PERTH audiences have for too long needed to travel interstate to get their fix of international entertainment events.
However, times are certainly changing, and with the arrival of The Graduate's exclusive Perth only season, it seems the spotlight is, for once, on the West.
Perhaps the most exciting point about the hilariously satirical play that is currently taking over His Majesty's Theatre for an almost three-week run, is that no expense and attention to detail have been spared in bringing it back to life.
Bizarrely adapted from a book that was successfully turned into a film in 1967, The Graduate is set during a time when the counter culture was emerging, and generations were finding themselves on different sides of the page.
Set in 1963, 21-year-old Benjamin Braddock (American actor Rider Strong) is disillusioned with life ahead of him after graduating from college.
At a party at his parents' home to celebrate this milestone, Benjamin is trapped by his own nihilism, unable to accept he will turn into his father.
Enter Benjamin's parents' friend, a socially callous Mrs Robinson (supermodel Jerry Hall) who is as much an outcast as Benjamin.
She is turned on by his youth and naivety, which she takes advantage of early on by undressing to let the nervous young man see just how available she is, despite Benjamin really having no idea what to do with this roaring cougar.
After a torrid affair, Benjamin begins to see that underneath her timeless beauty, Mrs Robinson is nothing but a faded belle who lives in a world of wry jokes served on the rocks.
Thus, he begins to pursue the Robinsons' similarly naïve daughter Elaine (Perth actress Kate Jenkinson), and finds that maybe the best solution to his personal demons is true love.
Some may question the play's relevance in this day and age, but it really could be set in 2010 with its themes of coming of age, sexual etiquette and disillusionment.
The crowd at Saturday night's opening were wowed by a mix of tremendous ensemble acting - which includes a very talented Perth cast led by the striking Jenkinson - snappy direction from Peter Lawrence, nostalgic soundtrack and Rob Howell's show-stealing set design, which could rival the best of Broadway and the West End.
While it is Hall's presence that will pull in the curious masses, The Graduate is carried by the lesser-known Strong, whose boyish charm defies his actual age (30).
Hall and Strong have developed a strong onstage chemistry after playing against each other in both the UK and the US, but despite their long history, their scenes together are intense, awkward, hilarious and still feel fresh.
Arts purists need to remember this is not Shakespeare, but a blockbuster play filled with enough of the right ingredients to give the crowds a truly great night out at the theatre, and in that respect, The Graduate could be the best mainstream play to hit Perth in recent memory.
What: The Graduate
Where: His Majesty's Theatre
When: until September 12
Reviewed by: Ross McRae