How Encore's October staging of The Boy from Oz found its leading man

Faced with the prospect of a Jersey Boys without a Frankie Valli - like rock with no roll - King reached out to a veteran of the musical theatre scene: Will Hanley.

Hanley, who had credits in Little Shop of Horrors, A Chorus Line and even an earlier production of Jersey Boys that year, was the obvious choice; the only problem was he lived in Victoria.

King sent a text: "I am wondering if you would jump on a plane in four hours and come to Tassie?", and within just a few hours notice, Hanley would make his tumultuous Tasmanian stage debut - "The show must go on," Hanley said.

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Flash forward to this year: King is directing Encore's newest production The Boy from Oz, and she knew just the right leading man.

The local theatre company's revival of the iconic Australian jukebox musical will arrive in late October at the Princess Theatre with Hanley starring as Peter Allen, the charismatic outback kid who conquered the world stage.

Following Allen's meteoric rise to fame in the United States, The Boy from Oz is the multi-talented Australian singer-songwriter life story - of triumph, challenge and tragedy - put into musical form.

Hanley - who flies down to Launceston from Melbourne for rehearsals on a regular basis ahead of the October 20 opening night - said he had to come back to Tassie for Oz.

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"That experience with Jersey Boys was just incredible," he said.

"I couldn't miss an opportunity to be thrown back onto the stage in Launceston like this and with a musical that has so much wonder but also heart around it."

Most famously performed in the early 2000's on Broadway by Hugh Jackman, the production is home to a treasure trove of Allen's songs, including everything from I Go to Rio to I Still Call Australia Home.

Director Belinda King said having Hanley back was a real treat for the young cast, who were "thriving as they work with and learn from him".

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"'We are enjoying a wonderful rehearsal process with Will," King said.

"He is leading the company in telling a beautiful heartfelt story [and] is a generous artist."

And, although it's a musical - which often has a perception of pep and light-heartedness - Allen's story in Oz doesn't shy away from tragedy, particularly with its moving exploration of the HIV epidemic of the 1980s.

"Telling his story about how he put Australia on the map but also how he was one of the people who was pushed to the back of the news cycle later on during the AIDS crisis and the stigma around homosexuality at the time," Hanley said.

"To celebrate him for who he was is important, and I'm glad we get to do that with another staging like this."

Encore Theatre Company's production of The Boy from Oz arrives at the Princess Theatre on October 20 and runs until November 4.

More information and tickets can be found at the Theatre North website.

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