Get Ready For Something Big! NSMT Presents HAIRSPRAY

Bill Hanney's award-winning North Shore Music Theatre (NSMT) concludes the 2018 Subscription Season with Broadway's big, fat, hit musical, HAIRSPRAY, playing for two-weeks only from Tuesday, October 30 thru Sunday, November 11, 2018.

"I cannot think of more satisfying way to end this record-breaking season than with a bubbly, eye-popping, and powerful production of Hairspray," said Bill Hanney, NSMT owner and producer. "The final show of the subscription season has to be like a fantastic dessert. It needs to be memorable, put a smile on your face, fill you up, and make you want to come back for more. This hysterical and heartwarming show is a favorite of mine, and with Blake Hammond, Brooke Shapiro and this amazing cast under the direction of Jeff Whiting, I know we have the recipe for success!"

HAIRSPRAY, winner of the 2003 Tony Award for 'Best Musical,' is piled bouffant-high with laughter, romance, and infectious musical numbers. Set in Baltimore, 1962, Tracy Turnblad is a big girl with big hair and an even bigger dream: to dance her way onto TV, and into the heart of teen idol Link Larkin. Tracy's audition makes her a local star and soon she is using her new-found fame to fight for something bigger than her hair - racial integration. HAIRSPRAY is an irresistible, feel-good show with a Tony Award-winning book by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan and a Tony Award-winning score by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman featuring the hit songs "Welcome To The '60s," "You Can't Stop The Beat," "Mamma, I'm A Big Girl Now," "I Know Where I've Boon," and many more.

The cast of HAIRSPRAY will be led by Blake Hammond as Edna Turnblad and Brooke Shapiro as Tracy Turnblad. Blake Hammond is stepping into the role of Edna Turnblad once more having played her in the Broadway company of Hairspray. He has also appeared on Broadway in Living on Love, First Date, Sister Act, Elf, Billy Elliot, The Lion King, The Music Man, Kiss Me Kate, and On The Town. His Off-Broadway credits include When Pigs Fly, Carnival and Do Re Mi at Encores. Other credits include National Tours of Something Rotten, Cinderella, The Addams Family, and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Brooke Shapiro returns to North Shore Music Theatre where she was last seen as Jan in the 2014 production of Grease. She has performed off-Broadway in My Big Gay Italian Midlife Crisis, The Calico Buffalo, and did the first NYC reading of Love in Hate Nation (a new musical by Joe Iconis). Brooke has also performed in regional theaters across the country including Goodspeed Opera House, Cape Playhouse, Zach Theatre, Florida Studio Theatre, and Gateway Playhouse.

Along with Blake Hammond (Edna Turnblad) and Brooke Shapiro (Tracy Turnblad). the cast of HAIRSPRAY will feature Altamiece Cooper (Motormouth Maybelle), Marie Eife (Amber Von Tussle), Philip Hoffman (Wilbur Turnblad), Christina Emily Jackson (Penny Pingleton), Kevin B. McGlynn (Male Authority Figure, u/s Edna/Wilbur), Cheryl McMahon (Female Authority Figure, u/s Velma), Marty McNamee (Corny Collins), Merrill Peiffer (Velma Von Tussle), Zane Phillips (Link Larkin), Nazarria Workman (Little Inez), and Stephen Scott Wormley (Seaweed J. Stubbs).

The cast of 28 will also include Joseph Allen (Sketch), Michaela Bolt (Shelly), Taylor Broadard (Dynamite, Pearl), Jake Corcoran (Brad), Josh Cotham (IQ), Ebony Deloney (Dynamite, Cindy), Gabriel Florentino (Thad), Sydney Jennings (Lou Ann), Matthew Keaton (Duane), Logan Mortier (Fender), Maya Musial (Tammy), Taylor O'Toole (Brenda), Tamara Pilar (Lorraine), Amani Pope (Gilbert), and Quiantae Thomas (Dynamite, Peaches).

The creative team for HAIRSPRAY includes Jeff Whiting (Director/Choreographer), Milton Granger (Music Director), Kyle Dixon, (Scenic Design), Kelly Baker (Costume Coordination), Jose Santiago (Lighting Design), Kevin Heard (Sound Design), Gerard Kelly (Wig and Hair Design), Natalie A. Lynch (Production Stage Manager), Dakotah Wiley Horan (Assistant Stage Manager), and Robert L. Rucinski (Assistant Music Director). HAIRSPRAY is produced for North Shore Music Theatre by Bill Hanney (Owner/Producer), Kevin P. Hill (Producing Artistic Director), and Matthew Chappell (Associate Producer, Casting Director).

Tickets for HAIRSPRAY are priced starting from $59 - $84 - Kids 18 and under save 50%. Performances are October 30 thru November 11, Tue - Thurs at 7:30 pm, Fri & Sat at 8 pm, matinees Wed, Sat and Sun at 2 pm. For tickets and information call (978) 232-7200, visit nsmt.org, or visit the box office at 62 Dunham Rd., Beverly, MA.

Additional Free Audience Enrichment events: Meet the Theatre: post-show audience discussion with the artists on November 6 after the 7:30 pm performance and November 10 after the 2 pm performance; OUT at the North Shore, an evening for the Gay and Lesbian Community with a post-show reception (sponsored in part by Ryan & Wood Inc.) on November 8 after the 7:30 pm performance.

North Shore Music Theatre will conclude the 2018 season with the 28th annual production of A Christmas Carol starring David Coffee (December 7 - 23).

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