Good Morning Baltimore Edinburgh as today a new production of Hairspray has been announced, which will embark on a major national UK and Ireland tour in 2024. Set to open in Manchester at the Palace Theatre on July 16, 2024, Hairspray will tour through July 2025. Edinburgh Playhouse will be graced with six days of shows between October 7 and 12, 2024.
The iconic musical comedy featuring hit songs Welcome To The 60s, You Can’t Stop The Beat and Good Morning Baltimore will visit venues across the UK and Ireland including Manchester, Cardiff, Canterbury, Liverpool, Belfast, Milton Keynes, Southend. Birmingham, Edinburgh, Sheffield, Wimbledon, Nottingham, Newcastle, Hull, Bradford, Southampton, Aberdeen and Glasgow. Further dates will be announced in due course.
After breaking box office records and delighting audiences in the West End, on Broadway and on the big screen since 1988, the timeless story of Hairspray centres around heroine Tracy Turnblad, who has big hair, a big heart, and big dreams to dance her way onto national TV, and into the heart of teen idol Link Larkin. When Tracy becomes a local star, she is able to use her newfound fame to fight for liberation, tolerance, and interracial unity in Baltimore. But can she win equality – and Link’s heart – without denting her ’do?
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 played 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, Zac Efron and James Marsden.
Hairspray UK and Ireland 2024-2025 tour dates:
Manchester Palace (16 – 27 July 2024)
Cardiff Wales Millenium Centre (29 July – 3 August 2024)
Canterbury Marlowe (6 – 10 August 2024)
Liverpool Empire (19 – 24 August 2024)
Belfast Grand Opera House (26 – 31 August 2024)
Milton Keynes Theatre (2 – 7 September 2024)
Southend Cliffs Pavilion (9 – 14 September 2024)
Birmingham Hippodrome (16 – 21 September 2024)
Edinburgh Playhouse (7 – 12 October 2024)
Sheffield Theatres (14 – 19 September 2024)
New Wimbledon Theatre (21 – 26 September 2024)
Nottingham Theatre Royal (4 – 9 November 2024)
Newcastle Theatre Royal (11 – 16 November 2024)
Hull New Theatre (18 – 23 November 2024)
Bradford Theatres (25 – 30 November 2024)
Southampton Mayflower (6 – 11 January 2025)
Aberdeen His Majesty’s Theatre (20 – 25 January 2025)
Glasgow Kings Theatre (27 January – 1 February 2025)
Producers Mark Goucher, Matthew Gale and Laurence Myers have also announced that Brenda Edwards (Loose Women, ITV; We Will Rock You, London Coliseum) who has previously played “Motormouth” Maybelle in three tours of Hairspray will join the creative team alongside Paul Kerryson (Chicago, Sweeney Todd; Curve Theatre) to direct the new production of Hairspray. Brenda Edwards rose to fame following her success on The X-Factor in 2005 and went on to become a regular panellist on ITV’s Loose Women as well as presenting BBC’s Songs of Praise and ITV’s Carols at Christmas (both in 2021).
Brenda Edwards said: “I couldn’t be more thrilled to be invited by the producers to make my directorial debut on the show as a co-director with Paul Kerryson. Hairspray, and this production in particular, has been such a huge part of my life.
“The show’s story and themes are as relevant as ever and I cannot wait to hold the open auditions to discover a new cast and work together to present a vibrant new production of this timeless musical for everyone to enjoy.”
Completing the creative team is Choreography by Olivier Award winner Drew McOnie, Set and Costume Design by Takis, Lighting Design by Philip Gladwell, Sound Design by Ben Harrison, Musical Supervising and Arrangement by Ben Atkinson, Musical Direction by Richard Atkinson, Projection Design by George Reeve, Casting by Grindrod Burton and Resident Direction by Juliet Gough.
Open auditions for Hairspray will be held in November 2023 and Manchester tickets go on sale from October 4, 2023 and can be purchased here.