The Rob Guest Endowment Committee is delighted to announce the 2016 Rob Guest Endowment Grand Final Concert will take place on Monday 14 November at the Sydney Lyric Theatre. The concert will be a night of exhilarating musical entertainment as six young musical theatre artist perform live and compete to win the $20,000 cash prize in this grand final event. Supported by a live professional orchestra, they will perform alongside some of Australia’s most loved stars as the industry come together for an incredible night not to be missed.

Presented with the support of the NSW Government’s tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW, the night promises to once again be a highlight on the musical theatre calendar.

NSW Minister for Trade, Tourism and Major Events Start Ayres said, “Now in its eighth year, the Rob Guest Endowment Award celebrates Australia’s brightest young stars by recognising and nurturing outstanding talent in musical theatre and I congratulate all of this year’s finalists.”

The six Finalists for the 2016 Rob Guest Endowment Award were announced today. Competing against nearly 300 applicants, six outstanding performers were chosen by an expert panel of judges, which included Andrew Pole, Kellie Dickerson, Christopher Horsey and Lisa O’Dea.

The 2016 finalists are Du Toit Brendenkamp (currently performing in The Sound of Music), Hilary Cole (soon to open in Kinky Boots), Linden Furnell (Kinky Boots), Stephanie Jones (The Sound of Music), Genevieve Kingsford (The Light In The Piazza) and Matthew Predny (Kinky Boots).  

Now in its 8th year, the Rob Guest Endowment competition continues to grow. The 2016 Rob Guest Endowment Award winner will take home $20,000, intended to help them gain the performance experience, media training, guidance and a public image to help them become a leading artist in the Australian musical theatre industry. Applicants also compete for Melbourne's East End Theatre District Artist Development Award, a $5,000 prize, and runners up will each take home $1,500. In addition, the Playbill Future Prospect Award, a $1,500 prize,is presented to a Semi Finalist who displays promising talent.

This year also sees the return of two exciting categories open to competitors recognizing further excellence in the field of musical theatre. The Rob Guest Endowment Technical Award in Honour of Sue Nattrass is a $10,000 cash prize intended to help a current member in a technical department of musical theatre fund the tuition and experience needed to help them become a leader in their field. Applicants could be from departments including, but not limited to, stage management, mechanists, sound, lighting, wigs and wardrobe. The Rob Guest Endowment Musician Award, also a $10,000 cash prize, is intended to help a current musician in the musical theatre genre fund the tuition and experience needed to help them become a leader in their field. 

Tickets for this year’s Gala Concert will go on sale on Tuesday 4 October via Ticketmaster.

Guest Artists performing at the concert will be announced soon.