RIALTO CHATTER: Diana DeGarmo & Ace Young to Join New HAIR Cast on Broadway?

As HAIR readies for its Broadway makeover and London premiere, rumors are beginning to swirl as to which current cast members will be settling in across the pond and which new faces will be gracing the Broadway production.  The newest reports out suggest that American Idol alumni Ace Young (season 5's seventh runner up) and Diana DeGarmo (season 3 runner up, Hairspray, The Toxic Avenger) are among the new picks for the Broadway replacement cast.  No official announcement has been made by the production, although it is expected that casting announcements for London and New York are imminent, as the new Broadway performers go into rehearsal in the coming weeks.  

New York?s Public Theater, Jeffrey Richards, Jerry Frankel, John Gore and Thomas B. McGrath, in association with Cameron Mackintosh, announced that the Tony Award-winning revival of HAIR: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical will open at the Gielgud Theatre in London?s West End with the original Broadway cast. Previews will begin on Thursday, April 1, 2010, with Opening Night set for Wednesday, April 14th. Led by Director Diane Paulus, the complete creative team will reunite for the London production.  It is believed that not all of the current cast will be making the trip, however.

It was also announced that a completely new "Tribe? will debut in the Broadway production on Tuesday evening, March 9th. 

In addition to the Tony Award, the Broadway production of HAIR was named Best Musical Revival by the Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, and Drama League.

Oskar Eustis, Artistic Director of the Public Theater commented, "This is two thrilling announcements in one. First, we are sending the Public Theater's entire American cast to London to continue the amazing journey we began in Central Park in September of 2007. Second, we are forming a new Tribe, who will have a full rehearsal period under the inspired direction of Diane Paulus. This unique producing arrangement will ensure that we have two vital, organic productions of HAIR running simultaneously in New York and London."

Diane Paulus, who commented from her office at American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, MA, said, "HAIR is a movement, and the movement is growing. With our current Broadway company spreading the "love? in London, I am thrilled that another „Tribe? will be born anew next Spring, and that they will take the show to a new level here in New York." She added, "With every step along the journey of making this HAIR, the show has changed and grown, and it is my absolute intention to continue that process with a new cast. I am looking forward to the unleashing of a new „Tribe? and to this next, most exciting, moment in the life of HAIR."

Choreographed by Karole Armitage, HAIR features a book and lyrics by Gerome Ragni and James Rado and music by Galt MacDermot. The creative team also includes Scott Pask (scenic design), Michael McDonald (costume design), Kevin Adams (lighting design) and Acme Sound Partners (sound design).

Tickets for HAIR in London (starting at £17.00) are now on sale via www.hairthemusical.co.uk. 
HAIR continues on Broadway at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre, and is presented in New York by The Public Theater (Oskar Eustis, Artistic Director; Andrew D. Hamingson, Executive Director) Jeffrey Richards, Jerry Frankel, Gary Goddard Entertainment, Kathleen K. Johnson, Nederlander Presentations, Inc., Fran Kirmser Productions/Jed Bernstein, Marc Frankel, Broadway Across America, Barbara Manocherian/WenCarLar Productions, JK Productions/Terry Schnuck, Andy Sandberg, Jam Theatricals, The Weinstein Company / Norton Herrick, Jujamcyn Theaters, Joey Parnes and by special arrangement with Elizabeth Ireland McCann. For tickets to the Broadway production, visit www.hairbroadway.com or www.telecharge.com.

Photo Credit: Peter James Zielinski