IN THE HEIGHTS, GYPSY, AMERICAN PSYCHO, and More Among Hayes Theatre Co's 2018 Season

Tonight at Hayes Theatre Co in Sydney, the 2018 season of musicals and cabaret was announced at an event attended by the musical theatre industry and patrons. Going into its fifth year of programming this is the first time an entire year has been announced.

"We are honoured to play host to a number of producers, all of whom are creating new and innovative work," said Chair of Hayes Theatre Co Lisa Campbell. "Blue Saint Productions make a welcome return, with the Sydney debut of Lin Manuel Miranda's In The Heights. Fledgling Production Company BB-Arts is teaming up with one of the most exciting new directors around, Alex Berlage for the Australian premiere of American Psycho. We welcome, direct from New York - queer hit The View UpStairs, which will bring 1970s New Orleans to Potts Point, right in time for Mardi Gras."

"In revivals, we see a brand new version of Andrew Lloyd Webber's hit show Aspects of Love - the producers are working with some of the show's original team to create a production specifically tailored to the Hayes and for the first time in over 40 years, Sydney will see a full professional production of Gypsy," added Lisa.

In addition to externally produced shows, Hayes Theatre Co will be self-producing three musicals this year - two of them Australian works. Katherine Thomson's Darlinghurst Nights, will be directed by Lee Lewis and musically directed by the show's composer, Max Lambert. A new musical Evie May: A Tivoli Story by Hugo Chiarella and Naomi Livingstone developed through the New Musicals Australia program, will be directed by DamIan Ryan. The third Hayes show is yet to be announced. Due to the generosity of donors Frederic Marguerre and Rodrigo Martino, the Hayes will be producing a show selected through the new Artist Led Submission Process.

"As if that were not enough, we will also see a few Neglected Musicals presentations and some of Australia's best cabaret - with Natalie Gamsu in Carmen, Live or Dead and Carlotta returns to where she reigns in Queen Of The Cross," said Lisa Campbell.

Since 2014 the venue has hosted over 26 musicals, including six Australian musicals and 58 cabaret shows, and has been the launching pad for seven national tours. Hayes Theatre Co has confirmed its place as The Home of Music Theatre and Cabaret.

DARLINGHURST NIGHTS

FROM 4 JANUARY 2018

Australian Classic Revival

• Book by Katherine Thomson
• Music by Max Lambert
• Based on the book DARLINGHURST NIGHTS by Kenneth Slessor
• and an original concept by Andrew James
• Directed by Lee Lewis
• Musical Director Max Lambert
• Lighting Designer Trent Suidgeest
• Produced by Richard Carroll

This classic Australian musical takes place on the streets around Hayes Theatre Co itself, and the Hayes celebrates the show's 30th anniversary with a new production from Helpmann Award-winning director Lee Lewis (The Bleeding Tree). Darlinghurst Nights explores the seductiveness of a life authentically lived, of a world where people can live without fear of intolerance amidst Sydney's most colourful strip. Set during the 1920s and 30s, and inspired by Sydney poet Kenneth Slessor, writer Katherine Thomson (Diving For Pearls) and composer Max Lambert (Miracle City) capture a time when Kings Cross was the only place in Sydney where a person could live anonymously; where bohemian lifestyles were accepted and even encouraged. The show was first produced by the Sydney Theatre Company in 1988 where it was a phenomenal success, and was revived in 2000 for the Olympic Arts Festival at Sydney Opera House. At another moment of existential upheaval for Kings Cross, Darlinghurst Nights takes us back 80 years to a world we recognise, but are in danger of losing.

Invisible Wall Productions and Sugary Rum Productions in association with Hayes Theatre Co present

THE VIEW UPSTAIRS

FROM 9 FEBRUARY 2018

• Book, Music and Lyrics Max Vernon
• Director Shaun Rennie
• Musical Director James Dobinson

The View UpStairs pulls you inside the UpStairs Lounge, a vibrant 70s gay bar in New Orleans. The forgotten bar regulars come to life when a young fashion designer from 2017 buys the now abandoned space and is transported back in time. He gets to know the joys and struggles of this community and in turn learns about his place in the world. From the opening piano chords of this Off-Broadway sensation, the five-piece band and cast of ten blast into the glam rock world of the 1970s. In our ever-changing world, this show looks at the then and now to explore our ideas of love, regret, defiance and resilience. The music will give you goosebumps, the story will make you both laugh and cry.

Blue Saint Productions in association with Hayes Theatre Co presents

IN THE HEIGHTS

FROM 16 MARCH

• Music and Lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda
• Book by Quiara Alegría Hudes
• Directed by Luke Joslin
• Choreographer Amy Campbell
• Musical Director Lucy Bermingham
• Set Designer Simon Greer
• Costume Designer Ali Whiteford
• Lighting Designer Trudy Dalgleish
• Casting Director Lynne Ruthven
• Resident Director/Assistant Choreographer William Centurion

IN THE HEIGHTS tells the universal story of a vibrant community in New York's Washington Heights neighborhood - a place where the coffee from the corner bodega is light and sweet, the windows are always open and the breeze carries the rhythm of three generations of music. It's a community on the brink of change, full of hopes, dreams and pressures, where the biggest struggles can be deciding which traditions you take with you, and which ones you leave behind. IN THE HEIGHTS is the winner of the 2008 Tony Awards for Best Musical, Best Score, Best Choreography and Best Orchestrations.

Luckiest Productions and One Eyed Man Productions in association with Hayes Theatre Co present

GYPSY

A Musical Fable

PERFORMANCES FROM 18 MAY 2018

• Book by Arthur Laurents, Music by Jule Styne, Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
• Suggested by the memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee
• Original production by David Merrick & Leland Hayward
• Entire production originally directed and choreographed by Jerome Robbins
• Director Richard Carroll
• Musical Director Joe Accaria
• Choreographer Cameron Mitchell
• Designer Alicia Clements
• Lighting Designer Trent Suidgeest
• Producers Lisa Campbell and Richard Carroll

Cast includes Blazey Best and Laura Bunting

From the producers of Sweet Charity, Little Shop of Horrors, Only Heaven Knows & Calamity Jane

"All the working and pushing and finagling; all the scheming and scrimping...What'd I do it for?... Tell me - what'd I do it for?" - Rose

Rose, June and Louise are eking out a hard living in the dying days of vaudeville. Rose fights for her daughters' success, no matter what the cost - until first one, then the other, reach breaking point and begin to question Rose's real motives for their life on the stage. Regarded by many as the greatest musical ever created, Gypsy is a gripping, funny and heartbreaking tale of the damage we do to those we love. The celebrated score is packed with classic songs, including 'Let Me Entertain You', 'Some People', 'Everything's Coming Up Roses', and the iconic 'Rose's Turn'. Three-time Sydney Theatre Award winner Blazey Best (Miracle City, Only Heaven Knows) returns to the Hayes to play Rose, with Laura Bunting (Rent, Calamity Jane, Assassins) as Louise.

BB-Arts Entertainment in association with Hayes Theatre Co presents

AMERICAN PSYCHO

FROM 19 JULY 2018

• Book by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
• Music and Lyrics by Tony Award Winning Duncan Sheik
• Based on the novel by Bret Easton Ellis
• Directed by Alexander Berlage

Based on Bret Easton Ellis' 1991 controversial best-selling novel 'American Psycho', which also inspired the 2000 film of the same name, this bold new musical tells the story of Patrick Bateman, a young, handsome and wealthy investment banker living in the epicentre of excess: Manhattan, NYC, during the Wall Street Boom of the late 1980s. With impeccable taste and unquenchable desires, Patrick 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 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.

Hayes Theatre Co and New Musicals Australia present

EVIE MAY: A TIVOLI STORY

FROM 12 OCTOBER 2018

• Written by Hugo Chiarella
• Music and Lyrics by Naomi Livingston
• Director Damien Ryan (Sport for Jove)
• Musical Supervisor Michael Tyack

This new Australian musical has been developed through the New Musicals Australia program.

In 1966, on the evening of the last ever Tivoli performance in Sydney, veteran variety star Evie May recalls the events that led her from obscurity in regional Western Australia to the bright lights of the Australian variety circuit, and the many sacrifices she made to get there. Forced to run away from home at an early age during WWII, Evie spent her whole life trying to escape the pain of her past. As the final curtain comes down on the Tivoli and everything that has come to define her, Evie struggles to find her place in a world that no longer values the very thing she has spent her life pursuing. Evie May: A Tivoli Story offers a compelling take on memory, motherhood, and the fascinating characters populating Australia's rich theatrical history.

Andrew Bevis Creative and Wrightworks in association with Hayes Theatre Co present

ASPECTS OF LOVE

FROM 22 NOVEMBER 20

• Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber
• Lyrics by Don Black & Charles Hart
• Book adaptation by Andrew Lloyd Webber
• Based on the novella by David Garnett
• By arrangement with Origin™ Theatrical on behalf of
• TM©1989 The Really Useful Group Limited
• International Casting Director Will Burton CDG
• Associate Director Scott J. Hendry
• Associate Producer Leah Howard
• Musical Consultant Mike Dixon
• Musical Staging Nathan M. Wright
• Director Andrew Bevis

Andrew Lloyd Webber's heartbreakingly romantic musical, Aspects of Love, will be staged at Sydney's Hayes Theatre in 2018 in a new, intimate production. Based on David Garnett's novel of the same name, Aspects of Love is a story of passion, love and loss set against the backdrop of post-war France and Italy from the 1940s through to the 1960s. Alex Dillingham, a young student travelling through France, falls in love with the alluring actress Rose Vibert. As the pair embark on a passionate affair, the unexpected arrival of Alex's distinguished uncle changes their lives forever. This intimate love story spans twenty years, binding six people and three generations, as they ultimately discover that love changes everything. Aspects of Love features a stunning 12-piece orchestration, bringing soaring romanticism to Andrew Lloyd Webber's lush and emotionally complex score.

Oriel Entertainment Group in association with Hayes Theatre Co presents

CARMEN, LIVE OR DEAD

FROM 28 APRIL 2018

Cabaret

• Starring Natalie Gamsu
• Written by Craig Harwood
• Original Music by iOTA
• Directed by Shaun Rennie
• Musically Directed by Andrew Kroenert

Additional Cast Stefanie Jones & Andrew Kroenert

Carmen, Live Or Dead is the fascinating and extraordinary story of Carmen Frida Leon Davidovich, The fictional Love Child of Frida Kahlo and Leon Trotsky. Carmen is complex. She is irreverent. She is salacious. She is bold. She is intersex. And it is the last day of her life. Conceived by Craig Harwood and Natalie Gamsu, Carmen is a fascinating, edgy and entertaining story of identity and survival. Starring one of Australia's most diverse and exciting theatre and cabaret actors - Natalie Gamsu, and featuring original music by iOTA. At the end of her life, Carmen takes us on a reflective journey of discovery - an orphan, a refugee, a hermaphrodite, a human. Carmen, Live Or Dead celebrates difference, embracing the feminine and the masculine with joy and life. A story brimming with unyielding authenticity, humour and grace, Carmen is a unique and gripping

Michael Griffiths in association with Hayes Theatre present

CARLOTTA: QUEEN OF THE CROSS

PERFORMANCES FROM 10 MAY 2018

Starring Carlotta

Musical Director Michael Griffiths

Cabaret

Australian icon, political activist, showbiz royalty, living legend: Carlotta has led an extraordinary life. Outrageously funny and brutally honest, the inspiration for Priscilla, Queen of the Desert takes you on another whirlwind ride with songs and stories from 50 years on and off the stage. Accompanied by Helpmann Award winner Michael Griffiths, she sings the classics by Berlin, Rogers & Hart, Sondheim and her dear friend, Peter Allen.

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