Press Release: HAIRSPRAY THE MUSICAL TOUR ANNOUNCES FULL DATES FOR 2020-21

[Jan McNulty]

HAIRSPRAY THE MUSICAL 

UK TOUR

Directed by Paul Kerryson
Choreographed by Drew McOnie

 

HAIRSPRAY THE MUSICAL TOUR ANNOUNCES FULL DATES
FOR 2020-21

 

Credit: Darren Bell

 

As previously confirmed, following two extremely successful tours in 2015/16 and 2017/18, producers Mark Goucher and Matthew Gale will tour their smash hit production of Hairspray in 2020-21. It can now be confirmed that the tour will open at Leicester Curve on 20 August and will visit the following venues in 2020: Manchester Palace, Bradford Alhambra, Blackpool Winter Gardens, Aylesbury Waterside, Birmingham Hippodrome, Glasgow Kings Theatre, Northampton Royal and Derngate, Woking New Victoria, Liverpool Empire and Brighton Theatre Royal.  

 

The tour will then extend into 2021 starting at Southampton Mayflower on 11 January 2021 and continuing on to Bristol Hippodrome, Edinburgh Playhouse, Inverness Eden Court, Ipswich Regent, Dublin Bord Gais Energy Theatre, Milton Keynes Theatre, Sunderland Empire, Sheffield Lyceum, Nottingham Theatre Royal, High Wycombe Swan, Plymouth Theatre Royal, Belfast Grand Opera House, Wolverhampton Grand, Cardiff Wales Millennium Centre, Norwich Theatre Royal, Leeds Grand, Southend Cliffs Pavilion and finishing at Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham in May. 

 

On-sale dates and further updates will be available in due course via the website: http://www.hairsprayuktour.com/

Featuring the iconic music and lyrics by Academy Award, Tony and Emmy winning duo Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, this much-loved musical comedy is choreographed by Olivier Award-winning Drew McOnie with direction from Paul Kerryson. 

 

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.

-ENDS-

 

 

TOUR DATES 

Leicester Curve
Thurs 20 - Sat 29 August 2020
On sale now 

 

Manchester Palace
Wed 2nd Sep – Sat 12 Sep
On sale now 

 

Bradford Alhambra
Tue 15 Sep – Sat 19 Sep
On sale now 

 

Blackpool – Winter Gardens (Opera House)
Mon 21 Sep – Sat 26 Sep
On sale now 

 

Aylesbury Waterside
Mon 5 Oct – Sat 10 Oct
On sale now 

 

Birmingham Hippodrome
Mon 12 Oct – Sat 17 Oct
On sale now

 

Glasgow Kings
Mon 19 Oct – Sat 24 Oct
On sale now 

 

Northampton Royal and Derngate
Mon 26 Oct – Sat 31 Oct
On sale now 

 

Woking New Victoria
Mon 2 Nov – Sat 7 Nov
On sale now

 

Liverpool Empire
Mon 9 Nov – Sat 14 Nov
On sale now

 

Brighton Theatre Royal
Mon 16 – Sat 21 Nov
On sale 2 March 

 

SECOND LEG 2021

Southampton Mayflower
Mon 11 Jan – Sat 16 Jan
On sale now 

 

Bristol Hippodrome
Mon 18 Jan – Sat 23 Jan
On sale 2 March 2020

 

Edinburgh Playhouse
Mon 25 Jan – Sat 30 Jan
On sale 2 March 2020

 

Inverness Eden Court
Mon 1 – Sat 6 Feb
On sale soon 

 

Ipswich Regent
Mon 8 – Sat 13 Feb
On sale now 

 

Dublin Bord Gais Energy Theatre
Mon 15 – Sat 20 Feb
On sale soon 

 

Milton Keynes Theatre
Mon 22 – Sat 27 Feb
On sale 2 March 2020

 

Sunderland Empire
Mon 1 – Sat 6 Mar
On sale 2 March 2020

 

Sheffield Lyceum
Mon 15 – Sat 20 Mar
On sale soon 

 

Nottingham Theatre Royal
Mon 22 – Sat 27 Mar
On sale 2 March 2020

 

High Wycombe Swan
Mon 29 – Sat 3 Apr
On sale soon 

 

Plymouth Theatre Royal
Mon 5 – Sat 10 Apr
On sale soon 

 

Belfast Grand Opera House
Mon 12 – Sat 17 Apr
On sale soon 

 

Wolverhampton Grand
Mon 19 – Sat 24 Apr
On sale soon 

 

Cardiff Wales Millennium Centre
Mon 26 – Sat 1 May
On sale soon

 

Norwich Theatre Royal
Mon 3 – Sat 8 May
On sale 2 March 2020

 

Leeds Grand
Mon 10 – Sat 15 May
On sale soon 

 

Southend Cliffs Pavilion
Mon 17 – Sat 22 May
On sale soon 

 

Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham
Mon 24 – Sat 29 May
On sale 2 March 2020

 

NOTES TO EDITORS 

 

CREATIVE TEAM

Director: Paul Kerryson
Choreographer: Drew McOnie
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 Carsick which 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.

 

DREW MCONIE (Choreography) 
Drew McOnie is one of Britain's most sought after emerging director and choreographers. He is also the Artistic Director of The McOnie Company and an Associate Artist at The Old Vic. Drew won the 2016 Olivier Award for Best Theatre Choreographer for his work on In the Heights and he was nominated for the 2017 Olivier Award for Best Theatre Choreographer for Jesus Christ Superstar. Drew is currently choreographing and directing On the Town(Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre) and Jack Thorne’s musical adaptation of King Kong for Broadway. 

 

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 Dreams and 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 first opened at Theatre Royal Drury Lane in London and was directed by Academy Award winner Sam Mendes and is now playing at Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on Broadway under the direction of Jack O’Brien. 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 first opened at Theatre Royal Drury Lane in London and was directed by Academy Award winner Sam Mendes and is now playing at Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on Broadway under the direction of Jack O’Brien. He recently worked on the NBC television series, Smash.