‘The Boy with Green Hair’ is a musical adaptation of an old film

ON Saturday, June 6, The Civic will throw open their doors for ‘The Boy with Green Hair’. This work-in-development concert version of a new musical by Jody Trehy is being showcased as part of Cruinniú na nÓg.

‘The Boy with Green Hair’ was first an old Technicolour film made by RKO in America (dir. Joseph Losey: 1948) and subsequently a play staged in the early 1950s.

It tells the magical tale of a young WWII orphan, Peter, who lives with a distant relative called Gramp. One night, Peter’s hair mysteriously turns green.

At first his hair is the cause of great amusement until people in the town become afraid that his peculiar condition will spread to their own children.

One day, after being bullied at school, Peter is alone in the classroom.

Suddenly he hears strange voices, and when he looks up, he sees other war orphans, from many other countries, magically appearing.

They explain that, although difficult, having green hair is a wonderful thing, as it will serve as a constant reminder to all the adults of the world that war is very bad for children.

This musical adaptation has lyrics and composition handled by Jody Trehy, composition and orchestration by Paul Higgs and book and direction by Mick Gordon, kindly supported by Creative Ireland South Dublin as part of Cruinniú na nÓg 2026.

The event is free with booking being essential, 135 minutes long with one interval, an age suitability of +8 years and starring Ellen O’Callaghan, Chris Holland and Amy Creighton.

This week, we sat down with lyricist and composer Jody Trehy to discuss ‘The Boy with Green Hair’, which will be performed in the Civic Theatre on June 6 at 2pm; tickets are available on the Civic website.

What can you tell us about ‘The Boy with Green Hair’?

It’s a new musical adaptation of an old film from the 1940s which tells the tale of Peter, a war orphan whose hair turns green.

The green hair is to serve as a reminder to all the adults of the world that war is very bad for children.

The challenge for Peter is in keeping his green hair because many others don’t like it, especially when it affects the sales of their local produce!

What inspired you to adapt this story and want to do a concert version of it?

I was very moved by Peter’s story and the message of the film, which seems to be increasingly relevant in today’s world.

As a songwriter, it made creative sense to reimagine it as a work of modern musical theatre, and we have arrived at a point in its development whereby it’s ready to be presented to an audience.

We are extremely excited by the opportunity to present the work to a live audience in a concert setting, as it will allow us to experience the show with others who are seeing and hearing it for the first time.

What has been your favourite part of developing this musical so far, and why?

Putting the songs together at strange hours with Paul and Mick and then workshopping the material with all of the various, wonderful performers along the way and watching them bring it all to life.

This involved many journeys to Cork, intense, long rehearsal days and also some wonderful weeks in The Gate Theatre, workshopping in its studio.

I guess that some of my favourite moments are still ongoing; for instance, when I call Paul, who works in London, after a gig on the drive home with ideas for songs or lyric changes that involve pulling over to park and writing things down or humming into the iphone.

What have been some of the biggest challenges involved with working on this musical so far, and how have you navigated them?

The biggest challenge is financial, as it is a very expensive undertaking for producers. Hopefully, we are gathering momentum now, in partnership with others, that will lead to full production.

I understand you held open auditions for the show in April; how did this go? I can’t imagine it was easy choosing from such a pool of talent!

One of the aspects of the show we wish to develop is to be able to include local children in the production wherever it may perform, as it is very much a show about the effects of war on youth.

The main challenge we faced was not being able to include everybody due to time and space, so unfortunately, we could only invite 20 young people to join the cast for a few key songs.

But thankfully we found our lead ‘boy with green hair’ in the brilliantly talented local girl, Ellen O’Callaghan.

What are you hoping will be theatregoers’ main takeaway from the production?

We hope they leave uplifted, having laughed and cried their way through a beautiful story with umpteen new melodies stuck in their heads!

And also, we hope that the whole family can engage with the story and the various messages, especially about difference and the need for each of us to find the courage to speak out against intolerance and aggression.

Who would you like to thank for helping to make this production possible?

Many, many people! My partner Amy and our daughter, Tilly.

Paul and Mick: my writing partners. David Hayes: our music director and the Cork School of Music for all their invaluable support.

All the professionals and undergraduate students of immense talent who have been instrumental in helping us develop the material over the past few years.

Our amazing cast: Amy, Chris, Ellen, Mark, Andy, Eddie, Darragh, Lara, Kate, Dirin, Grainne and musicians – David Hayes, Dave McGauran, Michael Riordan and Paul Byrne. Cathal Donohue for Lighting, One Louder Sound for Audio.

Roisin McBrinn and the Gate Theatre for hosting us several times; Pat Moylan for the continuous encouragement; Laura and Paul for opening their home to us; Andy and the Viking Theatre for offering much-needed space; and lastly, Donal Shiels and Mary Sheehan and the entire staff of the Civic Theatre for making this possible.