ARTICLE: Melbourne     Conductor dies, but show goes on By DAVID ADAMS and GREG BURCHALL, The Age 26 October 1996 The Australian premiere of the blockbuster musical Sunset Boulevard will go ahead tonight despite the death of its musical director and conductor, Brian Stacey, in a hit-and-run accident early yesterday. The Australian premiere of the blockbuster musical Sunset Boulevard will go ahead tonight despite the death of its musical director and conductor, Brian Stacey, in a hit-and-run accident early yesterday. Grieving cast members of the $15 million production last night rallied behind the American musical supervisor Paul Bogaev, who took over Mr Stacey's baton for the final preview of the show at Melbourne's refurbished Regent Theatre. Mr Stacey, 49, died in hospital after his motorcycle and a car collided in Carlton about 1am. Witnesses said the car stopped briefly before driving off. Police last night interviewed a 28-year-old man in connection with the collision and later impounded a damaged white Datsun sedan that had been parked near the scene. The man was released and no charges were laid. Mr Tim McFarlane, the managing director of The Really Useful Company, the show's producers, said the premiere would go ahead tonight "exactly as planned". "In the long tradition of show business, and a tradition to which Brian was ardently devoted, the show will go on," Mr McFarlane said. The show's lead actor, Debra Byrne, said the cast was "extremely devastated" by Mr Stacey's death. She said tonight's premiere would be dedicated to his memory, with the approval of the show's composer, Andrew Lloyd Webber, who had been told of the tragedy and described Mr Stacey's death as "a loss to the world of musical theatre, not just Australia". "Anyone who has had the pleasure of working with Brian will know what a loss this is," Byrne said. Byrne, who herself was at the centre of a crisis earlier this week when she collapsed on stage during a preview, said: "We're going to give a great show tonight. He's with us, his love of music's with us, and we won't let him down." Other leading music industry figures paid tribute to Mr Stacey. The singer Anthony Warlow, who worked with Mr Stacey on several musicals, including The Phantom of the Opera, said: "He had a rare ability; an innate sense of understanding of exactly what the emotion of the artist was at a particular time." Mr Ken Mackenzie-Forbes, head of the Victoria State Opera's concerts and musicals division, had worked with Mr Stacey for more than 10 years. "Without a doubt he was the number one conductor and musical director of musicals in this country," Mr Mackenzie-Forbes said. "He really lifted the standards in the big musicals." The Premier, Mr Jeff Kennett said he was "absolutely shattered", and that Mr Stacey had been a magnificent artist. Earlier, Mr Stacey's daughter, Mindy, and his partner, Ms Kathryn Sadler, held hands as they talked to the media about his death. Police said Mr Stacey, of Northcote, was riding his motorcycle north along Rathdowne Street, Carlton, about 1am when he was in a collision with a car turning right into Elgin Street. "The vehicle (car) involved stopped momentarily in Elgin Street," said Senior Constable Mick Edgerton, of the accident investigation section. "(But) the driver did not get out. The vehicle then drove off and was last seen turning into Lygon Street." Suffering severe abdominal injuries, Mr Stacey was taken to St Vincent's Hospital, where he died a short time later.