FIRST WIVES CLUB and DREAM LOVER Headed to Australia?

According to a report in the Sydney Morning Herald, the US-born The First Wives Club and Dream Lover may be heading to Sydney for further development in the near future. 

According to the report: "Dr Zhivago and An Officer and a Gentleman don't sound as Australian as Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, yet all three were reborn in Sydney as musicals. What's more, they will soon be joined by a host of sing-along siblings: The First Wives Club and Dream Lover will soon be as true blue as Red Dog and Strictly Ballroom - and Australia's leading musical producer, John Frost, hopes they all make their debut in Sydney."

Australia has, of late become more and more a breeding ground for new productions that have their sites set on Broadway or international runs and it seems like the trend is intensifying.  For more on the report of how Australia is becoming the new "Off-Broadway" visit the Sydney Morning Herald here. 

The First Wives Club, based on the hit movie comedy and Olivia Goldsmith's bestselling novel, premiered at The Old Globe in 2009 starring Barbara Walsh as "Brenda," Karen Ziemba as "Annie" and Sheryl Lee Ralph as "Elyse" and was helmed by Francesca Zambello. The show features a book by Tony Award-winner Rupert Holmes and a score by Motown hit-makers and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Eddie Holland.

In the show, former college friends reunite at middle-age and soon discover they share the same unhappy story - their ungrateful husbands careened into midlife by dumping them for younger women. Inspired by their renewed friendship, the three women band together and take back their lives in style. Despite aspirations for Broadway, the show has yet to set opening dates or a production timeline.

Dream Lover, which chronicals the story of Bobby Darin's rise to entertainment fame, marriage to Sandra Dee, and untimely death at 37, is the new, not-yet-produced musical by John-Michael Howson and Frank Howson.  The musical reportedly features much of Darin's music, including 'Splish Splash', 'As Long as I’m Singin’, 'Mack the Knife', 'The Sea', 'Inka Dinka Doo' and 'Mammy'. John Frosts hold the rights.