FORMER queen of pop Colleen Hewett may not be making a comeback in Godspell, but she is coming to Launceston in August to see Newstead College's revival of the 1970s smash musical.
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Newstead College director Chris Cabalzar took to Google to research Hewett's connection to the musical and, on impulse, put a call through to the star's management to invite her to opening night at Launceston's Princess Theatre on August 21.
``Within hours we heard back that Colleen would like to see the show, Mr Cabalzar said.
``She also volunteered to sing her hit Day By Day and Prepare Ye the Way as an encore and has offered to hold a vocal workshop for students on the day.
``It's going to be very exciting for the students to meet and work with such a star.
``Her willingness to perform means the audience will get to see a great musical and have the chance to hear one of Australia's all-time great pop artists at the same time.''
Hewett was 21 when she joined the cast of Godspell at the Playbox Theatre in Melbourne in 1971. When her nine-month stint with Godspell came to an end, she estimated she'd sung 3000 verses of Day By Day .
Hewett admits when she was picked up to perform in the Melbourne season of Godpsell, after appearing regularly on the TV pop music series Bandstand, she couldn't act or dance.
``But I learned and it was so much fun,'' confides the songbird, who is still enjoying recording and performing in her semi-retirement.
Apart from Day By Day, which earned her a gold record, Hewett can boast many other top 40 hits, including Dreaming My Dreams with You and Gigolo.
She was twice named Queen of Pop in the TV Week Awards in 1972 and 1973.
Hewett has performed in many stage productions, including The Who's rock opera Tommy; Pippin in 1973 with John Farnham; and Chicago .
She played Johnny O'Keefe's mother in SHOUT and joined Hugh Jackman in The Boy From Oz in 2006.
Hewett has also acted in many Australian television series, including Matlock Police, Homicide and The Flying Doctors.
In the 2011 movie The Cup, she played Pat Oliver, the mother of jockeys Jason and Damien Oliver.
Tickets to Godspell are $29.95 for adults, $19.95 for children, and will be available from the Princess Theatre box office. Or you can call 6323 3666.
