Revival of rock musical Hair head for Gold Coast
Above: Paulini who will play Dionne and Hugh Sheridan who will play Berger
A new Australian production of the rock musical, Hair will be performed on the outdoor stage at HOTA, Home of the Arts on the Gold Coast in October as part of a 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 Paulini in the role of Dionne. 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 Declan Greene. His recent production Blackie Blackie Brown was a huge success. It sold out in Sydney and Melbourne and is set to return later this year. 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 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 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 discussions across the country.
While 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 this year.
Paulini is one of Australia’s most popular performers.The Fijian-born singer songwriter starred in the inaugural series of Australian Idol. 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 Saturday Night Fever. HOTA, Home of the Arts on the Gold Coast, Friday, 11 October and Saturday, 12 October at 7pm. Bookings: https://hota.com.au/theatre/hair/ #hair50oz www.hairthemusical.com.au
WARNING this show contains: Full Front Nudity, Sexual References, Drug References, Racial Slurs, and Strobe Lighting Effects.