Hayes Theatre Co 2019 Season Launch
Earlier tonight, Sydney’s acclaimed Hayes Theatre Co. announced the shows that will make up their 2019 season. Showcasing a wide variety of genres and themes, this upcoming year proves very exciting for theatre and cabaret lovers alike.
“Our musical program this year displays all sides of the human condition – from villains, murderers and conmen to knights in shining armour, those struggling to know what is right to those who are driven by principle,” said Chair of Hayes Theatre Co, Lisa Campbell.
2019 marks the 5th anniversary of the Hayes, and they are proud to be the home of Musical Theatre and Cabaret in Sydney.
Musicals
One Eyed Man Productions in association with Hayes Theatre Co presents Monty Pythons SPAMALOT
From 6 March 2019
A new musical lovingly ripped off from the Motion Picture Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
Book & Lyrics by Eric Idle
Music by John du Prez and Eric Idle
Director Richard Carroll
Choreographer Cameron Mitchell
Musical Supervisor Conrad Hamill
Lighting Designer Katie Sfetkidis
Cast includes Marty Alix, Blake Appelqvist, Rob Johnson, Josie Lane, Aaron Tsindos & Jane Watt
From the lunatics who brought you Calamity Jane
Lovingly ripped off from the classic film comedy Monty Python and the Holy Grail, SPAMALOT re-tells the legend of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. Guided by the fabulous belting diva The Lady of the Lake, the knights battle their way past various cows, killer rabbits, and French people in pursuit of claiming the legendary Grail.
Monty Python’s SPAMALOT was a smash hit in both New York and London, and won the Tony Award for Best Musical.
Now the show comes to Sydney for the very first time, in a production that re-defines the word ‘epic’. Really, really re-defines it.
A diverse, cross-gender cast of heroic/foolish actors (and their assistant stage manager) embrace the satirical, home-made spirit of the original movie and the Monty Python TV series, enlisting the help of some carefully-chosen backdrops, a CD player, and – when all else fails – a large dose of meta-theatrical humour.
From the minds of the director and choreographer of 2017’s smash-hit Calamity Jane – audiences should hold on tight, expect the unexpected, and Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.
BB- Arts & Two Doors Productions in association with Hayes Theatre Co present AMERICAN PSYCHO The Musical
From 10 May 2019
Book by Robert Aguierre-Sacasa
Music and Lyrics by Duncan Sheik
Based on the book by Bret Easton Ellis
Director Alexander Berlage
“I’m into, oh, murders and executions, mostly. It depends.”
Based on the novel by Bret Easton Ellis, American Psycho, which also inspired the 2000 film of the same name directed by Mary Harron, this bold new musical tells the story of Patrick Bateman, a young, handsome and wealthy investment banker living in the epicenter of excess: Manhattan, NYC, during the Wall Street Boom of the late 1980s.
With impeccable taste and unquenchable desires, Patrick our unreliable narrator and his elite group of friends spend their days in chic restaurants, exclusive clubs and designer labels. But at night, Patrick takes part in a darker indulgence, and his glamorous facade of sanity starts to slip…
With a Book by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (Riverdale) and Music and Lyrics by Tony Award winner Duncan Sheik (Spring Awakening) and featuring classic 80s hits from Phil Collins, Tears for Fears, New Order and Huey Lewis and the News, American Psycho – The Musical is a pitch black, dark comedy about what it means to be alive in the world we live in.
This production will be a bold reimagining for a 2019 world created by the director of Hayes Theatre Co and LPD Productions’ smash hit Cry-Baby the musical – Alexander Berlage.
“I guess in a way, we are sort of a photo negative of Hamilton, the anti-American dream… Instead of the birth of the nation, it’s the death of the nation….” Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Hayes Theatre Co presents the Australian Premiere of RAZORHURST
From 14 June 2019
Book & Lyrics by Kate Mulley
Music by Andy Peterson
Director Benita de Witt
From the 1920s until the 1930s, two vice queens, Kate Leigh and Tilly Devine, ruled the Darlinghurst underworld. Their rivalry was infamous, leading to a litany of violent crimes enacted by their razor gangs as each struggled to gain dominance in a world of sly grog, narcotics and prostitution.
In 2019, Kate Leigh’s former sly grog shop is about to reopen as a trendy coffee spot. The shop is being gutted for renovation, but there are still ghosts in the walls who aren’t done settling old scores.
Razorhurst explores what it means to be a woman in a man’s world, forced into a life of crime by circumstance.
At turns crass and hilarious, Razorhurst is a “compelling meditation on the explosive cocktail of gender, class, and power underlying an infamous period in the history of crime” (Newark Star-Ledger).
LPD in association with Hayes Theatre Co present CATCH ME IF YOU CAN
From 19 July 2019
Based on the Dreamworks Motion Picture
Book by Terrance McNally
Lyrics by Marc Shaiman
Music by Scott Whittman and Marc Shaiman
Director and Choreographer Cameron Mitchell
The producer of Cry-Baby, High Fidelity and RENT brings you the adventurous, inquisitive and ingeniously criminal musical Catch Me If You Can.
Based on the hit film and the incredible true story, Catch Me If You Can is the high-flying musical comedy about chasing your dreams and not getting caught. Nominated for four Tony awards, including Best Musical, this delightfully entertaining show was created by a Tony Award-winning “dream team,” with a book by Terrence McNally (The Full Monty, Ragtime) and a swinging score by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman (Hairspray).
Seeking fame and fortune, precocious teenager, Frank Abignale, Jr., runs away from home to begin an unforgettable adventure. With nothing more than his boyish charm, a big imagination and millions of dollars in forged checks, Frank successfully poses as a pilot, a doctor and a lawyer – living the high life and winning the girl of his dreams.
When Frank’s lies catch the attention of FBI agent, Carl Hanratty, though, Carl pursues Frank across the country to make him pay for his crimes.
Hayes Theatre Co presents CAROLINE OR CHANGE
From 23 August 2019
Book & Lyrics by Tony Kushner
Music by Jeanine Tesori
Licensed exclusively by Music Theatre International (Australasia). All performance materials supplied by Hal Leonard Australia
Director Mitchell Butel
Musical Director Lucy Bermingham
Starring Zahra Newman as Caroline
Mitchell Butel returns to Hayes Theatre Co to direct the Olivier Award-winning musical by Tony Kushner (Angels In America) and Jeanine Tesori (Fun Home, Violet) starring Zahra Newman (The Book of Mormon).
1963, Louisiana. The president is dead and America is on the verge of one of the greatest social movements of the 20th Century. The Gellman’s maid, single mother of four, Caroline, shares a special bond with eight-year old Noah, who is heartbroken after the death of his mother and his father’s remarriage. Sneaking down to the basement laundry to spend time with Caroline and a range of fantastical, anthropomorphic characters, Noah will find his relationship with Caroline tested by an attempt to put more money into Caroline’s pocket, devised by his stepmother, Rose.
Loosely based on Kushner’s own memories of growing up in Louisiana, Caroline, or Change features a stunning score by Jeanine Tesori, combining spirituals, blues, Motown, classical, and Jewish klezmer and folk music.
Hayes Theatre Co presents H.M.S. PINAFORE
From 8 November 2019
Music by Arthur Sullivan
Libretto by W.S. Gilbert
Director Kate Gaul
Musical Director Zara Stanton
Choreographer Andy Dexterity
Designer Melanie Liertz
Lighting Designer Fausto Brusamolino
Sound Designer Nate Edmondson
Cast includes Thomas Campbell, Andy Dexterity
Mistaken identity, class warfare, sisters, sailors and the trickiest of tongue twisters abound in this nautical caper.
Aboard the ship H.M.S. Pinafore, the captain’s daughter, Josephine has fallen in love with a lowly sailor, Ralph Rackstraw, despite her father’s plan to marry her to the First Lord of the Admiralty, Sir Joseph Porter. As the lovers lament their predicament and plan their escape, a surprise disclosure from an unlikely quarter shows that not all is at it seems. Featuring the songs ‘I am the Monarch of the Sea’, ‘I’m Called Little Buttercup’ and ‘He is an Englishman’, H.M.S. Pinafore is a sharp satire of the English social hierarchical system of the Victorian Age.
Maverick director, Kate Gaul, makes her Hayes Theatre Co debut with this re-imagined, gender-bending, hyper-theatrical and kinky take on this Gilbert & Sullivan classic.
Cabaret
Neil Gooding Productions association with Hayes Theatre Co present Kerrie Anne Greenland in PICTURES: Songs from Movie Musicals
26-28 April 2019
Winning Australia’s hearts and a Helpmann Award for her role as Eponine in Les Misérables, Kerrie Anne Greenland now brings her solo show, Pictures: Songs from Movie Musicals, to Sydney at Hayes Theatre Co.
Based on her chart-topping album of the same title, audiences will be delighted with a witty and heartfelt journey through musical theatre hits from the silver screen.
With musical direction by Joshua James Webb, the show features the soundtrack of movies including Les Misérables, The Greatest Showman, Mamma Mia, The Jazz Singer, Carousel, Dreamgirls, A Chorus Line, Cabaret, and Disney favourites
Steven Kreamer in association with Hayes Theatre Co presents I SING SONGS
26-27 April 2019
Acclaimed and prolific musical director Steven Kreamer finally steps out from behind the keys in this dazzling cabaret debut, singing songs about love, songs not about love, and even songs about songs.
Having become a staple in the Sydney musical theatre scene as musical director, composer and performer, Steven Kreamer has been seen and/or heard in She Loves Me, Assassins, Little Shop of Horrors, Rent, Side Show (Hayes Theatre Co), The Drowsy Chaperone (Squabbalogic), Nosferatutu (Griffin Theatre Company), and Neighbourhood Watch (Illuminate Educate). Unleashing a suite of original tunes, reinvented iconic showstoppers, and his favourite pop hits, I Sing Songs may contain traces of accordions and kicklines.
Nancye Hayes in association with Hayes Theatre present HAYES @ THE HAYES
FROM 2 October 2019
Starring Nancye Hayes
What would an anniversary season of Hayes Theatre Co be without a performance from our namesake, Miss Nancye Hayes?
We all know the story of Nancye being selected to star in the titular role of the Australian production of Sweet Charity in 1967, and going on to a stellar career spanning five decades in music theatre, film and television, and establishing herself as a performer, choreographer and director.
In Hayes @ the Hayes, Nancye will introduce you to many of her favourite songs, some that will be very familiar and some that you may never have heard before, while sharing stories from her incredible career.
Join her for this new show and help celebrate one of Australia’s leading ladies, in the venue named especially for her.
Tenacious C, Tekule and DTCM in association with Hayes Theatre present 30 SOMETHING
2-6 October 2019
STARRING CATHERINE ALCORN & PHIL SCOTT
Blow your wig, top up your giggle juice and get set for a 2019 show where you’ll party like it’s 1939. Caught somewhere between Casablanca and The Cotton Club, step back in time to a very dramatic era. Politics, great depression, booze…and that’s just in the dressing room!
Join award-winning Maestro of mischief Phil Scott and powerhouse canary Catherine Alcorn for a thrilling joyride back to their 18 karat lounge act where you’ll soon see she’s 30 something and he’s…not.
Daniel Assetta in association with Hayes Theatre present SIBLINGSHIP
FROM 9 October 2019
Written by Tobias Madden, Daniel & Chiara Assetta
Directed by Scott Irwin & Danielle Barnes
Starring Daniel Assetta and Chiara Assetta
A ‘how-to’ guide for surviving life, parents, and sharing the limelight.
Siblingship follows the childhood journey of Daniel Assetta (The Book of Mormon, Wicked, CATS) and Chiara Assetta (Universal Monsters Live, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter), two real-life, all-singing, all-dancing, Italian- Australian siblings. Through classic show tunes and a splash of pop music, this dynamic cabaret explores the ‘rules’ that make the world’s most unique relationship work. Siblingship is a show for everyone who ever fought with, told secrets to, stood up for, laughed and cried with, absolutely couldn’t stand — but always loved and could never live without — their siblings.
Michael Griffiths in association with Hayes Theatre present CARLOTTA I’m Not Dead Yet Darlings
23-27 October 2019
Following a sell out season at Hayes Theatre Co last year, Carlotta is back in the Cross with more stories and songs from 50 years on and off the stage. Australian icon, political activist and living legend, Carlotta has led an extraordinary life: good times, bum times, she’s seen them all and my dear, she’s still here. Accompanied on piano by Helpmann Award winner Michael Griffiths.
Michael Griffiths in association with Hayes Theatre present SONGS BY KYLIE
24-27 October 2019
Starring Michael Griffiths
He’s been Madonna, Annie Lennox and Cole Porter to great acclaim. Now Helpmann award winner Michael Griffiths explores the songs, stories and locomotion of our very own pop princess, Kylie Minogue. Put your hand on your heart and step back in time, Kylie wouldn’t change a thing! Written and directed by Helpmann award winner Dean Bryant (Sweet Charity, Little Shop Of Horrors, Assassins)
Ticket bookings are available through the Hayes Theatre Co website or by calling their box office on 02 8065 7337
