Following the success of their multi-award winning Miracle City, in May 2017 Luckiest Productions presents their second Australian musical revival - Only Heaven Knows. This brand new production will mark Only Heaven Knows’ 30th anniversary.
Only Heaven Knows is a beloved musical set in the 1940s and 1950s, telling the story of one young man’s discovery of love and life in Sydney. Tim, a teenage playwright, leaves an unsupportive family in Melbourne and arrives amidst the bohemian by-way of Kings Cross in the Summer of 1944 - after five years of war, women and gay men were enjoying unparalleled freedoms. Tim soon finds love and a new family: Cliff his ocker lover, Guinea the tough but big-hearted nightclub singer and proud, fabulous Lana, a poor man’s Robert Helpmann. But the Sydney bacchanal fades as the cold winds of intolerant bring in the Menzies era and Tim and his friends must learn to survive hostility in a time before a visible gay community existed.
This production will be a welcome return of the piece to Sydney stages. There have been various productions over the last 30 years, most notably the sell-out season at the Stables, which transferred to the Sydney Opera House in 1995, starring David Campbell. David’s company Luckiest is behind this new production, he says of the piece,
'I think this is one of the most important Australian musicals that has been created. I’ve never experienced such a simple show having such a visceral impact. While it so vibrantly paints the past, it speaks to us about today.'
Shaun Rennie returns to the Hayes, to direct - 'Having long felt that Only Heaven Knows was an ideal fit for Hayes Theatre Co, I am thrilled to be working with Luckiest Productions to reexamine this classic Australian Musical. With it being set in and around the streets of Kings Cross, it is a unique and rare thrill to get to work on a story that is so deeply entrenched in this city we love. At it’s heart Only Heaven Knows is about community and the family we choose. By looking back it reminds of how far we have come, but also forces us to see how far we have yet to go.’
Musical Supervisor Daniel Edmonds swaps the massive musical for the intimate, having recently been Musical Director on such extravaganzas as Strictly Ballroom, King Kong and Dream Lover.
Luckiest Productions have assembled a stellar cast - playing the dual role of Lea/Lana is Hayden Tee. This will mark Hayden’s return to Australia after his multi award-winning performance of Javert in Les Misérables, which made such an impact, he reprised the role on Broadway.
Blazey Best is reunited with Luckiest Productions for a second time after her breathtaking, Sydney Theatre Award winning performance of Lora-Lee Truswell in Miracle City to play the role of Guinea.
Having just finished his critically acclaimed Puck in STC’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Sydney Opera House, Matthew Backer will make his Hayes Theatre Co. debut as Alan.