Coronavirus has truly turned the arts community on its head, with many artists compelled to move their creativity online. The team behind the stage musical WHO’S YOUR BAGHDADDY (OR HOW I STARTED THE IRAQ WAR) have taken it a step further with what is one of the most re-inventions of a live event experience that we’ve seen since isolation began.
The show will be performed online from 24th to 28th June with five live-streamed performances.
Sold and watched from the comfort of your home, the aim is not to try and recreate a stage production on film or a feature film. Instead the aim is to use the aesthetic of our current online interactions as the framework for creating a new theatrical experience.
Presented as a support group for people who started the Iraq War, this dark and irreverent musical follows the story of mid-level spies whose vanity and office politics contributed to the worst intelligence blunder. Set in an “AA Style” support group for people who don’t believe (or deny) that their actions lead to the Iraq War, the story focuses on the recruitment and eventual disgrace of an Iraq defector. Codenamed “Curveball,” provides Western intelligence agencies with false intelligence on the Iraq mobile weapons laboratories.
This intelligence, which is later discovered to have been fabricated, was used by Secretary of State Colin Powell in his 2003 speech to the UN Security Council to justify the invasion of Iraq and overthrow Saddam Hussein.
Rather than a simple live stream, the production team have ‘staged’ the production from a house in Sydney’s South. Every cast member has their own unique room which is has been turned into a modern ‘set’ from which they interact with the support group. An incredible set-up of sound and vision production has been put in place to allow the cast to communicate with each other, the production, team, and the musical director.
The Australian Premiere of this 2017 his off-Broadway musical will be presented by Curveball Creative and directed by Neil Gooding. It stars Blake Erickson (Shrek), Doug Hansell (Come From Away), Phillip Lowe (Georgy Girl), Laura Murphy (Muriel’s Wedding), Matthew Predny (Kinky Boots), Adam Rennie (The Rocky Horror Show), Katrina Retallick (Come From Away) and Troy Sussman (Aladdin).
Based on an unproduced screenplay by J.T. Allen, WHO’S YOUR BAGHDADDY (OR HOW I STARTED THE IRAQ WAR), is a satirical musical comedy inspired by a true story. Producers Keith Muir, Sam Ducker and Steven Kreamer are thrilled to be producing the Australian Premiere. They said, “WHO’S YOUR BAGHDADDY (OR HOW I STARTED THE IRAQ WAR) is a reflection of how people in power, no matter what level in government, shape and form our world and the importance of keeping them accountable in times of crisis.”
Get your tickets to WHO’S YOUR BAGHDADDY (OR HOW I STARTED THE IRAQ WAR) for a wonderful performance of history embedded into today.
Performance Dates: Wednesday 24 – Sunday 28 June @ 7.30pm
Tickets: $22