Gayest Musical Ever Opens In Wellington

Gayest Musical Ever Opens In Wellington
 

Colin Craig may have been right. The gay onslaught has arrived.
 
Wellington’s Gryphon Theatre is celebrating New Zealand’s historic embrace of gay marriage - and everyone is invited to the party.
 
Speakeasy Theatre Ltd. in association with Backyard Theatre are happy to announce the New Zealand premiere of the hit Off-Broadway musical Zanna, Don’t! – perhaps the gayest musical ever staged.
 
Written by Tim Atico, Zanna, Don’t!opened in New York in 2002. Its bubble-gum pop score and wittyscript was an instant hit with audiences and it received great reviews.
 
Described as a ‘musical fairytale’ it centres aroundZanna, a love fairy, whose job is to find people with ‘extra love’ and pair them with their perfect match. Guys with the guys and girls with the girls, nothing could be more perfect! That is until two rebel opposite-sex Heartsville High students create a storm of heterophobia by falling in love. It’s up to Zanna to ‘make the world safe for heterosexuals’, but what cost will he pay to create a safe world in which his friends can love in peace?
 
Zanna, Don’t!turns traditional ideas of love on its head in a world where everyone is gay, and heterosexuals are the outcasts.
 
Director Stuart James says its themes of acceptance vs. tolerance are particularly relevant in New Zealand right now.
 
“During the marriage equality campaign, New Zealanders had to think, did they tolerate or accept their gay community? Were they for or against equality for all?”
 
James, 27, says that while growing up gay in New Zealand is easier for young people today, there is still a lack of information available for the gay community.
 
“Growing up, I had to look outside of my immediate family, school or friends to come to terms with who I am. Hopefully now the Marriage Equality Bill has passed, we will see a more open and honest communication of what it means to be gay.”
 
He says the show explores themes of love and equality – and far from being “anti straight” promotes the idea that everyone deserves an equal chance at love.
 
Zanna, Don’t!opens at Gryphon Theatre in Wellington on tonight (Thursday 25 April) – so follow the big gay rainbow, and help celebrate a brave new world of love equality.
 

Tickets available at itickethttp://www.iticket.co.nz/events/2013/apr/zanna-dont
 
Show runs from Thursday 25 April to Saturday 4 May, with no performances on Sunday or Monday.
 
www.backyardtheatre.co.nz
www.speakeasytheatre.co.nz

ENDS

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