Manly Musical Society was formed in late 2008 as a not-for-profit organisation on the Northern Beaches of Sydney. We are a youth-based community group that provides an opportunity for local up and coming talent to join with us in performing musical theatre productions for the benefit of the public.

a long legacy

While our society is a very young one, it can in some ways be seen as a revival of 'The Manly Musical Society', which performed musical theatre productions almost straight from Broadway in some of the numerous theatres and halls that existed in Manly in the late 1920s.

At that time Manly was practically teeming with new clubs and societies, eager to cater for the extra leisure time and new freedoms of Australia post World War I. One of the many new groups encouraged by the wave of popular music was the Manly Musical Society, formed around 1925. The Society's first production was The O'Brien Girl which ran at the Palais Theatre on the corner of Wentworth Street and South Steyne late in 1925. Little Nellie Kelly followed at the Palais in March 1926, the playbill of which featured a drawing by local artist, Pixie O'Harris. Next came Little Jessie James in June 1926 at the Victoria Hall on the corner of The Corso and Darley St, which became the Society's home performance space, and the Society settled on a schedule of 3 performances a year. One of the highlights of the 1927 summer season was the very popular No, No, Nanette, a musical which was revived in the early 1970s and is still performed today.

The Society's eleventh production was You're in Love, played in July 1928. The pioneer aviator Kingsford Smith, after whom a number of landmarks are named in Sydney, including the airport, attended, after just completed his record-breaking flight from England to Australia in the Southern Cross, and a special song about his exploits was performed on the evening.

The Society tried their hand at dramatic theatre with the play Seven Keys to Baldpate in December 1928. Unfortunately, the Society met its demise sometime soon after this, most likely because of the combined setbacks of the demolition of the Victoria Hall in early 1929 to build St Matthew's Anglican Church on the site, which still stands there today, and the beginning of the Great Depression a few months later. As a result, Manly was left without a musical society for 80 years.

revival

The current Manly Musical Society was born out of a production of Les Miserables put on by Manly Selective Campus in 2008, a school the Society still has close ties to. Joseph Nizeti, Vanessa Moskal and Keith Muir, as well as other school leavers, were captivated by the camaraderie experienced during this production and were looking for a way to continue this beyond the realms of the school. They met at cafés and in school English rooms. A committee was formed and a connection was made with the Star of the Sea Theatre in Manly, and later Warringah Council's Glen Street Theatre. A logo was created, with serious debates on 'toothpast blue' vs. 'Macca's yellow'. After two failed attempts to start up the Society and put on a show, dreams cames to fruition with The Pirates of Penzance, under the knowledgable directorship of Patty Macintosh, who went on to direct the next three shows at Manly Musical Society and whose knowledge was invaluable for the budding society.

Manly Musical Society has since become an important conduit for those on the Northern Beaches and in greater Sydney interested in musical theatre. Whether that involves performing on the stage, playing in the orchestra, working in the wings, planning and producing or even simply going to see our shows, we welcome newcomers to our family and hope to see you at our next production!