John Frost

You may not know John Frost, but if you’re a musical theatre fan living in Australia, there’s a good chance he’s been responsible for some of your favourite nights out.

Known in the industry as ‘Frosty the Showman’, John is Australia’s most prolific theatre producer, having been in the business of producing large-scale musicals since the 1980s.

Since 2012, we’ve collaborated with Frosty on some of our most successful musicals: South Pacific, The King and I, My Fair Lady, Anything Goes and Evita. Frosty has also staged countless national tours of beloved musicals, including The Phantom of the Opera, Wicked, The Sound of Music, Chicago, Cabaret and The Book of Mormon. In 1996, he won a Tony Award for his revival of The King and I on Broadway, and in 2003 won again as a co-producer of the original Broadway production of Hairspray.

In this interview with Opera Australia Artistic Director Lyndon Terracini, Frosty recalls how he broke into the theatre industry as a 15 year old in Adelaide and built his showbiz empire. He also talks about what motivates him as a producer and reveals the one musical he’d love to stage.