''Hero'' is a

rock musical A rock musical is a musical theatre work with rock music. The genre of rock musical may overlap somewhat with album musicals, concept albums and song cycles, as they sometimes tell a story through the rock music, and some album musicals and conc ...

with book by Craig McGregor, lyrics by

Don Henderson Donald Francis Henderson (10 November 1931 – 22 June 1997)Ancestry/Find My Past (his birth was registered in the December 1931 quarter) was an English actor. He was known for playing both "tough guy" roles and authority figures, and is remem ...

and music by John 'Poli' Palmer. It concerns a pop singer's odyssey in search of stardom with strong undertones of Greek tragedy. The story is about two brothers, loosely based on the Greek myth of

Castor and Pollux Castor; grc, Κάστωρ, Kástōr, beaver. and Pollux. (or Polydeukes). are twin half-brothers in Greek and Roman mythology, known together as the Dioscuri.; grc, Διόσκουροι, Dióskouroi, sons of Zeus, links=no, from ''Dîos'' ('Z ...

. The older brother is an ambitious politician, whereas the younger brother is a successful rock star.

Development and production

The Australian Opera and its NSW Friends supporter group in 1973 commissioned rock journalist McGregor to write a rock or pop opera about his idea of the modern hero. McGregor was inspired to write the musical after watching

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

perform a concert version of their rock opera ''

Tommy Tommy may refer to: People * Tommy (given name) * Tommy Atkins, or just Tommy, a slang term for a common soldier in the British Army Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Tommy'' (1931 film), a Soviet drama film * ''Tommy'' (1975 fil ...

'' in New York. ''Hero'' opened on 27 May 1976 at the

Seymour Centre The Seymour Centre is a multi-purpose performing arts centre within the University of Sydney in the Australian city of Sydney. It is located on the corner of City Rd and Cleveland St in Chippendale, just south-west of the city centre. The b ...

's York Theatre in Sydney, produced by the Australian Opera. The cast included Barry Leef, Juliet Amiet, Kris McQuade, Ron Barry, Paul Johnstone and

Ian Turpie Ian or Iain is a name of Scottish Gaelic origin, derived from the Hebrew given name (Yohanan, ') and corresponding to the English name John. The spelling Ian is an Anglicization of the Scottish Gaelic forename ''Iain''. It is a popular name in Sc ...

. It was directed by

Grahame Bond Grahame John Bond AM (born 21 November 1943) is an Australian actor, writer, director, musician and composer, known primarily for his role as Aunty Jack. Early career Bond began his career in entertainment at University of Sydney in the 1960s ...

with choreographer Ross Coleman and musical director Geoff Oakes. The production had a mixed critical reception. Closing after two weeks, the production lost in the order of $170,000.

Recordings

Original cast member Barry Leef recorded "Last Song" and "Three-Minute Hero" from the musical for

Festival Records Festival Records (later known as Festival Mushroom Records) was an Australian recording and publishing company founded in Sydney, Australia, in 1952 and operated until 2005. Festival was a wholly owned subsidiary of News Limited from 1961 to ...

in 1976, released as a single. Demo recordings of two songs were included in the compilation ''The Songs of Don Henderson'', released posthumously in 2009.

References

{{Reflist Australian musicals 1976 musicals Musicals based on European myths and legends