. We have to do Good Morning, we have to do Fit as a Fiddle, we have to do Moses Supposes, we have to do them. They need to be done.”

He said he’s proud to be part of a quality new fledgling company.

“One of the mission statements for Prospero Arts kicking off their production company with this incredible musical and this huge task is really about highlighting and really about championing local talent and art, the world calibre that really is so homegrown here.

“It really is a feast of Queensland talent and on purpose as well. They want to give opportunities to those performers to perform in these magnificent shows, and also to bring shows to Queensland, this company Prospero Arts, they want to bring shows to Queensland that would not normally come here.”