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Home , Christine Ebersole, Hairspray (musical), The Bucket List

PRESS RELEASE

@HairsprayUKTour/ @HairsprayUKTour / @Hairsprayuktour / www.hairsprayuktour.com/

HAIRSPRAY THE MUSICAL UK TOUR Directed by Paul Kerryson Choreographed by Drew McOnie

HAIRSPRAY THE MUSICAL TO TOUR AGAIN IN 2020-21

Credit: Darren Bell Producer, Mark Goucher confirmed today that his hit production of Hairspray will go out on tour again in 2020. The tour will visit , Bradford, Blackpool, Northampton, Aylesbury, Birmingham, Glasgow and Liverpool, with further locations to be announced soon. The tour will extend into 2021 and follows two extremely successful tours in 2015/16 and 2017/18. Featuring the iconic music and lyrics by Academy Award, Tony and Emmy winning duo and , this much-loved musical comedy is choreographed by Olivier Award-winning Drew McOnie with direction from Paul Kerryson. It’s 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 of the same name which starred and by cult filmmaker . With music and lyrics by Marc Shaiman and Scott

Wittman and book by Mark O’Donnell and , Hairspray originally opened to rave reviews on Broadway in 2002 and subsequently won eight . The production opened in London at the Shaftesbury in 2007 and won four 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 , and . -ENDS-

For further information please The Corner Shop PR on 020 7831 7657

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 which include 1988’s original film Hairspray which starred Ricki Lake, Cry Baby which starred Johnny Depp, 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 John was born in Baltimore, 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 and an Associate Artist at The Old Vic. Drew won the 2016 Olivier Award for Best Theatre Choreographer for his work on 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 , Hairspray and . 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 : 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 , The First Wives Club, Patch Adams, and : Bigger, Longer & Uncut. Marc’s additional film credits include; When Harry Met Sally, Beaches, Misery, , The Addams Family, , 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 (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 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 and Sarah Jessica Parker. He has co-written ’ 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.