FrenchFest Interview: Musical Dream

Welcome to our special interview with the amazing masterminds and scriptwriters behind the sensational musical DREAM, which took Auburn by storm at the French Festival on the 8th and 9th September 2023. Let me set the scene for you: a normal couple Karen & Andrew, living a normal life in a normal house in a très petite toute petite very petite town of Auburn in Clare Valley accomplished something quite extraordinary… almost…. superhuman ….Oui, oui today we have the pleasure to dive into the extraordinary journey behind the scenes of the musical DREAM and its incredible success story.

*Scene from Musical DREAM: Virginie Forest*

Featuring superstar Shaleena Bain (playing Danielle), local artist Dino Jag (playing Jerry), Radio Adelaide Virginie Forest (playing the narrator & the ceremony master), 90% of South Australian original music (Dream Kajah) and so much more to be proud of. We are following the journey of a South Australian Girl, Danielle, living in Auburn in Clare Valley with her French mother and her Australian father and whose dream is to perform one day on the stage of the most famous cabaret in the world: Le Moulin Rouge in Paris!

*Lead singer Shaleena Bain surrounded by all the DREAM musical cast: Dino Jag, Virginie Forest and the Bellarouge dancers*

DREAM is without no doubt a testament to the power of dreams, passion, determination, and collaboration ….and Karen and Andrew are a beautiful example of this! They literally turned a DREAM into a reality! But t is also a celebration of the magic of arts, dance, music and theatre, and like a perfect recipe, choosing the right ingredients (and by that I mean the right cast) and following the right instructions (with a great script and storytelling) but also being flexible enough to let other voices add a touch of creativity and thanks to everyone’s input the story took another dimension and energy that made it very special and unique and people absolutely adored it….but also without giving away too much of the story DREAM is a celebration of life at its core…. Of course it is about love but not just in a romantic way, it is about family, it is about passion for a dream and ambitions, perseverance, it is about belonging, it is about 2 countries Australia and France but it is also about loss, grief, struggles and how to channel all these rollercoasters of emotions. DREAM has all the ingredients of what we can experience through life in its best and in its bad times…. It is also a beautiful reminder to follow your dreams. It will make you smile, it will make you laugh, it will make you wonder, it will make you cry…. It will inspire you for sure to pursue your dreams with passion… because it is the same passion Karen, Andrew and all the cast, but also people behind the scenes, the French festival and of course the beautiful town of Auburn put into the Frenchfestival to make it memorable, an unforgettable experience and we loved every minute of it.

*Café scene – Musical DREAM: Virginie Forest, Dino Jag and Shaleena Bain*

Virginie the Frenchie, for The Range had the pleasure to conduct a radio phone interview with Karen and Andrew the scriptwriters behind this beautiful success and tells you all about it in today’s show, with just one rule: Don’t stop believin’