In 2016, Anna O’Byrne was hand-picked by Dame Julie Andrews to play Eliza Doolittle in Opera Australia’s 60th Anniversary production of My Fair Lady. After a celebrated season at the Sydney Opera House and a national tour, Anna’s performance earned her the Helpmann Award for Best Female Actor in a Musical.
Becoming Eliza is Anna’s heartfelt theatrical memoir—an intimate and uplifting reflection on that extraordinary experience. With warmth, wit and vulnerability, she shares what it was like to work with a living legend, to share a role created sixty years apart, and to discover her own voice in the process.
Blending storytelling, spoken word, and beloved songs from My Fair Lady, Mary Poppins, Camelot, Victor/Victoria and more, this enchanting concert evening celebrates transformation, mentorship, and the joy of discovering your voice on—and off—the stage.
Becoming Eliza premiered at the Sydney Opera House in June 2022 and toured extensively around Australia to critical and audience acclaim.
Main Photography by Robert Catto.
Becoming Eliza at Sydney Opera House. Photograph by Prudence Upton.
Anna as Eliza in My Fair Lady. Photograph by Jeff Busby.
Anna O’Byrne has established an international career spanning opera, theatre, concert and film.
Anna is well known for her performance as Eliza Doolittle in Opera Australia’s My Fair Lady, for which she received the 2017 Helpmann Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical. Anna is currently on the Australian Tour of Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap and touring with her one-woman show Becoming Eliza which premiered at the Sydney Opera House. The show reflects on her unique experience and shares stories about working intimately with internationally adored icon Julie Andrews.
Andrew Lloyd Webber cast Anna as Christine Daaé in Love Never Dies, his sequel to The Phantom of the Opera. Anna was nominated for Sydney Theatre and Green Room awards for her performance.
Anna made her West End debut as Christine in The Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty’s Theatre, London. Further West End credits include The Woman in White, Strangers on a Train, Kings of Broadway, and A Little Night Music. Anna debuted with English National Opera in Sweeney Todd, starring Emma Thompson.
She released her debut album, Dream, in 2016.
Sharon’s stellar career as a performer and creative talent has seen her recognised with a swag of awards, including three Helpmanns.
Most recently, Sharon was Assistant Director to Priscilla Jackman on RBG; Of Many One for The Sydney Theatre Company and played Louise Daley in the new Australian play A Broadcast Coup at Ensemble Theatre.
In 2022 Sharon was the Australian Associate Director for Six The Musical, Associate Choreographer on Yve Blake’s smash hit musical Fangirls for Belvoir and played numerous roles in Simon Phillips’ North by Northwest at the Lyric Theatre Sydney. Sharon also recently starred as Penny in The Appleton Ladies’Potato Race for Ensemble, played Caroline in the original company of Fangirls and Joan in Small Mouth Sounds at the Darlinghurst Theatre.
Sharon’s starring roles in musical theatre include Roxie Hart in Chicago, Meg Giry in The Phantom of The Opera and its sequel Love Never Dies, Belle in Beauty and the Beast, Anita in West Side Story, Charity in Sweet Charity, Catherine in Pippin, Velma Kelly in Chicago, Columbia in Rocky Horror Show, Sonia Walsk in They’re Playing Our Song, Demeter in Cats, and Cordelia in Falsettos, and Little Red Riding Hood in Into the Woods for Sydney Theatre Company.
Other notable roles include the eponymous heroine Shirley Valentine, all female roles in Last of the Red Hot Lovers and all characters in Joanna Murray-Smith’s smash hit Bombshells.
Guy Simpson has been working as a Conductor, Orchestrator, Musical Director and Musical Supervisor for over 40 years.
He is currently Musical Supervisor and Orchestrator of a new production of Into The Woods at Belvoir St Theatre and Musical Supervisor of Miss Saigon for Opera Australia later this year.
Last year he conducted The Phantom of the Opera on Sydney Harbour and was Musical Supervisor of the show at the Opera House and Arts Centre Melbourne. He was also Musical Supervisor of Cinderella – all for Opera Australia. He was also Musical Director of Anna O’Byrne’s solo show Becoming Eliza and Do You Hear the People Sing – a concert of the music of Claude Michel Schonberg in the newly opened Opera House Concert Hall.
For Opera Australia he was Musical Director of Evita (starring Tina Arena), the 60th anniversary production of My Fair Lady (directed by Julie Andrews) and West Side Story (on the harbour).
Guy’s work on The Phantom of the Opera began in Australia in 1990 and has continued on and off for the past 30 years, conducting or supervising productions in Auckland, Cape Town, Pretoria, Johannesburg, Shanghai, Taipei, Hong Kong, Brazil (in Portuguese), Manila, Bangkok, Singapore, Guangzhou, Beijing and Seoul.
He has had a similar long association with Miss Saigon since 1994 – conducting or supervising productions in Australia, Manila, Hong Kong, Singapore, Brazil, Seoul, The Netherlands and Japan.
Other international productions include Cats (Australia, New Zealand), Chicago (Australia, Hong Kong) and We Will Rock You – the QUEEN musical (Australia, Japan)
Other productions in Australia – Muriel’s Wedding, The Wizard of Oz, Dream Lover, Prima Donna (the opera by Rufus Wainwright), Passion, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum(starring Geoffrey Rush), Love Never Dies (the sequel to The Phantom of the Opera), Les Miserables, Cabaret, Company, Into the Woods, Little Shop of Horrors, Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Pirates of Penzance, Snoopy, Seesaw, Zorba, Oklahoma!, Funny Girl, Call me Madam, Mack and Mabel, The Music Man, They’re Playing our Song, Carousel, Camelot, Little Me, Follies, Promises Promises, Gypsy and Guys and Dolls
As an orchestrator recent projects include the musicals Ladies in Black and Dream Lover.
As a producer of cast recordings he has produced the albums of Muriel’s Wedding and Dream Lover for Sony and 2 cast recordings of The Phantom of the Opera in Korea.
Enda Markey was born in Dublin, Ireland. He trained on a scholarship to Laine Theatre Arts in London, studying on the musical theatre course.
Following his training, Enda worked as a singer and actor in Ireland and the UK. In 2002, Enda moved to Australia and worked extensively on television, theatre, concerts, and cabaret around the country.
His production company, Enda Markey Presents, has offices in London and Sydney. His work includes: Side By Side By Sondheim (Australian Tour) including a gala concert at Sydney’s Theatre Royal starring Ruthie Henshall; Blood Brothers (Sydney and Melbourne) starring Helen Dallimore, Bobby Fox, Blake Bowden (Sydney), Josh Piterman (Melbourne) and Michael Cormick; Defying Gravity: The Songs of Stephen Schwartz (Theatre Royal, Sydney) starring Sutton Foster, Aaron Tveit, David Harris, Helen Dallimore, Joanna Ampil and Betty Buckley; Stephen Schwartz in conversation with Leigh Sales (Theatre Royal Sydney), Boublil & Schonberg In Conversation with Mark Humphries (Melbourne) and Julia Zemiro (Sydney). Geraldine Turner in Turner’s Turn (Australian Tour) and the Australian tour of Bobby Fox: The Irish Boy. In 2019, Enda presented Ruthie Henshall in her first ever Australian tour.
In 2013, he co-created Boublil & Schönberg’s Do You Hear The People Sing? which premiered at Shanghai Grand Theatre, followed by performances in Taiwan, the Philippines, and Australia. The Manila performances in 2014 and 2024 collectively raised nearly $1 million for charity. In July 2024, the concert played at the iconic Hollywood Bowl. The show has featured an extraordinary line-up of performers, including Michael Ball, Patrick Wilson, Skylar Astin, Jon Jon Briones, John Owen-Jones, Rachel Tucker, Bradley Jaden, Amy Manford, and Lea Salonga.
Becoming Eliza premiered at the Sydney Opera House in 2022 and toured extensively in Australia.
Future projects include further international dates for Boublil & Schonberg’s Do You Hear The People Sing? and Defying Gravity.
