THE VIEW UPSTAIRS to Have Australian Premiere as Part of Mardi Gras Festival

Invisible Wall Productions and Sugary Rum Productions in association with Hayes Theatre Co today announced the Australian Premiere of the hit Off-Broadway musical, The View UpStairs. As part of the Mardi Gras Festival, this provocative new musical, written by Max Vernon, will be performed at Hayes Theatre Co from 9 February.

The View UpStairs draws you inside the UpStairs Lounge, a vibrant '70s gay bar in the French Quarter of New Orleans. This forgotten community comes to life in all its gritty, glam rock glory when Wes, a young fashion designer from 2017, buys the abandoned space, setting off an exhilarating journey of seduction and self-exploration that spans two generations of queer history. While Wes gets to know the joys and struggles of this exuberant and flamboyant community, he too learns about his place in the world.

Inspired by one of the most significant yet all-but-ignored attacks against the American LGBTQI community, The View UpStairs examines what has been gained and lost in the fight for equality, and how the past can help guide all of us through an uncertain future.

Following the popular and critical success of Only Heaven Knows earlier this year, Shaun Rennie returns to Hayes Theatre Co to direct this sensitive, original piece. Musical direction is by James Dobinson, the music supervisor and orchestrator of the original Off-Broadway production. James recently worked on the new musical Joh For PM in Brisbane and was Musical Director of the Off-Broadway production of Clinton: The Musical. Cameron Mitchell (Calamity Jane, The Rover) is the choreographer and Neil McLean (Xanadu, Only Heaven Knows) is the sound designer. Trent Suidgeest, also from the Only Heaven Knows team, returns as lighting designer. Set design is by Isabel Hudson, and costume design is by Anita Yavich and Isabel Hudson.

The stellar cast includes Stephen Madsen who will soon be starring in Muriel's Wedding at the Sydney Theatre Company and has previously been seen at Hayes Theatre Co in Rent and Heathers: The Musical. He will be joined by Ryan Gonzalez fresh from the hit Kinky Boots. Ryan is also known at Hayes Theatre Co for his role in Violet and his hit one-man show Hispanic Attack! The remaining cast and creative team will be announced at a later date.

"I am very excited to be bringing this new hit show to Sydney. As well as being great fun, this show is very timely as Mardi Gras marks its 40th year. The View UpStairs celebrates the long battle for equality fought by the LGBTQI community. Audiences will fall in love with this bunch of characters whose stories uplift, inspire and just make you smile. I got shivers down my spine from the very first piano chord - I can't wait for audiences at Hayes Theatre Co to experience it," said producer Gus Murray of Sugary Rum Productions.

"This show explores and compares the gay community in the '70s and today and asks the question: 'How much better off are we today?' It has the most amazing, fun pop score. If you love '70s glam rock - think Scissor Sisters and Elton John - then this is the show for you," said director Shaun Rennie.

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, The View UpStairs looks at the then and now to explore our ideas of love, regret, defiance and resilience. With a 'badass' goose bump-raising score, the story induces both laughter and tears. See why Ru Paul said the show was "FABULOUS! It was fantastic."

Tickets for The View UpStairs are now available online at www.hayestheatre.com.au or by calling the Hayes Theatre Co box office during business hours on (02) 8065 7337. More info is available about the original Off-Broadway run at www.theviewupstairs.com Original Cast Album on Broadway Records available on iTunes, Amazon and www.broadwayrecords.com.

To post a comment, you must register and login.