AUSSIE SONG

Libretto and Music by FRANCES RAE KEY

DECEMBER 4-6, 10-13, 17-19 | 2009

Showtimes : Thurs, Fri & Sat at 8:00pm | Sun at 2:00pm
Box Office Opens : 45 minutes before show
Doors Open : 30 minutes before show
Admission : Adults - $20 | Children 12 and under - $10

MUSICAL | WORLD PREMIERE by Jacksonville composer, Frances Rae Key. Aussie Song relates the true-life story of Teddy Trager and her family. This poignant tale takes us from 1930s Australia, through World War II to the backwoods of Texas, and finally to right here in Jacksonville. Perfect family holiday musical with rousing tunes and an old-fashioned love story.

Their father’s secret kept them moving; his gift of song kept them together.

Directed by CARYL BUTTERLEY

Musical Direction by AARON MARSHALL
Arranged by DANI DONADI
Choreographed by WENDY SUGALSKI

featuring
STACY WILLIAMS as Teddy Trager
BILL WHITE as Frank Trager
STACI COBB as Ann Trager
SAMANTHA MATHERS as Merle Trager
SHANNON LAHEY as Young Teddy Trager
MONTANNA JENKINS as Young Merle Trager
DAVID PAUL as Raymond Key
SUSAN J ROCHE as Mama Key
LINDSEY CATERSON as Verna Mae Key
RUSSELL THRIFT as Clemmy Key

with
CARSON MERRY BAILLIE as Mother Elizabeth
DEBORAH HURM as Frances
MARGARET-ANN HOLMES HENNESSEY as Kelly
GRETTA L RUSSE as Headmistress/Mrs Wiggins
JUSTIN KENNEDY as Joey/Louie
CHRISTIAN NYMAN and DANIEL PRILL as Tom
JULIE GREEN as Sylvia/Sister Elizabeth
MARK ROBINSON as Captain/Announcer/Mr Clancy
SAMANTHA JENKINS as Lucie/Marie
DAVID BALDWIN as Jake/Duane

ARTICLES and REVIEWS

REVIEW

The four leads, Bill White, Staci Cobb, Stacy Williams and David Paul, who sang most of the songs were quite good and brought their years of stage experience to their roles… I don’t think ABET could have done any better than Caryl Butterley as Director, her expertise and patience coupled with Ms. Key’s rich and complex script, made this an interesting evening of theatre.
- DICK KEREKES, eu Jacksonville | READ FULL ARTICLE…

ARTICLE

My mother is well known by thousands of people in Jacksonville for her work in schools and with children… The show is based on hundreds of family stories I heard throughout my life.
- TAMARA McCLARAN, Shorelines | READ FULL ARTICLE…

INSPIRATION

by Frances Rae Key, playwright and composer

I’m often asked where the songs and ideas came from for the show Aussie Song. While the inspiration to write this musical seemed to come in a hypnotic rush in 2005, in retrospect, it was clearly the result of a slow-growing, subconcious assemblage of childhood memories and family tales passed through the ages. The stories my mother told me of her growing-up years in Australia led me to revere my happy-go-lucky grandfather, Frank Trager as a hero, and to perceive her immigration to America as a grand adventure.

Raymond Key and Teddy Trager on their wedding day | Perth, Australia | 1943

Once the vision of a stage show came to me, I was truly swept along by the magic and the mystery of their lives and that segment of history, and within just six weeks I’d structured the script and most of the songs. Numerous edits have occurred of course - the most recent under the tutelege of Caryl Butterley, our director - in an effort to condense a lifetime of information into a manageable and understandable presentation.

To think that many of my family members who are portrayed in this story will be able to witness my rendition of their lives is both a joy and a responsibility. I hope I have captured the essence of their experiences - the charm, difficulties, heartaches, humor and joys - somewhat adequately. I hope audiences will feel a connection with the characters, who made their life journey in a different time under very different circumstances, but in the big picture, a journey perhaps not so different from our own.

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Most of all, I hope that those who see the show will be touched by the legacy of music, love, wisdom and forgiveness that these characters have passed along to so many others. For what is Life but a collection of memories that bring us to dwell in the ever-new, yet ever-changing, “eternal now”? Aussie Song is for me the revealing of my own personal collection of such memories, and in that sense, the revealing of the forces that have shaped my life. My deepest thanks to all those who have teamed together to help me share “the song that opened the door to a magical place in my heart….”