A forty-week tour of Hairspray http://www.hairsprayuktour.com/will open at Leicester's Curve Theatre in September.
Leading the cast as Edna Turnblad is Tony Maudsley, known to television audiences as Kenneth in ITV1’s Benidorm. His stage credits include A Day in Dull Armour and South Pacific on tour.
The role of Velma Von Tussle will be played by Claire Sweeney whose stage credits include Chicago, Legally Blonde: The Musical, Guys and Dolls and Tell Me On A Sunday.
Ex–Blue Peter presenter Peter Duncan will take the role of Wilbur. Duncan is an Olivier Award nominated actor and a writer and director of pantomimes as well as having a varied television career.
Brenda Edwards will play Motormouth Maybelle and Freya Sutton will reprise her role as Tracy Turnblad.
This new production of Hairspray will be directed by Paul Kerryson, with choreography by Drew McOnie and musical direction by Ben Atkinson.
The show is based on the 1988 film of the same name; it has music and lyrics by Academy Award, Tony and Emmy winning duo Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman. It scooped eight Tony Awards on opening on Broadway and four Olivier Awards including Best New Musical in London.
Hairspray has since been seen on stages across the world and a film of the musical was released in 2007 starring John Travolta as Edna Turnblad. This tour starts in Leicester at the Curve Theatre, spends Christmas in Birmingham and then continues to May.
- 9 to 19 September – Curve theatre, Leicester
- 21 to 26 September – New Theatre Oxford
- 28 September to 3 October – Royal and Derngate, Northampton
- 5 to 10 October – Malvern Theatre
- 12 to 17 October – Liverpool Empire
- 19 to 24 October – Hull New Theatre
- 26 to 31 October – Manchester Palace Theatre
- 2 to 7 November – New Wimbledon Theatre
- 9 to 14 November – The Alhambra Theatre, Bradford
- 16 to 21 November – Mayflower Theatre, Southampton
- 23 to 28 November – Ipswich Regent Theatre
- 30 November to 12 December – Theatre Royal Brighton
- 14 December to 9 January 2016 – Birmingham Alexandra Theatre
- 18 to 30 January – Newcastle Theatre Royal
- 1 to 6 February – His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen
- 8 to 13 February – The Lyceum, Sheffield
- 15 to 20 February – Cambridge Corn Exchange
- 22 to 27 February – Edinburgh Playhouse
- 7 to 12 March – Bristol Hippodrome
- 14 to 19 March – New Victoria Theatre, Woking
- 21 to 16 March – Cardiff New Theatre
- 4 to 9 April – Milton Keynes Theatre
- 11 to 16 April – Leeds Grand Theatre
- 18 to 23 April – Theatre Royal Plymouth
- 25 to 30 April – The Marlowe, Canterbury
- 2 to 7 May – The Churchill Theatre, Bromley
- 9 to 14 May – Regent Theatre, Stoke
- 16 to 21 May – Southend Palace Theatre
Note: Tickets are not yet on sale at all venues. Tony Maudsley, Claire Sweeney and Peter Duncan will leave the show on 30 January 2016.