HAIRSPRAY Announces Second UK Tour in 2017/18

Today, producer Mark Goucher has confirmed that following the phenomenal success of the current UK tour, the new production of Hairspray will return at the end of summer 2017 to once again tour the UK. This second tour of the smash hit musical will visit venues across the country until the spring of 2018. Casting, dates and locations for the 2017/18 tour will be announced in due course.

The producer of Hairspray Mark Goucher said: "I am delighted that after seeing this new production of Hairspray, Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman have personally extended the rights to the show, in order for us to embark upon a second UK tour. This next tour of Hairspray will give us the opportunity to bring the show to new venues which we were unable to visit in 2015/16 and also to return to theatres which welcomed the show during its current tour."

This new production of Hairspray embarked on a major UK tour in 2015 beginning at the Curve theatre, Leicester and continues across the UK until May 2016. The production has enjoyed huge success on the road having been seen by just under quarter of a million people with nine venues still to visit.

Hairspray is directed by Paul Kerryson, with choreography by Drew McOnie and musical direction by Ben Atkinson. The show has music and lyrics by Academy Award, Tony and Emmy winning duo Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman.

The current UK tour sees Matt Rixon (The Producers, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) play Edna alongside TV and stage actress and presenter Claire Sweeney (Educating Rita, Guys and Dolls) as Velma Von Tussle, Olivier Award nominated actor and much-loved Blue Peter presenter Peter Duncan (BBC1 Tumble) as Wilbur Turnblad and British singer and West End performer Brenda Edwards (Chicago, We Will Rock You, The X Factor) as Motormouth Maybelle.

It's Baltimore 1962, where Tracy Turnblad, a big girl with big hair and an even bigger heart, is on a mission to follow her dreams and dance her way onto national TV. Tracy's audition makes her a local star and soon she is using her new-found fame to fight for equality, bagging local heartthrob Link Larkin along the way.

Hairspray is a musical based on the 1988 film of the same name which starred Divine and Ricki Lake by cult filmmaker John Waters. With music and lyrics by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman and book by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan, Hairspray originally opened to rave reviews on Broadway in 2002 and subsequently won eight Tony Awards. The production opened in London at the Shaftesbury Theatre in 2007 and won four Laurence Olivier Awards including Best New Musical. Proving to be an international success, Hairspray has also opened in South Africa, Japan, South Korea, China and Dubai. Following the musical's phenomenal success on stage, a film of the musical was released in 2007 which starred John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer and James Marsden.

Hairspray is produced by Mark Goucher and Laurence Myers, Tom O'Connell Productions Ltd., Just for Laughs Theatricals, Gale King Productions, Gary Brown and Curve theatre, Leicester.

Director: Paul Kerryson
Choreographer: Drew McOnie
Musical Director: Ben Atkinson
Set Designer: Paul Moore
Costume Designer: takis
Lighting Designer: Philip Gladwell
Sound Designer: Ben Harrison

JOHN WATERS (Original Screenplay)
John Waters is an American film director, writer and artist who came to prominence in the 1970s and has built a reputation for shocking his audiences through his exploration of contemporary American culture. Noted for his collaborations with the late American drag performer Divine, John is sometimes referred to as the King of Bad Taste or the Pope of Trash. John is most well-known for his transgressive and cult films which include 1988's original film Hairspray which starred Ricki Lake, Cry Baby which starred Johnny Depp, Pink Flamingos and Polyester. John has also written autobiographical works which include the hugely acclaimed Role Models and Carsickwhich chronicles his adventures hitchhiking across America. John also wrote and performed in the one-man show This Filthy World John was born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1946.

MARK O'DONNELL (Book)
Mark O'Donnell was a playwright, novelist and librettist who shared the 2003 Tony Award for Best Book for Hairspray with collaborator Thomas Meehan. Mark's plays included That It, Folks!, Fables for Friends, The Nice and the Nasty and the musical Tots in Tinseltown. He also collaborated with Bill Irwin on an adaptation of Moliere's Scapin and co-authored a translation of Feydeau's A Flea in Her Ear.

THOMAS MEEHAN (Book)
Thomas Meehan is a three-time Tony Award winner who is best known for his work on Annie, Hairspray and The Producers. Thomas has also written the books for Young Frankenstein, Elf, Chaplin, Cry-Baby, Bombay Dreamsand Rocky. In addition to his work on stage Thomas is also a long-time contributor to The New Yorker and an Emmy Award-winning writer of television comedy.

MARC SHAIMAN (Music / Lyrics)
Marc composed the music and co-wrote the lyrics for the musical Hairspray with Scott Wittman. For their score, the pair won the Tony, Grammy and Olivier Awards. They teamed up again for Broadway's Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me and Catch Me If You Can, for which Marc was a Tony Award® nominee for his orchestrations. Along with Scott Wittman, Marc also wrote the music and lyrics for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory which is currently playing at Theatre Royal Drury Lane in London and is directed by Academy Award winner Sam Mendes. They recently worked on a new television series for NBC, Smash. Marc is a five-time Academy Award® nominee for his scores and songs for the films Sleepless in Seattle, The First Wives Club, Patch Adams, The American President and South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut. Marc's additional film credits include; When Harry Met Sally, Beaches, Misery, City Slickers, The Addams Family, A Few Good Men, Sister Act, George of the Jungle and The Bucket List. Marc received an Emmy Award for co-writing Billy Crystal's medleys for The Academy Awards®. He was also Emmy-nominated for writing on Saturday Night Live (the Sweeney Sisters). His arrangements for Harry Connick Jr. brought him two Grammy nominations, as did the Hairspray soundtrack. As her music director and co-producer, Marc brought his long-time partner Bette Midler the Grammy winning songs "The Wind Beneath My Wings" and "From A Distance". But it is their collaboration on her Emmy Award-winning performance for Johnny Carson's penultimate Tonight Show that will always remain a highlight.

SCOTT WITTMAN (Lyrics)
Scott's credits include directing and co-writing Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me on Broadway and on tour. Scott has created and directed two Broadway shows, three recordings, and two sold-out Carnegie Hall concerts for Patti LuPone. On television he has conceived and directed performances for Nathan Lane and Sarah Jessica Parker. He has co-written Neil Patrick Harris' musical numbers for The Academy Awards® (Emmy Nomination), The Emmy's, and the Emmy winning Tony Awards®. He has also co-created Christine Ebersole's successful nightclub appearances. He has received the Tony, Grammy, Drama Desk, Outer Critics, Evening Standard and Olivier Award for his work as co-lyricist on Hairspray. On Broadway, he was the co-lyricist for the Tony Award® nominated musical Catch Me If You Can. Scott also wrote the lyrics to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory which is currently playing at Theatre Royal Drury Lane in London and is directed by Academy Award winner Sam Mendes. He recently worked on the NBC television series, Smash.

Facebook
www.facebook.com/HairsprayUKTour

Twitter
@HairsprayUKTour

Instagram
@HairsprayUKTour

LISTINGS INFORMATION

2016 UK Tour

Hairspray

15 - 19 March
New Victoria Theatre, Woking
The Ambassadors, Peacocks Centre, Woking, GU21 6GQ
Box Office: 0844 871 7645
www.atgtickets.com/venues/new-victoria-theatre

21 - 16 March
Cardiff New Theatre
Park Place, Cardiff, CF10 3LN
Box Office: 02920 878 889
www.newtheatrecardiff.co.uk

29 March - 2 April
Norwich Theatre Royal
Theatre Street, Norwich, Norfolk, NR2 1RL
Box Office: 01603 630 000
www.theatreroyalnorwich.co.uk

4 - 9 April
Milton Keynes Theatre
500 Malborough Gate, Buckinghamshire, MK9 3NZ
Box Office: 0844 871 7652
www.atgtickets.com/venues/milton-keynes-theatre

11 - 16 April
Venue Cymru, Llandudno
Promenade, Llandudno, LL30 1BB
Box Office: 01492 872 000
www.venuecymru.co.uk

18 - 23 April
Theatre Royal Plymouth
Royal Parade, Plymouth, PL1 2TR
Box Office: 01752 267 222
www.theatreroyal.com

25 - 30 April
The Marlowe, Canterbury
The Friars, Canterbury, Kent, CT1 2AS
Box Office: 01227 787 787
www.marlowetheatre.com

2 - 7 May
The Churchill Theatre, Bromley
High Street, Bromley, Kent, BR1 1HA
Box Office: 0844 871 7620
www.atgtickets.com/venues/the-churchill-theatre-bromley

9 - 14 May
Regent Theatre, Stoke
Piccadilly, Stoke-on-Trent, ST1 1AP
Box Office: 0844 871 7627
www.atgtickets.com/venues/regent-theatre

16 - 21 May
Cliffs Pavilion, Southend
Station Road, Southend on Sea, Essex SS0 7RA
Box Office: 01702 351135

http://www.hairsprayuktour.com/

To post a comment, you must register and login.