Our journey started with a sense of enchantment; a curiosity about a place and the stories hidden within it. Who played there? How did they play? What were their lives like way back when? As we unlocked the doors to the past and moved through old curtains; objects and memories came alive, guiding our investigation into the Broadway Theatre’s rich local history.

The team’s first investigations focused on the war years. They were amazed to discover the Broadway hosted grand dances where US marines were bussed in from Mt Martha to meet local girls. Wearing smart uniforms, cash flashing, and with stories from far-off shores, they must have been irresistible to the locals.

It seemed like a forgotten story for Rosebud – and a confusing mix of messages for the 1940s generation. With propaganda posters of the times encouraging young women to entertain soldiers while to the soldiers; posters reminding them to practise safe sex. Many broken hearts were left in the wake of these wartime romances as confirmed by research from the Old Treasury Building, Melbourne, entitled the American ‘Invasion’ during WWII (check out Margaret Anderson’s brilliant article, The Yanks are Coming).

Through collaboration with the Broadway, FMNT began a community outreach campaign in July 2025. We were able to track down a Rosebud local now living in Brisbane. Her mother’s story featured an engagement to a US Marine, ending with the war, and a lifelong following of his life until his death at 94. This real life story is the inspiration for a scripted vignette performed by Luce and Alice as two sisters and a lost love – one that left an indelible mark.

The story of the Cinema Projectionist, central to the theatre’s origin story, draws from local newspaper articles and in-person conversations with Paul Whittaker, Dromana Drive-Inn owner and son of the original Broadway owner, Frank (MP News).

An oral history from another local; Phill Virtue was taken. He recalls an era in pre- and post-war, when God Save the Queen played before films, seating was family-allocated, ice creams sold by a roaming lollyboy, and the audience would shout, “Shut the door!” whenever the toilet door was opened with light streaming in from outside. These quirky, vivid memories are echoed in several accounts in the local community.

With training in complex oral history techniques (at the 2025 Oral History Victoria symposium) we were able to record local stories from local elders, and bring them together with written accounts from the History of Dromana to Portsea Facebook page (link). They confirm the Broadway’s cultural impact for the coastal town of Rosebud; from the black-suited bouncer Mick Dunk shining his torchlight on kissing teenagers to the sound of water lapping as patrons walked home along the foreshore at night’s end.

Listen to Phill reading an account of his boyhood story:

For the 1960’s era, we looked to local newspaper accounts that referred to Denise Drysdale’s Go-Go dancing and other infamous performances at the theatre (including John Farnham!). While ABC video archives revealed Drysdale not only performed but also taught Go-Go dancing; a great story of Australian women dancing their way through the swinging sixties and earning a living along the way! (ABC Four Corners).

The show is a work of fiction and incorporates the theatre’s spirits; anecdotal stories added by Forget Me Not’s writer/director Luce Wirthensohn.

Adding a personal touch, Luce draws on her own memories of growing up frequenting the theatre when it was Rosebud’s Vintage Bizarre; a wonderful indoor clothing market (link). As children, Luce spent Saturday afternoons exploring backstage with a friend, who’s Mum owned the clothing Bizarre. They would try on period pieces under the glamour of the Art Deco proscenium arch, and tell each other ‘true’ stories of the theatre’s ghostly encounters. The eerie sounds from the projectionist booth – is inspiration for the show’s more magical elements.

To bring Picture This! to life, our team has worked closely with Jillian West, a Bunurong and Pallawa cultural educator, drawing on her story as shared in the In Her Backyard podcast, interviewed by journalist Tracee Hutchison for Mornington Peninsula Shire Council. Jillian’s story provides a vital pre-colonial perspective, enriching the show’s narrative and grounding it in the Peninsula’s deep histories.The team has also collaborated with local filmmaker and storyteller Stefan Raabe, whose visuals and creative insight have helped shape the cinematic elements of the production. 

While none of the cast identify as First Nations descendants, Luce felt it was imperative that any truthful historical account of Rosebud include First Peoples’ perspectives. 

We are deeply indebted to Jillian West for her generosity and grace in agreeing to collaborate with us and share her unique voice as Bunurong cultural custodian, we are profoundly grateful.