 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
       
|  |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
"Hair rocks!" Daily Mail
"Hair seems to have found its moment again." The Independent
CanStage and Dancap Private Equity Inc. present
Toronto, ON… CanStage Artistic Producer Martin Bragg today announced that director Robert A. Prior and choreographer Stephen Hues will be heading the CanStage production of Hair. "After an exhaustive search I am thrilled that we have found two such exciting artists to join the rest of the CanStage team to realize this project," said Bragg. Both Prior and Hues have extensive theatrical careers culminating most recently in their production of Ramayana 2K3 which was nominated for five New York City Drama Desk Awards. Prior and Hues employ a wide range of performance styles and media to bring their productions to life; their work has been called "dazzling and transformative" (Los Angeles Times, June, 2004).
the CanStage production of 
Book and lyrics by Gerome Ragni & James Rado Music by Galt MacDermot
Co-producer Aubrey Dan goes on to say, "Robert and Stephen's experience will bring a larger-than-life dimension to this tried and true show; they will infuse it with a new and exciting energy while being true to the original creative soul of Hair." Book and lyrics co-writer James Rado adds, "I discovered Robert Prior and Stephen Hues at one of my old stomping grounds in New York City, LaMama Experimental Theatre Club. The 'Two Gentlemen' from Los Angeles had brought to town their production of the ancient Indian myth The Ramayana. Attracted by a photo in the New York Times, I attended a performance and immediately saw the potential link to Hair. That was two years ago and in preparing this current long-awaited revival, they came to mind; they responded immediately to my phone call by booking the next flight to New York to meet composer Galt MacDermott. Galt is very hard to please but to my complete surprise, he liked Robert and Stephen right away and subsequently so did CanStage upon a trip we made to Toronto. As I work with them creatively in advance of the production, I am more convinced than ever that they are the right guys to get this baby up on its new legs. We have fun together and just returned from a week-long camping trip to 'Burning Man' in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada -- which goes under the heading theatrical research. This Hair will be authentic 1968 but in many ways experimental all over again. I am so excited we are presenting this exciting interpretation in Toronto." The CanStage production of Hair will be the first Toronto revival of the show in 30 years. Hair begins previews on March 20, 2006 and opens on March 30, 2006. Biographies: Robert A. Prior, Director Robert A. Prior is a director, designer, playwright and performer. In 1994 he founded the Fabulous Monsters Performance Group with Mark Compton. He has produced and directed 18 pieces for the Monsters including A Grimm Evening, The Maids, Psy-Cabaret, Project: Alice, Ramayana (workshop version), Speed-Hedda and Voluptuous Madness. Backstage-West described the Monsters as "one of the most original theatrical phenomena Los Angeles has produced." Speed-Hedda opened the 40th-anniversary season of New York's La MaMa E.T.C. in January 2002, where it was a critical and popular success. He is an award-winning designer and has worked with the Actor's Gang, Indecent Exposure Theater, The Evidence Room, Long Beach Opera, and L.A. Opera. Stephen Hues, Choreographer Stephen Hues has seduced audiences with his high-octane, larger-than-life, multimedia performances in the theatres, galleries and dance clubs of Canada, New York, London, Berlin and Los Angeles. Since 2001, he has collaborated and co-produced with the Fabulous Monsters Performance Group and director Robert Prior on large-scale spectacles that tell a story using electronic music. Their recent work, Ramayana 2K3, earned five New York City Drama Desk Award nominations, including Outstanding Choreography and Unique Theatrical Experience.
Digital Photography available at: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
For further media information and artist interviews please call 416-367-8243 and ask for:
| Rosie Shaw, ext. 250 | Kim Blackwell, ext. 259 | |
| Publications Editor and Publicist | Publicity and Communications Manager | |
| rshaw@canstage.com | kblackwell@canstage.com | |
| www.canstage.com |
 |
Dancap Profile • Investment • Contact Us • Submit a Business Plan • Site Map |