Howzat?

Shane Warne The Musical makes its world premiere at Melbourne's Athenaeum Theatre tonight, and at last check organisers were still holding out hope that the inspiration for the show, who was initially critical of the concept before later attending the preview, might yet turn up. Warne would have been in Mumbai this week to play in the Twenty20 Champions League and so had a convenient excuse to RSVP in the negative. Which he did. But given that's been cancelled and he's still in town, we reckon Warnie could do a lot worse than mixing it up with the swell list of invitees in the Ath foyer and celebrating himself. Why, we ask, wouldn't you want to go to a musical described as "a new breed of theatre that smokes, drinks, carries a few extra kilos and still brings home the Ashes"? Retired Western Bulldog Luke Darcy and Magpie legend Tony Shaw are the only sporting types on the guest list and they will be joined by the likes of thespians Hugo Weaving, cricket mad William McInnes and Catherine McClements as well as a handful of singer-songwriters who don't mind their sport — Paul Kelly, Deborah Conway and Tim Rogers.

[...]