THE SONGS OF BLUE SYNOPSIS

“As exquisite a biography as you’re likely to hear.” AUSTRALIAN ARTS REVIEW

Australian cabaret chanteuse and star, Queenie van de Zandt, renowned for her artful storytelling and raw, emotive vocals, brings to you the songs, stories and art of the musical legend that is Joni Mitchell.

Renaissance woman, painter and poet, Mitchell created a soundtrack for the generation.

“Joni is my favourite singer/ and I’ve been wanting to do a show about her and her music for some time,” said Queenie. “She gave a daughter up for adoption early in her career and her music was so influenced by this experience. When I gave birth to my daughter, it felt like a perfect time to explore this mother and daughter relationship and the effect that becoming a parent has on your creativity.”

In BLUE: The Songs of Joni Mitchell, Queenie, along with legendary musical director Max Lambert and a live band, explores her love of all things Joni. Using voice overs and intimate storytelling, Queenie takes us on a sonic journey through her life, loses and loves, affectionately reinterpreting Joni Mitchell’s melancholy music, and intimately revealing the stories behind some of her most haunting songs such as , Both Sides Now and Little Green.

Following rave reviews, and sell-out performances in 2017 at the Queensland and Cabaret Festivals and the in , BLUE: The Songs of Joni Mitchell, has continued its success touring and the US in 2018 with more dates set for 2019 and beyond. Along the way it has won 3 prestigious theatre awards, as well as being nominated for the Helpmann Award for Best Cabaret Performer and the Sydney Theatre Award for Best Cabaret Production.

BLUE: THE Songs of Joni Mitchell, is a beguiling night of melancholic songs, poetic storytelling and haunting vocals in a perfect intimate setting. AWARDS REVIEWS

“…the exceptional, “a stunning vocal powerhouse that is Queenie van de Zandt…uses evocative show… her thrilling voice and soaring range to explore the music of a highlight of the Joni Mitchell…” Queensland Cabaret KATE HERBERT, Festival” “Queenie van de Zandt... MUSTDOBRISBANE.COM summoned her muse to perfection, with “The audience was enraptured and awe-inspiring soul shouting for more… This is a and emotion, in song” wonderful celebration of Joni Mitchell CAMERON WOODHEAD, SYDNEY MORNING HERALD and the emotional connections we form with music that is borne out of emotion. It deserves to be a huge success” “…perfect for SCENESTR.COM.AU ardent fans of “Queenie van de Zandt performed as exquisite a biography as you’re likely to hear. Near aural Joni and for perfection…It’s a well-written show…Queenie the novice” distilled Joni Mitchell’s life, liaisons, and art, into a tincture of love and grace… THE CREATIVE ISSUE extraordinary and emotional…Queenie does a magnificent job” AUSTRALIAN ARTS REVIEW

“A beguiling night of melancholic songs, poetic storytelling and haunting vocals…perfect intimate setting…incredible empathy and emotion…all beautifully sung…Lambert provides wonderfully sensitive accompaniment on the piano…Van de Zandt and Lambert have crafted a gently melancholic, poetic show that can speak to anyone regardless of whether you know the material, but fans of Mitchell’s music will find it particularly appealing.”

JO LITSON, LIMELIGHT MAGAZINE VIDEO & PHOTOS

PROMO REEL: TO WATCH THE PROMO REEL CLICK HERE

PRESS IMAGES

THE SONGS OF BLUE JONI MITCHELL TECHINCAL SPECS

WE TOUR WITH:

66 Flickering Flameless 6pcs Battery Operated LED Pillar Candles 7 Rugs for the floor Easel Painting Cabaret stool Table cloth Tea pot Tea cup Pot full of paint brushes

VENUE TO PROVIDE:

2 x hand-held microphones - Shure SM58 or equivalent 1 x round-based straight adjustable stand 1 x angled boom mic stand 2 x music stands 3 x sconces 2 DI’s 1 x small, short cocktail table 4 x fold-back wedges (2 sends) MP3 playback facilities for PA Standard lighting rig with minimum 3 focussed specials Smoke or haze (if possible)

INSTRUMENTATION:

Ideally, we would do the show with a 3-piece band, but if budget does not permit we can perform it with just piano/keyboard and voice.

Piano (MD – Max Lambert – touring party) Guitar (Pick up local player) Double Bass (Pick up local player) THE SONGS OF BLUE JONI MITCHELL CREATIVES

QUEENIE VAN DE ZANDT WRITER / PERFORMER

Queenie van de Zandt is well-known for her incredible versatility as a performer having worked extensively in musical theatre, plays, cabaret, on television and film, and as a recording artist, comedienne and writer.

On television Queenie has worked on: Winners & Losers, Very Small Business; City Homicide, Da Kath & Kim Code; Let Loose Live; All Saints; Denton; Mornings with Kerri-Anne; Good Morning Australia; The Midday Show; The 7.30 Report and The Mick Molloy Show and in theatre she has worked for companies throughout Australia including STC, QTC, The Ensemble, La Boite and the Malthouse, in plays such as: Women of Troy; Face to Face; Rabbit Hole; Absent Friends; Abigail’s Party; A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Barmaids; Caucasian Chalk Circle; Secret Bridesmaids’ Business; The Vagina Monologues; The Road to the She-Devil’s Salon; Furious; and Speaking in Tongues. Queenie has also had roles in the films: Scooby Doo - The Movie, Salem’s Lot, and played the leading role of Margo in the Aussie feature film Girl Clock.

However, Queenie is still probably best known for her extensive work in musical theatre and cabaret. Queenie has played leading roles in hit musicals such as: , , King Kong, Smoke & Mirrors, Oliver!, The Full Monty, Anything Goes, Cabaret, , Eureka – The Musical, I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change, , and . In her early career she also performed in such classic musicals as Les Misérables and The Threepenny .

As a writer, Queenie has co-written two albums of original music: Amazon Woman and Other Stories and her subsequent one-woman cabaret show, Amazon Woman and Other Stories, performed at music and cabaret festivals and music venues all over Australia. Her two other critically acclaimed and award nominated cabaret shows, CABARET - In 12 Easy Steps and The Best (and Worst) of Queenie van de Zandt have toured to every major cabaret festival in Australia. In 2014 Queenie released Queenie van de Zandt - Live in Cabaret - a live recording of one of her cabaret performances and in 2017 Queenie performed her new show, BLUE: The Songs of Joni Mitchell, to sold-out houses in , Sydney and Melbourne. The show was subsequently nominated for the Sydney Theatre Award, the Helpmann Award and won the Glug and Broadway World – Sydney Awards for Best Cabaret and Best Cabaret Performer. The show is touring around Australia and Internationally in 2018/19.

Queenie’s alter-ego, Jan van de Stool, the madcap International Musical Therapist gathered a national cult following, when she appeared on Australia’s Got Talent in early 2016. Her one-woman show I GET THE MUSIC IN YOU an evening with Jan van de Stool which she co-wrote with Tony Taylor, performed to packed houses in Melbourne, , Brisbane and and in 2006 played to sold-out houses and great critical acclaim for an extended season at the in Sydney. The show was nominated for both the and the and toured twice to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Jan van de Stool has been seen by over 1 million Australians THE SONGS OF BLUE JONI MITCHELL CREATIVES

through her shows, her work in corporate theatre and her online presence on YouTube and social media. In 2017 Jan was seen on Arts and ABC, co-hosting the . Her new show for Jan – PARTING THE RED CURTAINS – will be seen in theatres around Australia in 2019.

Queenie has been nominated for 18 major theatre awards for her work in musicals, theatre and cabaret, winning 6 times, including the 2008 Jeffry Joynton-Smith Memorial Glug Award for Best Supporting Actress in a , the 2008 AussieTheatre.com Award for Best Female Actor and the 1997 MEAA A.C.T. Green Room Award. The many awards she has been nominated for include: 2015, 2014, 2009, 2008 and 2005 Green Room Awards; 2009 - Glug Award for Best Actress; 2007- 2 AussieTheatre.com Awards; a 2006 - Sydney Theatre Award; and a 2004 - Helpmann Award.

Queenie has been a proud member of the MEAA since 1989.

MAX LAMBERT WRITER / MUSICAL DIRECTOR

Max Lambert is one of Australia’s most talented and prolific composers, arrangers, musicians and musical directors.

Max studied at the Conservatorium of Music in Sydney. His composing credits for the STC include Two Weeks With The Queen, Miracle City (New Stages, with ), The White Devil, Arcadia, St. Joan, The Temple, Coriolanus (with ), The Girl Who Saw Everything, Harold In Italy, Darlinghurst Nights, Siestas In A Pink Hotel, and Story. Other credits include M Butterfly, Summer of the Seventeenth Doll and Kid Stakes (MTC), A Month In The Country and After The Ball (QTC), You and the Night and the House Wine (Nimrod), On The Wallaby and Sweeney Todd ( Theatre), Gentlemen Only (Kinselas), ’s An Evening, Sirens, Flashbacks and Deadly Sins.

Max has recorded Albums with and , and with Grace Knight and for Stringer and . He has also recorded with Judi Connelli, Renee Geyer, Paul Kelly, and Icehouse. He has accompanied many of Australia’s most popular artists including Judi Connelli, Rhonda Burchmore, Geraldine Turner, Todd McKenney, , Kerrie Biddell, Queenie van de Zandt and Su Cruickshank. Max is also known for his Playschool Albums, There’s A Bear In There and In The Car, for which he won an Aria Award in 1997. THE SONGS OF BLUE JONI MITCHELL CREATIVES

In 2005, Max worked as a musical consultant on George Miller’s highly anticipated Feature Film, Happy Feet. Max has previously arranged orchestrations for Jane Campion’s film Sweetie and coached Miranda Otto in Gillian Armstrong’s film The Last Days of Chez Nous. Max was Dame Nellie Melba’s accompanist in Melba and has played for silent films at The Sydney Film Festival. Other credits have included David Atkins’ critically acclaimed production of Hot Shoe Shuffle, in Australia, ’s West End, Canada and the U.S. He composed the music for ’ London production of St. Joan, co-composed and appeared in Berlin for the Sydney Dance Company and was Musical Supervisor on The Boy From Oz, the album of which won an ARIA award in 1998. Max was the Musical Director of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the XXVII Olympiad. He co-wrote Tivoli for Ballet as well as writing songs for Old Masters by Beatrix Christian.

In 2002 Max was Musical Director for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Commonwealth Games held in Manchester, and Musical Director of the Gay Games in Sydney. In 2003 he was the Musical Director of the ’s 30th birthday concert and in 2005 and 2006 the Musical Director for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies for the Asian Games in Doha, Qatar. Max was the Music Supervisor for the 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 New Years Eve Celebrations in Sydney and both Australia Plays Broadway concerts, the most recent held in Carnegie Hall, New York. In 2009 he was Consultant on Jerry Springer the Opera and Musical Supervisor for The Premier’s Concerts held at the Sydney Entertainment Centre.

In 2010 Max was Musical Supervisor for the Premier’s Concerts, the musicals and Fame and Director of Music for the Opening Ceremony of the World Expo in Shanghai. Max has been musical supervisor on the Global Creatures productions How to Train your Dragon and King Kong Live and most recently Strictly Ballroom – The Musical. The reprisal of Max’s musical Miracle City (co-written with Nick Enright) was a runaway success at The Hayes Theatre in 2014. His most recent theatre engagements include Ladies’ Day for Griffin and Letters to Lindy for Merrigong.

In 2017 Max co-wrote BLUE: The Songs of Joni Mitchell with Queenie van de Zandt which played three sell-out seasons across Australia, musically directed two revivals of his musicals Miracle City and Darlinghurst Nights and created music for the plays Diving for Pearls (Griffin Theatre) and I Love You Now (). THE SONGS OF BLUE JONI MITCHELL CREATIVES

NEIL GOODING PRODUCTIONS PRODUCER

Neil Gooding is an international theatre producer, writer, director and is the Chairman and one of the founding members of Hayes Theatre Co in Sydney. He has been awarded a Bachelor of Commerce and a Bachelor of Law, both from the University of Queensland. Neil Gooding Productions (NGP) was established in 2002. It brings high quality theatrical experiences to Australian and international audiences. NGP upholds a strong emphasis on the development of new work, focusing particularly on Musical Theatre.

Early in his career, Neil was employed by Jacobsen Entertainment, where he was responsible for the financial administration of the Arena Productions of The Man from Snowy River Arena Spectacular, the Long Way to The Top concert series, De La Guarda and Dirty Dancing, as well as being the tour accountant on the road with Ja Rule & Ashanti in 2003. In 2005, Neil also worked for and toured Australia as her Tour Accountant on her Visualise Tour. Neil has most recently directed the World Premiere concert version of Paris in Melbourne and assistant directed on the play Church and State which premiered Off- Broadway at New World Stages.

His producing work internationally includes: the New York production of Handle with Care starring Carol Lawrence; the play The 39 Steps, which played at Union Square Theatre in New York; Alan Cumming’s one-man version of Macbeth which ran for a special 14-week limited season on Broadway; as well as being a financial investor in, It’s Only A Play. In London’s West End, NGP was a producer of the hit Australian play, Holding the Man.

His producing credits in Australia include: High Fidelity at Hayes Theatre Co; the multi Helpmann Award winning which launched Hayes Theatre Co, before going on to have a national tour; and the original tour of Breast Wishes - a new Australian musical which went on to complete a six-month regional tour in 2011.

Neil Gooding Productions also produces some of Australia’s best cabaret. Some of the cabaret artists and shows that NGP has produced and toured include: Catherine Alcorn’s hit show The Divine Miss Bette which has toured extensively throughout Australia and the US; I GET THE MUSIC IN YOU, an evening with Jan van de Stool; in Irving Berlin: Songs In the Key Of Black; Marika Aubrey in Last Of The Red Hot Mamas; in Killing Time; Toby Francis in Love, Death And An American Guitar; and Queenie van de Zandt’s multi-award-winning show, BLUE: The Songs of Joni Mitchell, which was nominated for the 2018 Helpmann and Sydney Theatre Awards for Best Cabaret Production as well as winning 3 other prestigious theatre awards. The show has toured around Australia as well as to the USA in 2018 and is continuing to tour in 2019. THE SONGS OF BLUE JONI MITCHELL CREATIVES

As a director Neil has directed: Passion, at the Arts Centre in Melbourne for Life Like Touring; the Australian premiere of Dogfight by Benj Pasek & Justin Paul, (for which he received a Sydney Theatre Award nomination), and Truth Beauty And A Picture Of You both at Hayes Theatre Co; the national tour of Thank You for Being A Friend; Nick Christo’s cabaret show The Fabulous Frances Faye, which was nominated for a Sydney Theatre Critics Award, and was presented in New York in 2009 as well as ; Diciasette – Mark Vincent; Back To The 80’s; The Road To Bethlehem; Well Swung; Keeping Annabelle; Listen To My Heart; Building A Wing; workshops of The Silver Donkey; High As A Kite; and A Little Touch Of Chaos. Neil was also assistant director to Gale Edwards for the launch concert of Kookaburra Music Theatre Company.

As a producer/director Neil has worked on: Sing on Through Tomorrow (a song revue of the music of Matthew Robinson); LOVEBiTES by Peter Rutherford and James Millar; Love Letters starring Ian Stenlake and ; the World Premiere of The Hatpin starring Caroline O’Connor, which then went on to perform at the New York Music Theatre Festival, and the Australian premiere of Gutenberg! The Musical! for which he was nominated for a 2009 Helpmann Award and a 2009 Green Room Award.

For Packemin Productions, Neil has produced and directed The Phantom of The Opera (starring Ben Mingay), Beauty and The Beast (starring Scott Irwin and Donna Lee), (starring Amanda Muggleton and Rodney Dobson), Hairspray (starring and Wayne Scott Kermond), and , The Wizard of Oz, Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Oliver!.

Neil is also the author of the musical Back to the 80’s which is now produced hundreds of times around the world every year, as well as the newly released Popstars.

CONTACT

Neil Gooding NEIL GOODING PRODUCTIONS [email protected] +61 410 502 110