Before Muriel and Rhonda; before Elphaba and Glinda; there was Lorelei and Dorothy. Hayes Theatre Co presents Gentlemen Prefer Blondes for a limited season this February and March.
Jump aboard the luxury cruise liner The Ile De France as we sail across the Atlantic in the company of two of musical theatre’s most dazzlingly charismatic heroines.
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes tells the raucous and subversive story of Lorelei Lee and Dorothy Shaw – two smart young single women with a burning desire for experiences that aren’t supposed to be available to them within the laws and conventions of the 1920s.
Armed with only their vitality, ambition, quick wits, and above all their unshakeable friendship – these thoroughly modern women play the men at their own game, and live life to the full.
Champagne? Check. Diamonds? Check. Sex? Check, check, check. And as for the consequences? They’ll worry about those when the ship docks.
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes made stars of Carol Channing onstage and Marilyn Monroe on film, and this new production for WorldPride Arts, part of the Sydney World Pride festival, sees a queer Australian team serve up a ship-sized slice of high-femme camp.
Adapted from the novel by Anita Loos, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes features Music by Jule Styne, Lyrics by Leo Robin, and a Book by Anita Loos and Joseph Fields. With songs like Bye Bye Baby, I’m Just a Little Girl From Little Rock, and Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend, prepare for a wet and wild voyage of self-discovery through a queer lens.
Starring Georgina Hopson as Lorelei Lee and Emily Havea as Dorothy Shaw, this production reunites the acclaimed team of director Richard Carroll (Calamity Jane, Once, Godspell) and musical director Victoria Falconer (Once, Lizzie, Godspell) at Sydney’s most celebrated and intimate musical theatre company.
Director: Richard Carroll | Featuring: Octavia Barron-Martin, Thomas Campbell, Ruby Clark, Adam Di Martino, Emily Havea, Georgina Hopson, Tomáš Kantor, Leah Lim, Tomas Parrish, Matthew Predny, Monica Sayers | Musical Director: Victoria Falconer | Band: Nathan Barraclough, Amanda Jenkins, Abi McCunn, Jarrad Payne | Choreographer: Sally Dashwood | Set Designer: Dan Potra | Costume Designer: Angela White | Lighting Designer: Benjamin Brockman | Associate Musical Director: Abi McCunn | Stage Manager: Bronte Schuftan | Assistant Stage Manager: Anastasia Mowen | Dialect Coach: Benjamin Purser | Intimacy Coordinator: Caroline Kaspar
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
Hayes Theatre Co. 19 Greenknowe Avenue, Elizabeth Bay
Season continues to 18 March 2023
Information and Bookings: www.hayestheatre.com.au
Image: Emily Havea (Dorothy Shaw) and Georgina Hopson (Lorelei Lee) star in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes – photo by John McRae