Impressive line-up of stars set to perform

at 2016 Rob Guest Endowment Concert

The 2016 Rob Guest Endowment Grand Final Concert will be held on November 14 at the Sydney Lyric Theatre.

The concert will be hosted by Lucy Durack and Penny McNamee, who both worked with Rob Guest in his final show, Wicked.

Rob Guest 2015 Endowment Recipient Daniel Assetta. Photo by Robert Catto

Guest artists performing at the concert will include pop sensation Paulini, principal cast members from Aladdin, the Helpmann Award winning Molly Barwick, Sasha Rose, Georgia Taplin and Bella Thomas who originated the role of Matilda in Australia, past winners Samantha Leigh Dodemaide and Blake Bowden, 2015 Rob Guest Endowment winner Daniel Assetta, and cast members from Dream Lover – The Bobby Darin Musical.

Organisers said it will be a night of exhilarating musical entertainment as the six Rob Guest Endowment Award finalists showcase their talent in the hope of taking home the highly coveted Award of $20,000.

The six finalists for the 2016 Rob Guest Endowment are Du Toit Bredenkamp (The Sound of Music), Hilary Cole (Kinky Boots), Linden Furnell (Kinky Boots), Stefanie Jones (The Sound of Music), Genevieve Kingsford (Light in the Piazza) and Matthew Predny (Kinky Boots).

The competition will be judged by Australian musical theatre’s finest creatives, including Kelley Abbey and Guy Simpson.

This year also sees the return of Melbourne's East End Theatre District Artist Development Award, a $5000 prize, and the Playbill Future Prospect Award, a cash prize of $1500. The four remaining finalists will each take home $1500.

The Rob Guest Endowment Technical Award in honour of Sue Nattrass and The Rob Guest Endowment Musician Award will also be presented at the Gala Concert. Each of these awards, fully funded by the Capitol Theatre and Sydney Lyric, include a $10,000 cash prize intended to help the recipients become leaders in their field.

Now in its 8th year, the Rob Guest Endowment Award is presented annually to an exceptional, emerging musical theatre performer selected by a panel of industry experts. It seeks out Australia’s brightest and most talented young rising stars by putting them through a gruelling audition process leading up to the Grand Final Concert.

Past winners and finalists are performing in lead roles in musical theatre around Australia, including Daniel Assetta (Cats), Kirby Burgess (Dirty Dancing), Andrew Cook (Matilda), Samantha Leigh Dodemaide (Anything Goes), Euan Doidge (Les Miserables), Glenn Hill (Matilda), Joshua Robson (Dream Lover) and Gretel Scarlett (Singin’ in the Rain).

The Rob Guest Endowment is supported by the NSW Government through its tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW.

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