Comedy favourite Paul Merton will make his West End musical debut as Wilbur Turnblad in the eagerly-anticipated London Coliseum production of Hairspray the Musical.
The stand-up star and long-time team captain on TV’s Have I Got News For You will join Michael Ball when he steps back into his Olivier Award-winning role as Edna Turnblad for the new production for a limited season beginning in late April.
Featuring the original award-winning creative team of director Jack O’Brien and choreographer Jerry Mitchell, Ball’s return visit to the flamboyant character which delivered the star his first Olivier Award, will begin on 23 April 2020. Produced by Adam Spiegel Productions and Fiery Angel and initially planned for a 12-week season, the show will now play the prestigious London venue for 18 weeks.
As previously announced Lizzie Bea will star as Tracy Tunblad (Kinky Boots, UK tour) with Dreamgirls’ ≈ following her co-starring role in the original West End cast of Waitress by stepping into the role of Motormouth.
Former EastEnder Rita Simons will follow her recent run in Everybody’s Talking About Jamie by taking on the role of Velma Von Tussle and Grantchester’s Jonny Amies will play Link Larkin.
The company includes: Georgia Anderson, Kimani Arthur, Dermot Canavan, Lori Haley Fox, Mari McGinlay, Ashley Samuels, Michael Vinsen and Imogen Bailey, Pearce Barron, Jordan Benjamin, Nicholas Collier, Joel Cooper, Luke George, Christopher Gopaul, Winny Herbert, Chris Howell, Lily Laight, Hannah Grace Lawson, Madeleine Lawton, Holly Liburd, Will Luckett, Mireia Mambo, Kody Mortimer, Robyn Rose, Tinovimbanashe Sibanda, Kibong Tanji, Amy West and Natalie Woods.
Based on the 1988 film of the same name which starred Divine and Ricki Lake by cult filmmaker John Waters, the crowd-pleasing musical boasts music and lyrics by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman and book by Mark O’Donnell and Thomas Meehan.
With Harvey Fierstein starring as Edna, Hairspray debuted to rave reviews on Broadway in 2002 and subsequently won eight Tony Awards including Best Musical and the leading actor award for Fierstein.
Premiering in London at the Shaftesbury Theatre in 2007, the show won four Laurence Olivier Awards including Best New Musical and the Best Actor Award for Ball.
The production ran for two and a half years, closing in March 2010, but the beat carried on with the show hitting the road for a tour featuring Ball, alternating with Brian Conley and Michael Starke.
A new production featuring direction by Paul Kerryson and choreography by Drew McOnie launched at Leicester Curve in 2015, and returned in 2017 for a successful tour that ended in August 2019. Produced by Mark Goucher, the tour will begin again in September 2020.
Angela Thomas
Tickets for Hairspray are available HERE.
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