Happy Days - The Arena Mega Musical
Happy Days - The Arena Mega Musical is an Australian musical that is a spinoff of the USA sitcom Happy Days. Directed by David Gilmore and produced by Paul Dainty it debuted in Sydney in October 1999, subsequently playing in Melbourne, Adelelaide, Perth and Brisbane. The musical had a preview staging at the Newcastle Entertainment Centre on 7 October 1999 before its official opening on the 15th at Sydney's SuperDome. The musical was met with mixed to poor reviews. Paul LePetit of the Sunday Telegraph wrote that it was "a relentlessly bright but banal  night. Plenty of colour and movement, but little plot and a lot of over-acting." The Sun Herald's Colin Rose said that the "clichéd storyline, as old as the hills, was merely an excuse to play the great hits (27 of them) from rock'n'roll's heyday, songs such as Jailhouse Rock, Great Balls Of Fire and Johnny B Goode." Chelsea Clarke writing in the Daily Telegraph praised the " dazzling costumes, excellent staging, bright choreography and stunning use of the impressive lighting rig." but said that from "a creative point of view, though, it lacks a great deal of what  made other arena spectaculars such as Grease so successful". The Australians Stephen Brooks writes "what a shame the actual Happy Days element of the show doesn't fare as well." Ara Jansen praised the show in The West Australian, "If Happy Days doesn't put a smile on your face, then you're in need of therapy." An Original Cast Recording album was released and was nominated for the 2000 ARIA Award for Best Cast or Show Album.