Hairspray at the Shaftesbury Theatre

Hairspray The Musical at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London

SORRY THIS SHOW HAS NOW CLOSED

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MORE ABOUT HAIRSPRAY IN LONDON

Shaftesbury Theatre, London

Opened: 30 October 2007

Closed: 28 March 2010

The Olivier and Tony award winning musical played over 1,000 performances and grossed over £50 million in the UK, becoming the longest running show at the Shaftesbury Theatre in 40 years.

Based on the cult John Waters movie, Hairspray is a colourful, fun and vibrant show which follows Tracy Turnblad – a big girl with big hair and an even bigger heart – as she sets out to dance her way onto TV’s most popular dance show.

Stars of the show included Michael Ball, Brian Conley, Micky Dolenz, Chloe Hart, Belinda Carlisle,  Leanne Jones, Tracie Bennett and Mel Smith.

Hairspray: Only 8 weeks to go

The producers of Hairspray have announced that it will close in 8 weeks time at the Shaftesbury Theatre, on 28 March 2010, following two and a half years of big-haired success.

The Olivier and Tony award winning musical has played over 1,000 performances and grossed over £50 million in the UK, becoming the longest running show at the Shaftesbury Theatre in 40 years.

Based on the cult John Waters movie, Hairspray is a colourful, fun and vibrant show which follows Tracy Turnblad – a big girl with big hair and an even bigger heart – as she sets out to dance her way onto TV’s most popular dance show.

As the show closes in the West End it will embark on a nationwide tours, with dates including Cardiff, Glasgow, Southampton, Leeds, Manchester, Milton Keynes and Birmingham.

Brian Conley will return to the cast to play Edna Turnblad for the final eight weeks of the London run, with former Monkee Micky Dolenz playing doting husband Wilbur and Chloe Hart continuing to play Tracy.

Hairspray producer Bill Taylor said: “Every show, even a big, glorious hit show like this one, has a natural life and for now it is time for Hairspray to leave London. Margo Lion and the Broadway producers of Hairspray join Stage Entertainment in thanking every member of the company who has been involved in making it such a success and every audience member who joined us at the Shaftesbury theatre over its record-breaking run.”

Save £25 on tickets to see Hairspray at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London

Belinda Carlisle to join Hairspray

It’s all change at Hairspray as the producers announce another cast change starting 26 October. Pop star Belinda Carlisle will join the big-budget, big-hair show as Velma Von Tussle, alongside the Never Mind The Buzzcocks comedian Phill Jupitus, who will take the role of Edna Turnblad, formerly played by Michael Ball and currently by Brian Conley.

Also musicals stalwart Sharon D Clarke , who has played many of the West End’s big shows, will take the role of Motormouth Mabel.

Other cast members remain in place including Chloe Hart (Tracy Turnblad), Verity Rushworth (Penny) Liam Tamne (Link Larkin), Adrian Hansel (Seaweed) and Raquel Jones (Little Inez) all remain with the show and are joined by new cast members Tony Timberlake (Wilbur Turnblad), Nicola Brazil (Amber Von Tussle) and Gavin Alex (Corny Collins).

Hairspray has won numerous awards including the Olivier Award Best Musical gong and Best Musical at the Evening Standard Awards.

Hairspray starts Sunday performances from Sunday 8 November, running Tuesday to Saturday at 7.30pm, with matinees on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday at 3.00pm.

Hairspray discount tickets: Save £27.50 on tickets with westendtheatre.com

BACKGROUND

Belinda Carlisle is a Grammy Award nominated singer and actress.  As lead singer of the groundbreaking band The GoGo’s she was part of the first ever girl group who wrote and played their own music to top the Billboard Charts in the US.  Following extensive touring with The GoGo’s, her solo career was hugely successful with global hits including Circle In The Sand, Leave A Light On For Me, I Get Weak, We Want The Same Thing, Live Your Life Be Free and the international number one Heaven Is A Place On Earth.  Screen credits include the movie “Swing Shift” and appearances on “Dancing With The Stars” (ABC) and “Hell’s Kitchen” (ITV1).  Based in France, Belinda still performs around the world.

Phill Jupitus is a broadcaster, writer and actor who has appeared on British television & radio and the stage for over 20 years.  His career began at record label Go Discs where he was press officer for The Housemartins and directed videos for Billy Bragg and Kirsty McColl.  He also worked as a performance poet and compered for acts like Madness, The Who and Paul Weller before becoming a regular fixture on the UK comedy circuit.  He has appeared on many television and radio panel shows including “QI” and “News Quiz”, as well as being a regular team captain on the hit BBC 2 show “Never Mind The Buzzcocks”, and has toured extensively with his one man shows.  As a DJ, Phil played the first ever record on BBC 6Music as host of the “Breakfast Show”, which he presented for five years.  He is also a columnist (and sometime cartoonist) for The Times’s football supplement The Game and regularly records very successful football and music podcasts.

Sharon D Clarke is a prolific West End, television and radio star and recording artist.  Her stage credits include “Chicago”, “We Will Rock You”, “The Lion King”, “Rent” and “Guys & Dolls” as well as many productions at the Hackney Empire.  On television she has appeared in “The Singing Detective”, “Waking The Dead”, “The Crust” and she played Dr Lolo Griffin on BBC 1′s “Holby City” for more than three years.  She also appeared as a judge on the hugely successful “Last Choir Standing” for the BBC in 2008.  She has appeared on many chart singles as a guest vocalist, including Going Back To My Roots (with FPI Project) and I Wanna Give You Devotion (with Nomad).