A brand-new Australian production of the much-loved and revolutionary rock musical, HAIR will be performed on the stunning outdoor stage at HOTA, Home of the Arts on the Gold Coast in October as part of a spectacular national tour which also takes Perth, Geelong, Wyong, Wollongong and Sydney. Leading the cast is award winning TV and theatre star, Hugh Sheridan, in the role of Berger as well as Australian musical powerhouse Paulini in the role of Dionne.
HOTA is the exclusive home of HAIR in Queensland and follows an opening launch program for the Outdoor Stage last year which featured exclusive performances by acclaimed artists Tim Minchin, Laurie Andersonand Neil Finn.
Two shows will be performed on the HOTA Outdoor Stage on Friday October 11 and Saturday October 12, with the pre-sale wait list at www.hota.com.au/theatre/hair. Tickets go on sale to the general public at 9am, May 15.
HAIR will be produced by David M. Hawkins (Liza Minnelli, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Cabaret) who has a assembled a talented local creative team with Set Design by Michael-Scott Mitchell, Choreography by Amy Campbell, and Musical Direction by Glenn Moorhouse. Leading the creative team is maverick young director, Declan Greene. His recent production Blackie Blackie Brown was a huge success, gripping audiences with its bold script and innovative storytelling. It sold out in Sydney and Melbourne and is set to return later this year.
HAIR celebrates sixties counterculture in all its barefoot, long-haired, radical glory with an infectious, energetic rock beat. The show features a Grammy® Award-winning score including the hit songs Aquarius, Good Morning, Starshine, Hair, I Got Life and Let The Sun Shine.
Fifty years ago, the original Australian production of HAIR was produced by the late Harry M. Miller and directed by Jim Sharman. It ran for two years at the Metro Theatre in Kings Cross to sell-out crowds, controversy and rave reviews, kick-starting the careers of many of Australia’s most prolific performers including Reg Livermore, John Waters and Marcia Hines.
HAIR is set in the 1960s, a turbulent, anarchic and exciting time in which people were losing faith in the establishment, austerity measures and the Vietnam War. Hippie counter culture, experimentation and free-love eschewed conformity and the world collectively let their HAIR down. Today, amidst global turmoil, issues like human rights, the environment, freedom of religion, race and gender equality continue to dominate dinner party and water cooler discussions across the country – and now, on social media. HAIR’s themes of identity, community, global responsibility and peace continue to resonate, getting to the heart of what it means to be a young person in a changing world.
Whilst in his final year at NIDA, Hugh Sheridan was cast as ‘Ben Rafter’ in Australia’s highest rating family drama Packed to the Rafters and continued in the role for five seasons receiving three Silver Logie Awards for Most Popular Actor. Following Rafters, he starred the telemovie Never Tear Us Apart, Opera Australia / ABC’s musical co-production The Divorce and the hit series, House Husbands.
Theatrically Hugh’s credits include the sold out, one man show, Newley Discovered, at the 2009 Adelaide Cabaret Festival, for which he was nominated for a Sydney Theatre Award. He then took Newley to the Sydney Opera House and New York’s Snapple. In late 2012, Hugh starred alongside Geoffrey Rush and Magda Szubanski in the Gordon Frost production, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, for which he won a Green Room Award. He was recently given a residence at Herb Alpert’s Vibrato Grill Jazz in LA and is currently enjoying much success with his band California Crooners Club on the festival circuit and they will be releasing their debut album mid 2019.
With her incredible voice, stunning looks and engaging personality, Paulini is one of Australia’s most uniquely talented performers. The Fijian-born singer songwriter first enthralled the nation on the inaugural series of ‘Australian Idol’. Audiences instantly fell in love with Paulini’s impressive five octave range – a voice still unrivalled, and like no other in this country. Since then Paulini has forged a hugely successful career. Her debut album ‘One Determined Heart’ and smash single ‘Angel Eyes’ achieved double platinum status, both hitting the #1 spot. She is still one of only 10 Australian female solo artists to have a #1 album on the Australian ARIA Charts. Shortly after the release of her third solo album ‘Come Alive’, Paulini landed and played the lead role of Rachel Marron in the 2017 international award-winning musical The Bodyguard, cementing her status of one of Australia’s most gifted performers. Most recently, Paulini is starring in the hit musical ‘Saturday Night Fever’.
Producer David M. Hawkins said, “After seeing the 2009 Broadway revival of HAIR, I’ve wanted to bring the American Tribal Love Rock Musical back to Australia. It seemed fitting to wait for the 50th Anniversary to create a brand-new production to tour Australia that’s imbued with the essence of the counter-culture. And there is no one better to bring it to the stage in 2019 than one of Australia’s most exciting young theatre makers Declan Greene, with his roots firmly placed in our counter-culture, just of another generation.”
“There are a handful of commercial musicals that have truly changed the theatrical landscape. HAIR, with its rock score and social impact, certainly fits the bill. I think it is important this show is staged now; HAIR is a great reminder of how far we have come in many ways and how much we still have to do. It’s frightening how relevant some themes still are 50 years on, so LET THE SUNSHINE IN – the tribe is once again assembling!”
Hair
Friday, 11 October and Saturday, 12 October at 7pm
HOTA, Gold Foast
www.hota.com.au
