After leaving a legal career in Sydney to become a songwriter and performer, Aussie New Yorker Greta Gertler Gold now adds another accomplishment to her list of achievements: music composer and arranger for the new musical, Picnic at Hanging Rock. Even if you’ve never read the book by Joan Lindsay or seen Peter Weir’s film adaptation, you certainly know the story’s title and its place in Australian culture, which has sometimes blurred the lines between fiction and folklore.
In the lead-up to the off-Broadway season in December 2025/January 2026, Greta provides a glimpse into what led her to NYC and this extraordinary retelling of one of Australia’s most iconic bush tales.
Where in Australia did you grow up?
I grew up in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney. I studied at Bellevue Hill Public School, Ascham, and the University of Sydney (Arts/Law). After I finished my law degree, I began the College of Law program, but dropped out halfway through and started a band named Peccadillo. I then became a full-time songwriter and performer.
When and why did you move to NYC? And what have you been doing since moving here?
I moved to NYC in 1999 after being hired as the keyboard player in an Australian rock band that was touring around Germany for seven weeks, sponsored by a cigarette company (!). We would pull into German music festivals, and a truck would open up to reveal a stage with a “Uluru” backdrop. German women in Akubra hats handed out free cigarettes to members of the audience.
At the end of the tour, I asked the organizers to fly me to NYC instead of back to Sydney. I arrived with $1,000 and a suitcase. I had some family to stay with for the first couple of months until I found a job (working as a legal secretary) and moved into my first share apartment (19th Street/2nd Avenue, around the corner from Essa Bagels). Since then, I’ve lived in 12 different homes throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn.
I’ve been writing songs, making albums, performing all over town with various ensembles, writing and producing musicals, and much more. I love the life that NYC has given me for most of the past 25 years, and feel very grateful for it all—the ups and the downs.
You wrote the music for the musical adaptation of Picnic at Hanging Rock, based on the novel by Joan Lindsay, which was made famous by Peter Weir’s 1975 film. What inspired you to bring this iconic Australian story to life?
My collaborator, Hilary Bell (book and lyrics), and I have worked on two musicals before this, and have been friends for decades. We always wanted to find an iconic Australian film to adapt into a musical. Picnic was the first one we thought of—being such an impactful cultural phenomenon from our youth—and we were thrilled that the Estate of Joan Lindsay gave us the rights to a new musical version of her incredible story.
As a composer, I love writing for multiple female voices, and I was drawn to the complexity of this story, which came from a dream Joan Lindsay had over 10 consecutive days and wrote down each morning. When I saw the film in my youth it terrified me, but as an older person—and having recently discovered that there was an unpublished “Chapter 18” of Joan’s novel which provided some answers about what might have happened to the girls—I have a completely different perspective on the story; one that hinges more on the concepts of ambiguous loss and the agency of the girls who possibly chose to merge with nature. In general, I enjoy musicals with a darker and less resolved narrative arc, and that’s what Joan’s story offered.
Earlier this year, you staged a concert version of your Picnic at Hanging Rock musical at Lincoln Center in NYC. We’re incredibly excited to hear it will now run for a four-week season at Greenwich House Theater from December 16, 2025, through January 17, 2026.
What can you tell us about that? And where can we buy tickets?!
Yes, we are so excited for our world premiere production! We are currently in rehearsals with the most astonishing cast and creative team, including some fellow Aussies—Hilary Bell is here, and we are working hard together with director Portia Krieger, exploring the script, score, and staging. We are making exciting discoveries every day and becoming closer as a team. We also have the extraordinary Aussie Kaye Tuckerman in the cast, and Assistant Costume Designer Jemima Firestone Greville, a young Aussie who recently moved to NYC.
Other cast members include the exquisite Tatiana Córdoba (Real Women Have Curves), Erin Davie (Grey Gardens), Sarah Walsh (School of Rock), Reese Sebastian Diaz (Dear Evan Hansen), and others. Please come see the show!
GET YOUR TICKETS to our special AWNY event on Monday, December 22, 2025, or grab a special discount code for in-season tickets. FIND OUT MORE HERE.
If we were to follow you around for a week in the lead-up to this coming season, what would we experience?
We would love to see it on Broadway—the scale and legacy of the story call for it. We’d love for it to be picked up for an extended run somewhere else in NYC, or London, then bring it back to Australia, and onwards to South Korea and beyond. We’d also love to develop a high school version of the musical to be licensed worldwide. (Picnic Junior!) And I also want a sponsorship from Cadbury. We’ve been eating Picnic chocolate bars a LOT throughout this process, and I’ve introduced a generation of young Americans to this treat.
Have you had your “dream come true” moment in NYC yet? If so, what was it and why?
Working on this musical with this group of humans is it. This is also my first full production of a musical in NYC. It’s something I’ve dreamed of for many years.
“A remarkable addition to the musical theater canon.”
– Peter Marks, The Washington Post
How do you stay connected with Australian culture while living in NYC?
Checking in with my fellow Aussies in NYC as much as possible, such as my oldest friend in NYC (well, NJ now), jazz musician Sean Wayland and his wife Echo, the wonderful writer/filmmaker Jack Feldstein, incredible actors Jamie Jackson and Alexis Fishman, of course the wonderful BJ Jackson, and I’m always thrilled to meet other Aussies in NYC.
Recently, I discovered the incredible D’Lan Contemporary gallery on the Upper East Side, which specializes in modern and contemporary art by Australia’s preeminent and emerging First Nations artists. Visiting that space and the art gives me a profound and grateful feeling of connection to Australia.
I also love to visit Australia as much as possible. I recently spent a few years living back there, in Ultimo, and reconnecting with my family and friends. Bringing this iconic Australian story to life in NYC is one of the most incredible ways I’ve felt like my worlds are connecting.
If you were to start your NYC life over again, what advice would you give yourself?
In the words of Kaye Tuckerman, I’d probably say this to myself more often: “She’ll be right.” But I think I’d do it all exactly the same as I did. I’m very grateful for the life I’ve found here. NYC is a place of endless possibilities. Although it’s challenging at times and has its ups and downs, it’s certainly never dull! I have always found a spirit of generosity and creativity here, which allowed me to survive and grow.
As my 9-year-old daughter, Lila, astutely observed one day, as we were walking down the street in Brooklyn together: “New York is both disgusting AND amazing.” She’ll be right.
How can AWNY members connect with you?
You can connect with me at:
https://www.instagram.com/gretagertlergold/
https://www.instagram.com/picnic.the.musical/
PicnicTheMusical.com
GretaGertlerGold.com
Thanks Greta. Chookas to you, the cast and creatives for the Picnic at Hanging Rock, the new musical!
GET YOUR TICKETS to our special AWNY event on Monday, December 22, 2025, or grab a special discount code for in-season tickets. FIND OUT MORE HERE.
AWNY | Australian Women in New York 