Review: "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" is a Clever, Insane Musical Comedy Classic

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DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS

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Saturday 6th June 2026, 2pm, Hayes Theatre Potts Point (In season Matinee reviewed)

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Rebecca McNamee (Director) delivers a fabulous new production of David Yazbek (Music and Lyrics) and Jeffrey Lane ’s (Book) musical adaptation of DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS. Based on the 1988 movie directed by Frank Oz , this work is the perfect blend of song, dance, and well crafted clever comedy presented by outstanding performers that excel in all fields to deliver a hilarious few hours of absurd plot and classic Broadway in the intimate space of Hayes Theatre.

The premise of DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS is that slightly more ‘mature’ Lawrence Jamieson (Blake Erickson) has set himself up in the resort town of Beaumont-sur-Mer on the French Riviera. Posing as the deposed Prince of an obscure European kingdom, he targets wealthy women, in town for a summer holiday, and convinces them to donate money and more to fund his fight to win his kingdom back, a ruse he’d managed to rope the local Police Inspector Andre Thibault (Jordan Shea) into. When he believes that notorious con-artist, The Jackel, is planning to set up shop in town he hatches a plan to get him to bypass his territory but when it fails he ends up the victim of blackmail by Freddy Benson (Rowan Witt) and more schemes and bets are laid as they seek to secure the wealth of more women, the ultimate prize being the “Queen of Soap” Christine Colgate (Kristina McNamara).

Brilliantly funny and utterly absurd, DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS is clever contemporary musical theatre that retains the elements of classic Broadway while being presented with intuition and insight into human nature. While the underlying premise is crazy, there are truths about the need for human connection, what is real and what is contrived, and where people will draw the line with regards to personal integrity.

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels | Hayes Theatre Co

Photos: John McCrae

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_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/sydney/article/REVIEW-Brilliantly-Insane-DIRTY-ROTTEN-SCOUNDRELS-Is-A-Clever-Classic-Comedy-Musical-20260608)._