Jonah

Jonah (originally titled Jonah Jones) is an Australian musical with book and lyrics by John Romeril and music by Alan John. It is based on the 1911 novel Jonah by Australian writer Louis Stone. Set in the inner suburbs of Sydney in the thirty years prior to World War I, the musical is an ironic story of the capitalist rise of a hunchback shoe repairer from a leader of a local Push to an industrial magnate. The musical was commissioned by the Sydney Theatre Company and first produced in 1985 after having been in development for six years. Productions Jonah premiered (as Jonah Jones) at the Sydney Theatre Company's The Wharf Theatre on 26 October 1985, one of the first productions in the newly developed theatre. The cast included Simon Burke as Jonah Jones, Geraldine Turner as Mrs Yabsley, Lynne Emanuel as Ada Yabsley, Dianne Smith as Pink Partridge, Alan David Lee as Arthur 'Chook' Fowles, Wayne Scott Kermond as 'Waxy' Collins and Michelle Fawdon as Clara Grimes. Other cast members included Tony Taylor, Peter Carroll and Valerie Bader. The production was directed by Richard Wherrett with musical staging by Ross Coleman and musical direction by Michael Tyack. It was designed by Roger Kirk with lighting design by Nigel Levings and sound design by Colin Ford.