New Kate Miller-Heidke Musical Debuts

When you think about Kate Miller-Heidke, what comes to mind? A phenomenal voice, for sure, and beautiful, dramatic melodies that always feel completely unique to her. Why not stretch Kate Miller-Heidke as we know her and introduce a new musical to her repertoire? That’s exactly what she’s doing from 16 September until 1 October.

Yesterday (29 May), Kate Miller-Heidke announced her brand-new musical, Bananaland. The musical follows a 21-year-old character named Ruby who’s in a protest band called Kitty Litter.

The music and lyrics for Bananaland were written by Kate Miller-Heidke and her husband and musician, Keir Nuttall. Together, the pair are responsible for the writing behind Muriel’s Wedding The Musical and multiple platinum-selling albums. Director Simon Phillips also has a strong reputation – renowned for his work on large-scale musicals including Priscilla Queen Of The Desert and Ladies In Black, Phillips is famed for his stunning visual style and innovative staging.

“One fateful day Kitty Litter take the stage to be greeted by a sold-out audience… of small children. One of their songs has accidentally become a massive hit with preschoolers,” Miller-Heidke wrote on social media.

“An uplifting and irreverent musical comedy, with a hook-filled score, ‘Bananaland’ is by turns razor sharp and big-hearted. A tribute to the glorious absurdity of following an impossible dream and a celebration of live performance.”

Bananaland will debut at QPAC’s Playhouse as part of the Brisbane Festival from 16 September to 1 October 2023. You can sign up to the QPAC and Brisbane Festival websites to gain early access to tickets tomorrow (31 May), before tickets go on sale to the general public this Friday, 2 June.

On Mother’s Day (Sunday, 14 May), Kate Miller-Heidke joined the cast of Bluey for a special episode. “My episode of Bluey, “Dragon", premieres this Sunday 14th May at 8am and 6.20pm on ABC Kids. I play Chilli’s Mum,” she wrote on social media.

“As the parent of a 6 year old, I've seen pretty much every episode of Bluey. So playing Chilli's Mum is a dream come true. I'll be watching my episode on Mother's Day with my son Ernie. Ernie is not particularly interested in my music career or most things I do, but he's *genuinely* impressed with this.”

You can watch her episode on ABC iView.