Dogfight opens this week at Hayes Theatre Co

It’s all happening on Friday 1st May: performances of Benj Pasek and Justin Paul’s Dogfight makes its Australian premiere at the Hayes Theatre, an increasingly important intimate space for musical theatre.

The story takes place in 1963, where, on the night before their deployment to Vietnam, three young Marines set out for one final “boys’ night” of debauchery.

But when Corporal Eddie Birdlace meets Rose, the unassuming and idealistic waitress he enlists to win a cruel bet, she rewrites the rules of the game and opens his eyes to what really matters in life.

Dogfight, which is based on the 1991 film starring River Phoenix, opened off-Broadway in 2012, where it won the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Musical and was nominated for 5 Outer Critics Circle and 2 Drama Desk Awards.

Following the release of its original cast recording, songs from the show have become concert and cabaret favourites in New York, Australia, and everywhere in between.

“Rehearsals for Dogfight have been going extremely well,” says director Neil Gooding.

“I’m so impressed with the calibre of our cast members and creatives. It is such a joy to watch this beautiful and heartbreaking piece come to life, and moreover that we have the privilege to present it to Australian audiences for the first time ever.”

Dogfight stars Johanna Allen, Danielle Barnes, Hilary Cole, Toby Francis, Emily Havea, Haydan Hawkins, Luigi Lucente, Kyle Sapsford, Mark Simpson, Jack Van Staveren and Rowan Witt.

Dogfight will play the Hayes Theatre in Potts Point from 1 – 31 May. For tickets and show times, visit the Hayes Theatre website.