Elf: The Musical

Hailing from Gosford on the Central Coast of New South Wales, Gareth was a commonly seen face at his local musical society before he decided to make the main stage his home. In 2016, Gareth received a Bachelor of Music (Musical Theatre) from The Australian Institute of Music. During his time there, he appeared as the Voice of the Book in How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and as Clyde in The Witches of Eastwick. In 2021, Gareth received a Masters of Fine Arts (Voice) from NIDA. During his time at NIDA, Gareth served as a Voice and Dialect Assistant for Next To Normal (Dir. Darren Yap), and … And Tell Sad Stories of the Deaths of Queens (Dir. Liam McIlwain). He has since begun operating his own vocal coaching studio, Tune-Up Voice Coaching, where he specialises in speech, singing, and dialect coaching services.

Gareth has most recently been seen as Robertson Ay in Mary Poppins (Michael Cassel Group, Cameron Mackintosh), and The Narrator in Puffs: Or Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic (TEG). Other credits include Eugene in The Original Grease, Featured Ensemble in Kiss Me, Kate (Squabbalogic), President 3/Waiter in Dear World (Neglected Musicals) Dull in Love’s Labours Lost (Melbourne Shakespeare Company), and Ensemble in Dreamsong (EbbFlow Theatre). He also wrote and produced his own musical cabaret, Odd Man Out, for the Sydney Fringe Festival 2017.

Gareth was also a semi-finalist in the Rob Guest Endowment Award (2018), and won Best Actor in a Play (Broadway World, 2019) for Puffs. Gareth has been a proud member of Actor’s Equity since 2015.

2024 marks Simon’s 50th year as a professional actor and Equity member. He won the 2023 Sydney Theatre Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical for his performance as Harold Zidler in Moulin Rouge! The Musical in which he appeared throughout Australia from 2021-2024.

He has starred in London’s West End as Captain von Trapp (The Sound of Music), Raoul (The Phantom of the Opera), Carl-Magnus (A Little Night Music with Dame Judi Dench), Georges (La Cage Aux Folles) and in the UK premieres of Holding the Man and When The Rain Stops Falling (Almeida Theatre).

Australian stage credits include Mary Stuart, Mrs Warren’s Profession and 3 Wharf Revues (STC), The Homosexuals, October, Satango, (Griffin), The Misanthrope (Bell Shakespeare), Noises Off (MTC), Strangers In Between (Seymour Centre) Three Furies (Sydney. Perth Adelaide Festivals) Australian musical theatre credits include Marius (Les Misérables – original Australian cast), Billy (Anything Goes, Green Room Award Best Actor – Musical), Billy (Chicago), Mr Banks (Mary Poppins), Edna (Hairspray), Bill Clinton (Clinton The Musical) Frank Snr (Catch Me if You Can), Charlemagne (Pippin) and most recently the Wizard in the Melbourne season of Wicked at the Regent Theatre.

His countless screen credits range from The Devil’s Playground (1976 AFI Best Actor Award) to Devil’s Playground (Executive Producer/lead actor – 2015 AACTA and Logie Awards Best Mini-Series), and 25 years as one of ABCTV’s favourite Play School presenters. Five Minute Call, a comedy web series set backstage of a big musical that he produced, co-wrote and co-starred in will premiere in late 2024.

He has held positions such as President of Actors Equity 2004-2014; Vice President International Federation of Actors (FIA) 2012-2016, Honorary Life Member of the MEAA.

Australian Film Institute Best Actor award : The Devil’s Playground (1976), AACTA Award & Logie Award for Best Telefeature or Miniseries : The Devil’s Playground (2014), Green Room Award Best Actor in a musical Anything Goes.

In 2015, Simon was named an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for distinguished service to the performing arts as an actor, singer and producer.

Brianna is an actor, singer, dancer and musician working across stage and screen. She recently starred as Marty Maraschino in Grease the Musical and appears in the role of Danielle in Rebel Wilson’s musical feature film The Deb. Other recent credits included the lead role of Ella in the world of premiere of Midnight at Melbourne’s Comedy Theatre and the role of Amber Von Tussle in Hairspray for John Frost and Crossroads Live. Brianna also appeared in the national tour of Chess The Musical for Storeyboard Entertainment.

As a young artist, Brianna’s love for story telling began when she was very young. She joined the Stage Masters and the Young Australian Broadway Chorus and knew acting would be her destiny. Brianna was only 12 years old when she performed her way into the grand finals of the 2010 season of Australia’s Got Talent for the Seven Network, taking her love for musical theatre to homes around the country. With a passion for performing growing, she studied Acting at The National Theatre Drama School in Melbourne and trained in Musical Theatre at National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA). She graduated in 2017, performing in Chimerica for Sydney Theatre Company directed by Kip Williams. 

After graduating, Brianna travelled the world as a featured vocalist for Royal Caribbean Entertainment and played the role of Marty Maraschino and understudied the role of Rizzo in Grease the Musical and Novella in Columbus the Musical.

Brianna’s early screen credits include the role of Ada the Nerd in Screen Australia's feature film EMO the Musical directed by Neil Triffett and international award-winning short films The Disappearance of Fredrick Valentich and Words of a Teenage Writer.

Brianna is also a singer songwriter and is currently working on her debut EP. She features on the Original Live Cast Recording of Midnight the Cinderella Musical.

Lara is an award-winning actress and entertainer who has delighted audiences worldwide.

Lara received rave reviews for her role as “Rosie” in the original Australian cast of Mamma Mia! Recognised for her outstanding performance, she won the Green Room Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical, as well as a Helpmann Award nomination for Best Actress. She was later invited to recreate the role on London’s West End, where she went on to perform for two years and was part of the 5th Anniversary celebrations with ABBA in attendance. In April 2019 Lara returned to London as a special guest in the Mamma Mia! 20th Anniversary celebration performance held at the Novello Theatre.

A WAAPA graduate with over 30 years in show business, other theatre highlights include:  Madame Thenardier in Les Misérables, Agnes Gooch in Mame!, Dirty Blonde, Teechers, Snoopy: The Musical, Sweet Charity, Jerry Springer the Opera, Celebrity Autobiography , The Detectives Handbook, Cinderella and Miracle City.

Lara has also appeared in numerous TV shows and feature films, including Bruce Beresford’s Ladies in Black. She is one of few actors to feature in three Baz Luhrmann films: playing Natalie in Strictly Ballroom; Momé Fromage in Moulin Rouge, and The Great Gatsby.

Lara has also toured the country with Rhonda Burchmore in their sell-out show Abba-Solutely Fabulous! and Partners In Crime. 

Earlier this year Lara made her Directing debut as director of 9-5 The Musical for Rockdale Musical Society.

Lara is delighted to be back at the Opera House to spread Christmas cheer in Elf!

Katrina trained at The Central School of Speech and Drama, London.

Established as a critic’s and audience favorite alike in Australian music theatre, Katrina most recently performed in the Australian tour of Menopause the Musical with SK Entertainment. Other credits include the roles of Diane and Others in Come From Away, Jolene in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Rona Lisa Peretti in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Judy/Ginger in Ruthless! The Musical, Trina in Falsettos, Alice Bieneke in The Addams Family, Elizabeth in Every Single Saturday, Arlene in Baby, The Musical, Sarah in No Way to Treat a Lady, Charlotte Malcolm in A Little Night Music, Alice Beane in Titanic, Jekyll and Hyde, Julie Jordan in Carousel, Songs For a New World, Sarah in Company, Guineverein Camelot and Nellie Forbush in South Pacific, with Katrina garnering wins and nominations for Sydney Theatre, Helpmann and Glug Awards.

 Katrina has also appeared in Curveball Creative’s streamed production of Who’s Your Baghdaddy or How I Started the Iraq War, the Hayes Theatre Company’s Big Fish, Dead Man Brake for Merrigong Theatre and the Sydney Theatre Company’s Wharf Revue of 2016. 

Katrina Retallick wrote and performed in her one-woman show called Impossible Blonde, which featured songs and stories of iconic blonde performers such as Marlene Dietrich, Marilyn Monroe, Julie Andrews and Doris Day among many others.

 In film, Katrina appeared in the magic realism feature Accidents Happen with the legendary Geena Davis. She also performed in an operatic feature film co-produced by Channel 4 UK and ABC Australia called The Eternity Man directed by the acclaimed rock documentary maker Julien Temple. Katrina can currently be seen in the drama June Again, recently released on Netflix.

Katrina was a regular cast member in Channel Nine’s Logie nominated sketch show Comedy Inc for four seasons and has also appeared on The Chaser’s CNNN and Backberner for the ABC. She appeared in the fourth season of Nine Network’s much-loved drama, Love Child and Bump Series 3 on Stan. Katrina currently appears in the recently released Disney+ series Last Days of the Space Age.

Oscar Bridges made his professional debut at 10 years of age as Kurt in the Sound of Music in Adelaide with the Gordon Frost organisation, soon followed by the State Opera Theatre in Cavalleria Rusticana / I Pagliacci in 2017. He was inspired to perform in musical theatre at the age of 5 after watching CATS for the first time. He performed in his first amateur theatre show at 7 years of age, and since then has done some 26 amateur musical theatre shows.

Trained in classical, jazz, tap and contemporary at Barbara Jayne Dance Centre as well as vocally with Kirsty Roberts, Oscar is thrilled to make his adult professional debut in The National Tour of Grease.

Oscar has worked professionally in his hometown of Adelaide with Ding Productions and at international events singing the National Anthem for international test cricket on multiple occassions, Tour Down Under, Adelaide 500, and NBL finals series as well as being the headline performer for CIVIC carols in front of some 40,000 people in 2018 and 2019. In 2019 Oscar was asked to work in New York filming with ITheatrics where he spent time filming three new junior musicals and fell in love with New York!

Having just graduated from Pulteney Grammar in Adelaide as a performing arts student, his recent credits include Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar and Miss Trunchbull in Matilda. He was awarded the National APATA performing arts student of the year in 2023, as well as being nominated by TASA as best youth performer in 2022 for his role as Jack Kelly in Newsies with Adelaide Youth Theatre.

Oscar is so excited to be playing Michael Hobbs with the stellar cast in Elf, its one of his favourite productions

Andrew is one of Australia’s most versatile Music Theatre Performers and has enjoyed an extensive & distinguished career over the past 35 years appearing in productions throughout Australia, New Zealand and Asia.

His musical theatre credits include the original production of The Phantom of the Opera (Cameron MacIntosh Australia/NZ), Cats ( Really Useful Group Australia/NZ/South Korea/Asia ), Love Never Dies ( Really Useful Group ), Me and My Girl ( Adelaide Festival ) Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street ( Life Like Touring ), A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum, The Pirates of Penzance ( Essgee Entertainment ) South Pacific ( Production Co ), Annie Get Your Gun, La Cage Aux Folles,and Genisis To Broadway. And most recently he appeared in Carousel a Concert at Melbourne’s Princess Theatre.

Earlier this year Andrew appeared in the Australian Premiere of Tim Minchin’s Groundhog Day the Musical as Buster also at the Princess Theatre and in 2023 appeared in the World Premiere Season of Midnight the Cinderella Musical at Melbourne’s Comedy Theatre.

In 2022 Andrew made his Opera Australia debut in the newly re-imagined production of The Phantom of the Opera as Monsieur LeFevre/Fire Chief.

In Cats he has appeared as Admetus and covered and performed the roles of Gus/Growltiger/Bustopher Jones and Old Deuteronomy in over 1300 performances.

He has performed in the Operas Carmen and Dido and Aeneas and has appeared to great acclaim as The Famous Mr Toad in The Wind in the Willows for The Australian Shakespeare Company in Melbourne’s Botanical Gardens.

Andrew has also featured in Possum Magic, Puff the Magic Dragon, The Tales of Peter Rabbit, Pinocchio the Greatest Little Show on Earth, Winnie the Pooh, The Magic Faraway Tree, Noddy, Hippo the Musical and My Grandma Lived in Gooligulch for Theatre Legend Garry Ginivan AM.

He also performs regularly in Corporate Entertainment throughout Australia and Internationally with The Three Waiters and Tenors Undercover.

Andrew is thrilled to be part of ELF The Musical.

Madeleine’s most recent credit is the National tour of Grease for which she is the Associate Choreographer, and Swing.  Following Elf! She will return to Grease for the Brisbane season next year.  Other recent credits include the National tours of Hairspray (Dance Captain/ Swing understudy Velma) and 9 to 5 (Margaret) for Xroadslive, and Darlinghurst Theatre’s A Chorus Line (Maggie) at Sydney Opera House. 

Madeleine was Female Dance & Fight Captain for Disney’s International tour of Aladdin before taking up the position of Resident Choreographer.  Other credits include the World Premier of Georgy Girl, the Australian Premier of Love Never Dies, Mamma Mia and Guys and Dolls.  For Melbourne’s The Production Company Madeleine was cast in West Side Story, Promises Promises and Guys and Dolls, and Michael Ralph’s Hollywood Honky Tonk.  She played Kathy in Company for Watch This and Selina in the play Kindred for GoldFish Films. 

Madeleine would like to thank her darling parents, and partner for their unwavering love and support. 

Sarah has featured in many of the world’s most spectacular musicals across Australia, Broadway and London’s West End.

Sarah trained at The Dance Works, QDSE and The Young Con in Brisbane.

Theatre credits include The Phantom of the Opera as Corps De Ballet then Christine understudy(Australia), Annie/ Roxie understudy in Chicago (Australia), Mary Alternate in Mary Poppins (Australia), Mary understudy/ ensemble in Mary Poppins (Broadway), Christine understudy/ ensemble in The Phantom of the Opera (Broadway), Ensemble in Evita (Europe), Young Heidi in Follies (Royal Albert Hall), Dance Captain/ Peggy understudy/ ensemble in Mrs Henderson Presents (Bath/ West End), Milo Davenport understudy/ ensemble in An American in Paris (West End), Svetlana understudy / ensemble in Chess (West End) and Dance Captain/ Ensemble in The Phantom of the Opera (Opera Australia). Sarah is so excited for her two little elves, Aoife and Jasmine to see the show.

John Rex Berry is an exciting musical theatre performer who hails from Western Australia. He is a former Irish dancer and rugby player who has always been drawn to the spotlight. John completed his Diploma of Musical Theatre at Matrix Pro Academy before furthering his training at Brent Street in Sydney. 

Since moving to the east coast in 2024 John has appeared in West Side Story for Opera Australia and filmed Rebel Wilson’s musical comedy feature film, The Deb.

As a young leading actor in WA, John recently returned play the role of Link Larkin in Hairspray. He has also appeared as Chad in All Shook Up and performed in The Wizard of Oz and Fame all at Crown Theatre in Perth for Hama Productions. Other WA credits include Danny Zuko in Grease and Fred Casely in Chicago for Drew Anthony Creative. He appeared as Prince Eric in The Little Mermaid and as a featured artist in the tribute to Olivia Newton-John A Night to Remember at the Regal Theatre.

Since graduating from Brent Street in 2015, Olivia has cemented herself as a true triple threat in the industry. 

Most recently, Olivia played the role of Cha Cha and understudied Rizzo in Grease (XRoads Live) immediately after finishing the Australian tour of Chicago (Crossroads Live/Jones Theatrical Group) in the ensemble and understudying the lead role of Roxie Hart. 

Olivia was an original Australian cast member of Hamilton (Michael Cassel Group) and Pippin (Gordon Frost Organisation) covering the role of Berthe. Olivia’s other stage highlights include performing alongside Marcia Hines in Velvet Rewired (Rix Management and Entertainment), touring Australia and Internationally with West Side Story (Opera Australia/GWB Entertainment/BB Group) as Consuela and understudy for Anita and Rosalia, The Bodyguard (Gordon Frost Organisation) and understudying the Mistress in Evita (Gordon Frost Organisation).

On screen, Olivia has performed on Dancing with the Stars Australia, The Voice AU, and Australia’s Got Talent. Olivia has also worked with Australian artists Jessica Mauboy, Tones and I and Guy Sebastian. 

Nakita Clarke is an accomplished performer from Sydney Australia, best known as a news presenter for Nick News, Nickelodeon, and Channel 10 (2022-2024). Her journey began at age seven when she starred as Gretl in The Sound of Music the Musical. With an Excellence in Performing Arts Scholarship from Village Nation, Nakita excels in Drama, Music, Piano, Bass Guitar, Singing, and Dance. She has participated in five professional stage productions and numerous film and advertising projects. From 2018 to 2020, Nakita showcased her talent in School of Rock the Musical, playing the lead role of Summer and covering four other roles in South Korea and Australia. Recognized as one of Australia's top 100 influencers by "The Australian,". Nakita looks forward to captivating audiences with her talent and passion for musical theatre. She would like to thank all her mentors and family for all the love and support. 

James is a 2021 Music Theatre graduate from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts. Shortly after graduating, James made his professional debut in the Australian tour of An American in Paris for GWB and The Australian Ballet, where he understudied the role of Henri Baurel. James most recently appeared in the global premiere of Elvis: A Musical Revolution! for David Venn Enterprises, understudying the split track of Frank Sinatra and Sam Phillips, as well as Vernon Presley. 2022 saw James appear in Titanic the Musical: In Concert for the Marollo Project in the role of Frederick Fleet, as well as Blake Barton in Neglected Musical's Bells are Ringing. He also understudied the role of Jimmy Winter in Nice Work if you Can Get It for The Hayes Theatre Co and Michelle Guthrie Presents. James is a Diploma of Musical Theatre Alumni from the National Institute of Dramatic Arts. 

David Ouch (He/Him) is a proud Cambodian performer and a graduate of the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA). Recently, he performed in the International and Australian tour of Miss Saigon (GWB/ CML/ OA), understudying and performing the role of Thuy. Other theatre credits include: Pierre/ BabyDoll Cover in the original company of Moulin Rouge! The Musical (Global Creatures), World Premiere and Australian tour of Muriel’s Wedding The Musical (Global Creatures/STC), The Secret Garden (OA/ GFO), Luke in Anything Goes (OA/ GFO), Showboat (TPC) and the role of Thuy & Engineer cover in Miss Saigon (Packemin). David played the role of Paddington Bareback in the TV Series, Why Are You Like This (ABC/ Netflix). He would like to thank his family, friends and the Working Management team (Wendy and Margie).

Rose is a 2019 WAAPA Music Theatre graduate. She made her professional debut at 11 playing Jane Banks in the Disney/Cameron Mackintosh musical Mary Poppins. Following this she played Jemima Potts in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang for TML Enterprises. Currently, Rose is playing Marty in the Australian tour of Grease. Other credits include: Ensemble/Billie and Jeannie cover in Nice Work if You Can Get It for Hayes Theatre Company, An American in Paris as Ensemble/Milo Davenport cover for GWB/The Australian Ballet, Hot Box Dancer in Guys and Dolls for Antipodes Theatre Company, The Making of Sasha Fein for Moira Blumenthal Productions and Irene for Neglected Musicals. Rose’s WAAPA credits include: Fran in Strictly Ballroom, Kathy in Company, and Bernarda Alba in The House of Bernarda Alba. She was the proud recipient of WAAPA’s Finley Award for Music Theatre in 2018.   

Originally from Adelaide, Lewis Shilvock (he/him) began his training in the arts at the age of five. He found his passion for the stage at Precizion Dance, leading him to complete Dance Force’s full-time training program. Just days after graduating, he worked in the pre-production phases of Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis (Warner Bros.) before flying to Los Angeles to perform in Rudy Abreu’s The Overthinker (Embodiment the Collective) as a part of Capezio’s ‘Moves at the Montalban’ season. Lewis was also a featured contestant on Season 15 of America’s Got Talent.

Lewis’s theatre credits include Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella (Opera Australia/Crossroads Live), MAMMA MIA! The Musical (Louise Withers and Associates), West Side Story (Opera Australia/Hands Opera on Sydney Harbour), and Snow White (Bonnie Lythgoe Productions.)

Nicole completed her training at Brent Street Studios in Sydney and has since earned a strong reputation as a vibrant and energetic triple threat performer.

Nicole’s credits include The Wedding Singer (David Venn Enterprises) as understudy to the lead roles of Holly and Julia, a Swing role in the Australian Touring Company of Joseph & the Amazing Technicoloured Dreamcoat (TML Enterprises), Bring it On the Musical (Supply Evolution Productions) in the role of Kyler, and an ensemble role in Nice Work If You Can Get It (Neglected Musicals). 

Most recently Nicole toured with the Australian company of Elvis: A Musical Revolution 

(David Venn Enterprises) as on-stage Swing and Assistant Dance captain as well as understudying the roles of Marion Keisker, Ann-Margret & Dixie.

Nicole has performed in Royal Caribbean’s Spectra’s Cabaret and Norwegian Cruise Line’s VELVET and Prohibition – The Musical as well as the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the 2018 Commonwealth Games. Nicole has appeared on Nickelodeon Kid’s Choice Awards and Australia’s Got Talent as and worked with iconic artists including Guy Sebastian, Delta Goodrem and Ricki Lee.

Nicole dedicates her performance to her amazing family, friends & mentors.