Opera Australia has today announced the cast of The Trumpet of the Swan, a family friendly, live storytelling concert that will premiere at Melbourne’s Regent Theatre from 20 to 22 November 2026.
Helpmann Award-winning actor Bert Labonté, as Sam the Storyteller, will guide audiences through this enchanting musical journey, adapted from E. B. White’s (Charlotte’s Web, Stuart Little) charming children’s classic for the stage by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Marsha Norman (The Secret Garden, The Colour Purple), and with music by Tony Award-winning composer Jason Robert Brown (The Last Five Years, Parade).
Joining La Bonté onstage, playing Father Swan will be versatile actor and performer Ben Mingay who wowed Melbourne audiences earlier this year in OA’s Gilbert & Sullivan celebration concert, and powerhouse vocalist Marney McQueen, most recently known for her portrayal of Celine Dion in Titanique, as Mother Swan.
Completing the cast will be accomplished screen and stage actor Grant Piro, and local Melbourne based artists, Scout Hook and Arjun Tiwari, who will bring Louis’s world to life through movement and imagination.
Directed by the award-winning Tyran Parke, who is currently Head of Musical Theatre at the Victorian College of the Arts, the concert will be led by Australian-based British conductor Chad Kelly, and acclaimed Melbourne-born choreographer Freya List will add another dimension of storytelling to the performance.
Featuring a soaring score performed live, onstage by Orchestra Victoria, The Trumpet of the Swan tells the story of Louis, a swan born without a voice, as he learns to express himself through music and find his place in the world.
A hit at the Kennedy Centre in Washington DC, this beloved tale of friendship and self-discovery comes to life as a magical concert experience and a delightful introduction to live orchestral music for all ages.
Creatives
Conductor: Chad Kelly
Book: Marsha Norman
From the novel by: E.B. White
Music: Jason Robert Brown
Director: Tyran Parke
Choreographer: Freya List
Performance information
7:00pm 20 November
12:00pm 21 & 22 November
3:00pm 21 November
Running time
Approximately 80 minutes, no interval.
Performed in English.
Cast
Sam the Storyteller: Bert Labonte
Father Swan and others: Ben Mingay
Mother Swan and others: Marney McQueen
Louis’s thoughts, voice of Louis and others: Grant Piro
Serena, Sam’s Love and others: Scout Hook
Louis, Sam’s friend, the Swan: Arjun Tiwari
Orchestra Victoria
Bookings
Child tickets from $55 (+ booking fee)
Adult tickets from $79 (+ booking fee)
Family 4+ Offer $55 per ticket (+ booking fee)
Opera Australia Box Office (03) 9685 3700
www.opera.org.au
Regent Theatre, Melbourne
A Novel Symphony for Actors and Orchestra
Based on the Book by E.B. White
Book by Marsha Norman, Music by Jason Robert Brown
This adaptation of E.B White’s “Trumpet of the Swan” was commissioned by the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and was first produced at the Kennedy Center in December 2008.
By arrangement with ORiGiN Theatrical on behalf of Theatrical Rights Worldwide, New York.
