Craig McLachlan country comeback tour put on hold

Craig McLachlan’s first show since being cleared of indecent assault charges has been postponed.

A country music tour that was supposed to relaunch Craig McLachlan’s show after months of legal drama has been postponed.

McLachlan was due to play Hank Williams in a tribute show travelling across Australia from July to November.

But the production of Nobody Lonesome For Me has been pushed back because of Covid-19 restrictions.

“It is with great sadness, that the producers announce the postponement of our tour, Nobody Lonesome For Me,” McLachlan said in a post on Instagram in Tuesday.

“Unfortunately, the effects of current COVID-19 restrictions have logistically affected the run of the tour.

“All tickets will be fully refunded, and new dates will be released as soon as we can be more certain about arrangements, and the safety of fans and our team.

“Thank you so much for your ongoing support - to everyone who expressed their excitement, and to anybody who purchased tickets; I am forever grateful for you. Don’t worry, Hank is coming!”

Nobody Lonesome For Me, by New York playwright Lanie Robertson, was due to see McLachlan start his comeback in Perth on July 31, with dates in Broken Hill, Tamworth, Adelaide, Hobart, Launceston and Brisbane.

Craig McLachlan’s CD is for sale. Picture: Supplied

Craig McLachlan’s tour poster. Picture: Supplied

It would have marked the first time McLachlan has performed in public since he was found not guilty of indecently assaulting four female co-stars in a 2014 musical production of The Rocky Horror Show.

McLachlan was acquitted of seven counts of indecent assault and six counts of common law assault.

Producer Anthony Kennard, from the Adelaide based production company Valley Arts, said they have been negotiating with McLachlan for 18 months to front the Australian premiere of the Hank Williams bio musical Nobody Lonesome For Me.

He said he was not concerned about a mixed reaction about McLachlan’s casting, and is also planning a UK tour with the musical.

“When we first looked at the play several years ago Craig was the only person we thought could do it,” Kennard told News Corp.

“I think we’ll be proved right. We’re not worried (about the court case or the controversy) all we’re worried about is the play. That’s the whole thing.

“We’ve been talking to Craig for 18 months, he’s very excited about it. Craig loves the play, we know he can do it. He’s the only person we know who can do it. It’s a hugely demanding role. He’s never done this sort of thing before.

“It’s a great play. And because Craig has this huge following in the UK we’re looking at taking it to London after the Australian leg. We have a major star with Craig, it’s as simple as that.”

Kennard said McLachlan as “excited” to return to the stage.

“Craig knows all about Hank Williams, he’s a great country music fan,” Kennard said.

“Craig is very excited about touring Australia, his first request was ‘Can we do the regions?’ So we’re starting in Perth, then Adelaide, there’s a couple of regional shows, then we go to Brisbane. We’re looking at possible shows in Melbourne and Sydney after that.”

McLachlan will be the only actor on stage for the production, accompanied by two musicians.

“It’s a real tour de force,” Kennard said.

It will be directed by McLachlan’s wife Victoria Scammell, who supported the actor through his court proceedings.

Craig McLachlan and partner Vanessa Scammell will work together again. Picture: David Swift

Scammell also appeared in McLachlan’s Channel 7 special last month, where the actor sang and cried on camera.

“We had a look at various directors and kept on coming back to Vanessa. She’s got the eye. She knows what a show should look like. With this one it is just moulding Craig into the role, she’s doing a great job.”

The tour’s website is selling signed McLachlan posters for $33 and a CD of the TV star singing Hank Williams songs for $26 – recorded especially for the new production.

Tickets for the Perth launch are priced between $55 and $100.

Kennard said McLachlan is ready to meet those who have stuck by him after the shows —

“he’s really keen to meet the fans.”

Valley Arts, formed three years ago, are a “charitable trust” — Kennard said a portion of ticket sales from Nobody Lonesome For Me will go to charities Beyond Blue and Variety.

Playwright Robertson, who has written a Billie Holiday stage bio, said the production is based on Williams trying to reach those he loved at the end of his life.

Williams died at the age of 29 in 1953.

McLachlan, 55, was last seen in TV shows The Dr Blake Mysteries and The Wrong Girl. He was written out of The Dr Blake Mysteries in 2018.

The actor is now involved in a defamation suit against Nine Newspapers and the ABC, claiming they falsely suggested he was guilty of sexual crimes.