Reviews and reception
Lottie first debuted in 2005 in Brisbane. The QWERTY girls were lucky enough to assemble a wonderful cast who went above and beyond - here are some of the shots from the show and some reviews.
Raymond Longford (Michael Priest) and Lottie Lyell (Aleathea Monsour)
An audience at their first Lottie Lyell film (from left: James Gauci, Catherine Hegarty, David Jones, Jennifer Ashley, Margery Forde, Dean Patrick, Michael Burns, Paul Liddy)
Lottie's siter Lynda (Jennifer Ashley) day-dreams about her picture-perfect future.
“From its passionate retelling of the story of little-known early actor and director Lottie Lyell to its enchanting musical score, this sparkling piece of musical theatre offers much more than just patriotism and pride. Lottie – the musical deserves to take its place immediately in the pantheon of great Australian musicals.” (Alison Cotes, Stage Diary)
“Lottie – the musical is a major contribution to the rediscovery of a luminary Australian artist but the piece stands strongly on its own legs as an uncompromisingly Australian theatre work that deserves to go far.” (Mary Nemeth, Time off, 2005)
“That Aleathea Monsour and Katy Forde should choose these people as the subject matter for their musical is perhaps all the more miraculous because … this piece of history is so little known or understood. Beautifully written. 4.5 stars ” (Nigel Munro-Wallis, ABC Online)
“This ambitious musical has such a big heart you can’t help but be swept away by its charming sincerity. It’s hard to find fault with ‘Lottie’. The earnestness of the supporting cast and the brilliant band round out a finely-tuned musical that’s sure to initiate discussion. This isn’t a disposable production – it asks questions of its audience. Are we a free-thinking country? Have we lost touch with our own history? And how long do we remain disturbingly complacent while staring down the barrel of Americanisation?” (Dan Evans, Scene magazine.)
Lottie - the album!
On the strength of the show's success, the QWERTY girls won an Arts Queensland grant to produce an album of the songs from Lottie. (Listen to some of the songs.)
Lottie goes to Melbourne
Lottie was selected for "On the Drawing Board", an event where new selections of musicals are performed by professional actors in Melbourne. Here are some highlights of "Lottie" at the event.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWbe6Myj1Pg
Lottie goes to Melbourne - again!
Most recently, Lottie returned to Melbourne for a full-length workshop performance. Special thank you to the wonderful Craig Christie for helping to make this happen! As a result of this workshop, Katy and Aleathea are currently working towards having "Lottie" published.