hairspray on tour 2024

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“If life were everything it should be, it would be more like HAIRSPRAY

IT’S IRRESISTIBLE!”

THE NEW YORK TIMES

Homepage Video

Photos: Get a First Look at New Images of HAIRSPRAY on Tour

The tour will visit 45 cities in the 2023-24 touring season.

HAIRSPRAY, Broadway’s Tony Award®-winning musical comedy phenomenon, kicked off its third touring season last night in Ottawa, Ontario at the National Arts Centre through Sunday, November 19. This new Non-Equity, North American tour, helmed by original director Jack O’Brien and original choreographer Jerry Mitchell, will visit 45 cities in the 2023-24 touring season including premiere engagements in Calgary, AB; Charlotte, NC; Cleveland, OH; Dallas, TX; Denver, CO; Edmonton, ALB; Houston, TX; Nashville, TN; Vancouver, BC and many more. The season will also feature return engagements in Boston, MA; San Antonio, TX; and St. Louis, MO, among others. 

See new photos below!   In the first two seasons of touring, HAIRSPRAY played in 118 cities, reaching 44 states and the District of Columbia. More than 886,000 audience members have experienced the “must-see production” (Spectrum News 1 Milwaukee) that is “as buoyant as its bouffants” (Boston Globe), full of “humor, heart and unstoppable energy” (Minneapolis Star-Tribune) and quite simply, “Marvelous - and nearly miraculous” (Omaha World-Herald).   The cast is led by Greg Kalafatas as Edna Turnblad, Caroline Eiseman as Tracy Turnblad and Deidre Lang as Motormouth Maybelle. Joining them are Josiah Rogers as Seaweed J. Stubbs, Skyler Shields as Link Larkin, Ralph Prentice Daniel as Wilbur Turnblad, Andrew Scoggin as Corny Collins, Caroline Portner as Amber Von Tussle, Sarah Hayes as Velma Von Tussle, Scarlett Jacques as Penny Pingleton and Kaila Symone Crowder as Little Inez. Micah Sauvageau is Male Authority Figure, and Emmanuelle Zeesman is Female Authority Figure.   The ensemble consists of Abigail Bensman, Connor Buonaccorsi, Ashia Collins, Joshua James Crawford, Scoob Decker, Craig First, Audrey Taylor Floyd, Gavin Guthrie, Alyssa Jacqueline, Leiah Lewis, Christy Oberndorf, Kynnedi Moryaé Porter, Caroline Purdy, Kalab Quinn, Josiah Thomas Randolph, Amy Rodriguez, Scott Silagy, Cara Torchia, Lilliannie Arie Urgent, James Douglas Vinson and Gabriel Yarborough.   “It’s a brand-new world we find ourselves in today, and HAIRSPRAY is even more relevant than twenty years ago when it first burst onto the scene. With a whole new generation of wildly talented kids across the board, we cannot wait to raise the various roofs once more with dance, joy, music, and that glorious, famous, energy-packed score!” shared Director Jack O’Brien.   Choreographer Jerry Mitchell added, “HAIRSPRAY has always been about all of us dancing together! I am thrilled to welcome this NEW company of amazing #FULLOUT talents to lead the way as we dance across America with a message of inclusion and hope because ‘You really Can’t Stop the Beat!’”   HAIRSPRAY is the story of 16-year-old Tracy Turnblad in 1960s Baltimore as she sets out to dance her way onto TV’s most popular show. Can a girl with big dreams (and even bigger hair) change the world? Featuring the beloved score of hit songs including “Welcome to the ’60s,” “Good Morning Baltimore,” and “You Can’t Stop the Beat,” HAIRSPRAY is “fresh, winning, and deliriously tuneful!” (The New York Times).   HAIRSPRAY is based on the New Line Cinema film written and directed by John Waters, who served as a creative consultant on the musical comedy. It features a book by Mark O’Donnell and Thomas Meehan. HAIRSPRAY features an original score by Academy Award-nominated Marc Shaiman and lyrics by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman.   Additional creative team for HAIRSPRAY includes Tour Director Matt Lenz, Tour Choreographer Robbie Roby, Set Designer David Rockwell, Lighting Designer Kenneth Posner, Tour Lighting Designer Paul Miller, Costume Designer William Ivey Long, Hair and Wig Designers Paul Huntley and Bernie Ardia, Sound Designer Shannon Slaton, Music Supervisor Keith Thompson and Casting by Prather Productions.   HAIRSPRAY premiered at Seattle’s 5th Avenue Theater in June 2002. The show was a smash hit when it transferred to Broadway, winning eight 2003 Tony Awards including Best Musical, and became the longest-running musical to play the Neil Simon Theater, running 2,642 performances from July 18, 2002, until January 4, 2009. It is the 22nd longest running show in Broadway history.  

Photo credit: Jeremy Daniel

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Hairspray UK Tour

Hairspray tour announces casting and further dates.

Run and Tell That!

Exclusive: A large portion of the casting and additional dates have been revealed for Hairspray the Musical, which will open on tour in Manchester at the Palace Theatre on 16 July 2024 and run through to April 2025.

Hairspray  alum Brenda Edwards ( We Will Rock You ) will make her directorial debut for the new mounting. Edwards, who has played the role of “Motormouth Maybelle” during three previous tours of Hairspray  will co-direct alongside Paul Kerryson ( Chicago ), with Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre’s new artistic director Drew McOnie ( In the Heights ) serving as choreographer.

The cast will feature Neil Hurst (Edna Turnblad), Joanne Clifton and Gina Murray (Velma Von Tussle – with Murray performing the role from 16 July to 7 September only), Michelle Ndegwa (Motormouth Maybelle), Soloman Davy (Link Larkin), Declan Egan (Corny Collins), Alexandra Emmerson-Kirby (making her professional debut as Tracy Turnblad), Katlo (Little Inez), Reece Richards (Seaweed) and Allana Taylor (Amber Von Tussle).

Ndegwa obtained the role after being selected from more than 3000 people who applied to the open auditions in November last year.

The ensemble includes Ben Anderson, Grace Anyiam, Nina Bell, Joseph Bristow, Vanessa Dumatey, Rebecca French, Stuart Hickey, Jaiden Lodge, Olly Manley, Sasha Monique, Jacob Smith and Issy Wilman. Further casting will be announced soon.

Hairspray , penned by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, is set in 1962 in a racially-segregated Baltimore, Maryland. It follows teenager Tracy Turnblad, who dreams about dancing on The Corny Collins Show . The score features such standards as “ Welcome To The 60s”, “You Can’t Stop The Beat” and “Good Morning Baltimore”.

The creative team for the new tour includes set and costume designer Takis, lighting designer Philip Gladwell, sound designer Ben Harrison, musical supervisor and arranger Ben Atkinson, musical director and supervisor Richard Atkinson, video designer George Reeve and resident director Juliet Gough. Casting is by Grindrod Burton.

Produced by Mark Goucher, Matthew Gale and Laurence Myers,  Hairspray  will launch the tour at Manchester’s Palace Theatre (16 to 27 July), before heading to the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff (29 July to 3 August), Canterbury’s Marlowe (6 to 10 August), Cheltenham Everyman (13 to 17 August), Liverpool Empire (19 to 24 August), Belfast’s Grand Opera House (26 to 31 August), Milton Keynes Theatre (2 to 7 September), Southend Cliffs Pavilion (9 to 14 September), Birmingham Hippodrome (16 to 21 September), Curve Leicester (23 to 28 September), Theatre Royal Brighton (30 September to 5 October), Edinburgh Playhouse (7 to 12 October), Sheffield Lyceum Theatre (14 to 19 October), New Wimbledon Theatre (21 to 26 October), York Grand Opera House (28 October to 2 November), Nottingham Theatre Royal (4 to 9 November), Newcastle Theatre Royal (11 to 16 November), Hull New Theatre (18 to 23 November), and Bradford’s Alhambra Theatre (25 to 30 November).

Into 2025, the show will visit Southampton Mayflower (6 to 11 January), Hall for Cornwall (13 to 18 January), His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen (20 to 25 January), Glasgow’s Kings Theatre (27 January to 1 February 2024), Wolverhampton Grand (3 to 8 February), Norwich Theatre (10 to 15 February), Aylesbury Waterside (17 to 22 February), Bristol Hippodrome (24 February to 1 March), Woking New Victoria (31 March to 5 April), Venue Cymru (7 to 12 April) and Sunderland Empire (14 to 19 April).

Select venues are on sale at the link below.

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April 16–21, 2024

2 hours, 35 minutes, including one intermission

Orpheum Theatre | 1192 Market St. San Francisco, CA 94102

You Can’t Stop the Beat! HAIRSPRAY , Broadway’s Tony Award-winning musical comedy phenomenon is back on tour! Join 16-year-old Tracy Turnblad in 1960s Baltimore as she sets out to dance her way onto TV’s most popular show. Can a girl with big dreams (and even bigger hair) change the world. Featuring the beloved score of hit songs including “Welcome to the ‘60s,” “Good Morning Baltimore” and “You Can’t Stop the Beat,” HAIRSPRAY is “fresh, winning, and deliriously tuneful!” ( The New York Times ). This all-new touring production reunites Broadway’s award-winning creative team led by Director Jack O’Brien and Choreographer Jerry Mitchell to bring HAIRSPRAY to a new generation of theater audiences. Don’t miss this “exhilaratingly funny and warm-hearted musical comedy” ( The New Yorker ).

AGES & ADVISORIES: Recommended for ages 8+. No children under 5 allowed.

Visit the official website > WATCH: A preview of HAIRSPRAY  >

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Hairspray Dallas

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Catch "Broadway's Big Fat Musical Comedy Hit!"

Get ready for a big, fun dance party of a musical!  Hairspray is going on tour again in an acclaimed new production, and it's coming to Music Hall at Fair Park in June/July 2024!  Tickets for all Hairspray Dallas performances are on sale now, so you can join the fun as plus-sized teenager Tracey Turnblad dances her way into your heart courtesy of the hottest TV program in 1960s Baltimore, The Corny Collins Show — and helps strike a blow for civil rights in the process.  It's fun, it's full of great music, and it's... impeccably coifed!

So don't miss out on this Tony Award for Best Musical-winning update of the beloved John Waters film when it comes to town this summer.  Check out the schedule below, click on individual links for details on seating options at that performance, and score your Hairspray Dallas Tickets right away!

Hairspray Music Hall At Fair Park Dallas, Texas

Funny girl music hall at fair park dallas, texas, music hall at fair park seating chart for hairspray, music hall at fair park     upcoming events, girl from the north country.

Wednesday, April 10th, 2024 7:30 PM

Thursday, April 11th, 2024 7:30 PM

Friday, April 12th, 2024 7:30 PM

Saturday, April 13th, 2024 1:30 PM

Saturday, April 13th, 2024 7:30 PM

Sunday, April 14th, 2024 1:00 PM

Sunday, April 14th, 2024 7:00 PM

Tuesday, April 16th, 2024 7:30 PM

Wednesday, April 17th, 2024 7:30 PM

Follow your to Music Hall At Fair Park

See Hairspray live at Music Hall At Fair Park!

• 909 1st Ave Dallas, Texas 75210

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Jun 4 - Jun 9, 2024

Broadway Shows

Ticket Price

$35 (plus applicable fees)

Performance Hall

Fri, Feb 23

Show Description

You Can’t Stop the Beat! HAIRSPRAY , Broadway’s Tony Award-winning musical comedy phenomenon is back on tour! Join 16-year-old Tracy Turnblad in 1960s Baltimore as she sets out to dance her way onto TV’s most popular show. Can a girl with big dreams (and even bigger hair) change the world?

Featuring the beloved score of hit songs including “Welcome to the ‘60s,” “Good Morning Baltimore” and “You Can’t Stop the Beat,” HAIRSPRAY is “fresh, winning, and deliriously tuneful!” ( The New York Times ).

This all-new touring production reunites Broadway’s award-winning creative team led by Director Jack O’Brien and Choreographer Jerry Mitchell to bring HAIRSPRAY to a new generation of theater audiences.

Don’t miss this “exhilaratingly funny and warm-hearted musical comedy” ( The New Yorker ).

Buy Tickets

Performance Schedule

• Audio Description
• Open Captions

Swipe to see more details

• Tue Jun 4, 2024 at 7:30 pm
• Wed Jun 5, 2024 at 7:30 pm
• Thu Jun 6, 2024 at 7:30 pm
• Fri Jun 7, 2024 at 8:00 pm
• Sat Jun 8, 2024 at 2:00 pm
• Sat Jun 8, 2024 at 8:00 pm
• Sun Jun 9, 2024 at 1:30 pm
• Sun Jun 9, 2024 at 7:00 pm

If life were everything it should be, it would be more like HAIRSPRAY. It’s irresistible!

- The New York Times

Media Gallery

(center) Caroline Eiseman as “Tracy Turnblad” and Company in Hairspray.

“Good Morning, Baltimore” - Caroline Eiseman as “Tracy Turnblad” in Hairspray.

Deidre Lang as “Motormouth Maybelle” and the Company of Hairspray

(from L) Caroline Eiseman as “Tracy Turnblad,” Greg Kalafatas as “Edna Turnblad” and Company in Hairspray

from L) Ashia Collins, Leiah Lewis and Kynnedi Moryaé Porter as “The Dynamites” in Hairspray

(center) Caroline Portner as “Amber Von Tussle” and Company in Hairspray

Deidre Lang as “Motormouth Maybelle” and Company in Hairspray

(front) Skyler Shields as “Link Larkin” and Company in Hairspray

aloft, from L) Josiah Thomas Randolph as “Thad,” Kalab Quinn as “Duane,” Gabriel Yarborough as “Gilbert” and Company in Hairspray

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Upcoming Shows

The Cher Show

Apr 16 - Apr 28, 2024

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Apr 30 - May 5, 2024

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Hairspray UK Tour

Hairspray the Musical UK Tour returns in 2024!  Initial dates have been announced… Sign up to our touring alerts and we'll let you know when tickets go on sale.

HAIRSPRAY THE MUSICAL TOUR - 2024 / 2025 DATES & TICKETS

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Well, you can keep checking back…. Or you can sign up to FREE TOURING ALERTS for your area!

We'll keep you abreast of any new tours announced, and if this show, or any other musical on tour comes to your town, you will be the first to know.

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Official Website: https://hairsprayuktour.com

YOU CAN'T STOP THE BEAT - HAIRSPRAY THE MUSICAL IS BACK!

Smash-hit musical Hairspray is set to tour the UK and Ireland next year in a major new production co-directed by Brenda Edwards.

Brenda Edwards will make her directorial debut as she joins Paul Kerryson to direct the 2024/25 touring production alongside award-winning choreographer Drew McOnie.

The Loose Women panelist has previously played ‘Motormouth' Maybelle in three tours of Hairspray, as well as appearing We Will Rock You and Chicago.

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.”

WHAT IS HAIRSPRAY THE MUSICAL ABOUT?

It’s Baltimore 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 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  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 the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Musical, Best Actor in a Musical, Best Actress in a Musical and Best Performance in a Supporting Role.

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 John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer and James Marsden.

HAIRSPRAY UK TOUR - THE CAST & CREATIVE

*Joanne Clifton will join the cast from the  09 Sep .

Original Screenplay –  John Waters Book – Mark O'Donnell & Thomas Meehan Composer/Co-Lyricist – Marc Shaiman Lyrics – Scott Wittman & Marc Shaiman Directors – Paul Kerryson / Brenda Edwards Choreographer – Drew McOnie

WATCH THE VIDEO TRAILER FOR HAIRSPRAY THE MUSICAL!

Listen to music from hairspray the musical, did you find this useful if so, would you 'like' our facebook page, thank you we are new, and every 'like' goes a long way :).

• Bournemouth
• Derry / Londonderry
• High Wycombe
• Kingston upon Thames
• Milton Keynes
• Newcastle Upon Tyne
• Northampton
• Peterborough
• Southampton
• Southend-on-Sea
• Stockton-on-Tees
• Stoke-on-Trent
• Wolverhampton

Next performance at Manchester Palace Theatre from 16 Jul 2024

Book online

More dates to be announced…

MANCHESTER Palace Theatre

16 jul 2024 - 27 jul 2024.

CARDIFF Wales Millennium Centre

29 jul 2024 - 03 aug 2024.

CANTERBURY The Marlowe

06 aug 2024 - 10 aug 2024.

CHELTENHAM Everyman Theatre

13 aug 2024 - 17 aug 2024.

LIVERPOOL Empire Theatre

19 aug 2024 - 24 aug 2024.

BELFAST Grand Opera House

26 aug 2024 - 31 aug 2024.

MILTON KEYNES Theatre

02 sep 2024 - 07 sep 2024.

SOUTHEND Cliffs Pavilion

09 sep 2024 - 14 sep 2024.

BIRMINGHAM Hippodrome

16 sep 2024 - 21 sep 2024.

LEICESTER Curve

23 sep 2024 - 28 sep 2024.

BRIGHTON Theatre Royal

30 sep 2024 - 05 oct 2024.

EDINBURGH Playhouse

07 oct 2024 - 12 oct 2024.

SHEFFIELD Lyceum Theatre

14 oct 2024 - 19 oct 2024.

New WIMBLEDON Theatre

21 oct 2024 - 26 oct 2024.

YORK Grand Opera House

28 oct 2024 - 02 nov 2024.

Nottingham Theatre Royal

04 nov 2024 - 09 nov 2024.

Newcastle Theatre Royal

11 nov 2024 - 16 nov 2024.

HULL New Theatre

18 nov 2024 - 23 nov 2024.

Bradford Alhambra Theatre

25 nov 2024 - 30 nov 2024.

SOUTHAMPTON MAYFLOWER THEATRE

07 jan 2025 - 11 jan 2025.

TRURO Hall For Cornwall

13 jan 2025 - 18 jan 2025.

ABERDEEN His Majesty’s Theatre

21 jan 2025 - 25 jan 2025.

GLASGOW King’s Theatre

27 jan 2025 - 01 feb 2025.

WOLVERHAMPTON Grand Theatre

03 feb 2025 - 08 feb 2025.

NORWICH Theatre Royal

10 feb 2025 - 15 feb 2025.

AYLESBURY Waterside Theatre

17 feb 2025 - 22 feb 2025.

BRISTOL Hippodrome

24 feb 2025 - 01 mar 2025.

MALVERN Theatres

03 mar 2025 - 08 mar 2025.

DERRY Millennium Forum

10 mar 2025 - 15 mar 2025.

DARTFORD Orchard Theatre

24 mar 2025 - 29 mar 2025.

WOKING New Victoria Theatre

31 mar 2025 - 05 apr 2025.

LLANDUDNO Venue Cymru

07 apr 2025 - 12 apr 2025.

SUNDERLAND Empire Theatre

14 apr 2025 - 19 apr 2025, share this with your friends.

• West End & London
• Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2024

Hairspray tour

Currently touring until 19 April 2025

Hairspray is back on a UK four for 2024! Based on the 1980s movie of the same name, Hairspray is set in 1960s Baltimore, Maryland and follows Tracy Turnblad as her dream to dance on The Corny Collins Show turns into a campaign for racial integration.

Hairspray UK tour dates and tickets

• Manchester , Palace Theatre 16 July 2024 - 27 July 2024 Book tickets ➤
• Cardiff , Wales Millennium Centre 29 July 2024 - 3 August 2024 Book tickets ➤
• Canterbury , The Marlowe 6 August 2024 - 10 August 2024 Book tickets ➤
• Cheltenham , Everyman Theatre 13 August 2024 - 17 August 2024 Book tickets ➤
• Liverpool , Liverpool Empire 19 August 2024 - 24 August 2024 Book tickets ➤
• Belfast , Grand Opera House 26 August 2024 - 31 August 2024 Book tickets ➤
• Milton Keynes , Milton Keynes Theatre 2 September 2024 - 7 September 2024 Book tickets ➤
• Southend , Southend Cliffs Pavilion 9 September 2024 - 14 September 2024 Book tickets ➤
• Birmingham , Birmingham Hippodrome 16 September 2024 - 21 September 2024 Book tickets ➤
• Leicester , Leicester Curve 23 September 2024 - 28 September 2024 Book tickets ➤
• Brighton , Brighton Theatre Royal 30 September 2024 - 5 October 2024 Book tickets ➤
• Edinburgh , Edinburgh Playhouse 7 October 2024 - 12 October 2024 Book tickets ➤
• Sheffield , Sheffield Theatres 14 October 2024 - 19 October 2024 Book tickets ➤
• London , New Wimbledon Theatre 21 October 2024 - 26 October 2024 Book tickets ➤
• Nottingham , Nottingham Theatre Royal 4 November 2024 - 9 November 2024 Book tickets ➤
• Newcastle , Newcastle Theatre Royal 11 November 2024 - 16 November 2024 Book tickets ➤
• Hull , Hull New Theatre 18 November 2024 - 23 November 2024 Book tickets ➤
• Bradford , Bradford Theatres 25 November 2024 - 30 November 2024 Book tickets ➤
• Southampton , Southampton Mayflower 6 January 2025 - 11 January 2025 Book tickets ➤
• Truro , Hall For Cornwall 13 January 2025 - 18 January 2025 Book tickets ➤
• Aberdeen , His Majestys Theatre 20 January 2025 - 25 January 2025 Book tickets ➤
• Glasgow , Glasgow Kings Theatre 27 January 2025 - 1 February 2025 Book tickets ➤
• Wolverhampton , Wolverhampton Grand 3 February 2025 - 8 February 2025 Book tickets ➤
• Norwich , Norwich Theatre 10 February 2025 - 15 February 2025 Book tickets ➤
• Aylesbury , Aylesbury Waterside Theatre 17 February 2025 - 22 February 2025 Book tickets ➤
• Bristol , Bristol Hippodrome 24 February 2025 - 1 March 2025 Book tickets ➤
• Woking , New Victoria Theatre 31 March 2025 - 5 April 2025 Book tickets ➤
• Llandudno , Venue Cymru 7 April 2025 - 12 April 2025 Sign up for updates
• Sunderland , Sunderland Empire 14 April 2025 - 19 April 2025 Book tickets ➤

Welcome to the 60s, where everyone’s grooving to a brand-new sound! Enter our vivacious 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?

Meet the cast

Those on the cast include Neil Hurst (Edna Turnblad), Joanne Clifton (Velma Von Tussle) – with Gina Murray performing the role from 16 July – 7 September only, Michelle Ndegwa (Motormouth Maybelle), Soloman Davy (Link Larkin), Declan Egan (Corny Collins) Alexandra Emmerson-Kirby (Tracy Turnblad), Katlo (Little Inez), Reece Richards (Seaweed) and Allana Taylor (Amber Von Tussle).

Making up the ensemble are Ben Anderson, Grace Anyiam, Nina Bell, Joseph Bristow, Vanessa Dumatey, Rebecca French, Stuart Hickey, Jaiden Lodge, Olly Manley, Sasha Monique, Jacob Smith and Issy Wilman .

About the show

Genre: Musical

Age recommendation and guidance: 2 hours 30 minutes incl. interval

Running time: 150

Brenda Edwards, who has previously played ‘Motormouth’ Maybelle in three tours of Hairspray, will co-direct the new production alongside Paul Kerryson (Chicago, Sweeney Todd; Curve Theatre) with choreography by Drew McOnie.

The musical made its debut on Broadway in 2002 and features a book by Mark O’Donnell and Thomas Meehan with music by Marc Shaiman and lyrics by Shaiman and Scott Wittman.

More shows on tour

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Pretty Woman

The Bushnell announces seven Broadway series shows for 2024-25 season

The Bushnell Performing Arts Center in Hartford announced its 2024-25 Broadway series of musicals on Monday.

The slate of shows for the upcoming season includes the Neil Diamond bio-musical “A Beautiful Noise” Oct. 1-6, 2024; the return of Disney’s “The Lion King” Nov. 13-Dec. 1, 2024; “MJ the Musical” Dec. 10-15, 2024; a radically rethought revival of “Peter Pan” Feb. 4-9, 2025; “The Wiz” March 11-16, 2025; “Some Like It Hot” April 29-May 4, 2025; and “Back to the Future the Musical” June 4-8, 2025.

The schedule breaks down to two jukebox musicals, two refreshed and reinterpreted 20th-century musical classics and three musical versions of famous movies (one of them from Disney).

The Bushnell continues its tradition of hosting the first national tours of recent Broadway hits. Two of the shows, “MJ” and “Back to the Future,” are still running on Broadway as their first national tours commence. The Broadway production of “Some Like It Hot” closed in December after running for around a year. “The Wiz,” a revival of the 1974 Black version of “The Wizard of Oz,” is touring before it gets to Broadway, playing The Bushnell less than three weeks before it begins preview performances at New York’s Marquis Theatre.

Besides the seven shows in the subscription season, The Bushnell announced return bookings of two musicals that have already played the venue in recent years: “Les Miserables” from Oct. 29 to Nov. 3, 2024, and the concert-style British history lesson “Six” Dec. 31, 2024 through Jan. 5, 2025. Various tours of “Les Mis” have been coming to The Bushnell since 1989, most recently in 2017. When “Six” happens, it will be only two years since the first tour of the show about the six wives of Henry VIII played The Bushnell in January 2023.

Tickets are not yet available. Bushnell Broadway series subscribers are contacted first about renewing their subscriptions. Then, new subscriptions are offered to those not currently subscribing. Finally, months from now, single tickets will go on sale for the shows.

Of the seven subscription shows, five are the first national tours of new musicals that have never appeared at The Bushnell. The other two, “Peter Pan” and “The Wiz,” first came to The Bushnell decades ago but in very different forms. This new production of “Peter Pan” has been rewritten by playwright Larissa Fasthorse (Broadway’s “The Thanksgiving Play”), with a particular interest in reworking the original script’s objectionable depictions of Native Americans.

“Some Like It Hot” is based on the 1959 film comedy directed by Billy Wilder and starring Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon and Marilyn Monroe. It’s not the first time the movie has been turned into a musical. A previous attempt, “Sugar,” by Jule Styne, Bob Merrill and Peter Stone ran on Broadway in 1972 and (retitled as “Some Like It Hot”) played the Shubert Theatre in New Haven in 2002. This new one has a score by the “Hairspray” and TV “Smash” team of Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman and a book by Matthew López and Amber Ruffin. López has had several of his plays (including the world premieres of “Somewhere” and “Reverberation”) produced by Hartford Stage, which also commissioned (but did not end up producing) his Tony-winning epic “The Inheritance.”

Ruffin, best known as a writer/performer on “Late Night with Seth Meyers” and for her now-defunct “Amber Ruffin Show” on Peacock, also had a hand in the tour of “The Wiz,” adding new material to the show’s book.

It took years, but The Bushnell has finally caught up with the backlog of Broadway series shows whose visits to Hartford were delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The last straggler was “The Cher Show,” which was originally scheduled to play The Bushnell in November of 2020 and finally arrived earlier this month. This will likely be the first season since 2021 which has not had to make room for delayed runs of musicals originally planned for previous seasons.

The 2024-25 season begins in the fall. There are still three more Broadway shows coming in the current 2023-24 season: the “Wizard of Oz” prequel “Wicked” April 24 through May 12, “Beetlejuice” May 28 through June 2 and “Funny Girl” June 18-23.

The Shubert in New Haven announced its own 2024-25 Broadway series slate last week with “Tina: The Tina Turner Musical,” “Dear Evan Hansen,” “Clue,” “Mean Girls” and “Ain’t Too Proud: The Life & Times of the Temptations.” All but one of those shows, the non-musical play “Clue,” has already played The Bushnell on earlier tours. Other Connecticut theaters that host Broadway tours, such as the Waterbury Palace, will announce their 2024-25 seasons soon.

For more information on The Bushnell’s upcoming 2024-25 season, go to the venue’s website at bushnell.org .

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Don’t Believe What You Read About ‘Liarmouth,’ Says John Waters, Whose Next Movie Is Still Up in the Air

Back at the Academy Museum for a rare screening of early shorts 'Hag in a Black Leather Jacket' and 'Roman Candles,' John Waters revealed where his career began ... and what might come next.

By Peter Debruge

Peter Debruge

Chief Film Critic

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It’s not easy to shock John Waters . The “Pink Flamingos” director spent his career pushing, prodding and profaning the envelope in every way imaginable. But one thing the self-proclaimed “pope of trash” never thought he’d see was a career-spanning show at the Academy Museum .

The exhibition — which features everything from a full-scale trailer home to Ricki Lake’s cockroach-covered dress from the movie “Hairspray” — opened last September and runs through the end of August. Waters spoke to Variety ahead of the opening, but because of the writers’ strike last summer, he wasn’t able to discuss current or upcoming projects.

At 77 years old, the queer icon has lived long enough to see film critics, museum curators and even the Cannes Film Festival come around to his irreverent sensibility. But that doesn’t mean financiers are lining up to make his next movie (after NC-17-rated 2004 flop ‘A Dirty Shame’).

“My last film was 20 years ago, but I’ve been paid to write six other ones in that time,” he told the crowd, ticking off the projects: “Four different sequels to ‘Hairspray’; [Christmas comedy] ‘Fruitcake,’ which has gone through a couple of versions that still might happen; and ‘ Liarmouth ,’” based on his 2022 novel, which he dubbed “a feel-bad romance.”

“The book was optioned. I turned in the script. They like the script, but we don’t have the money to make it,” said Waters, who confirmed reports that Aubrey Plaza has been cast as compulsive kleptomaniac Marsha Sprinkle. “I’m thrilled that she’s going to [star in it], but we don’t have the money yet,” he said, “I don’t know what’s going to happen, and so I’m trying to get ‘Fruitcake’ going too. We’ll see.”

On Sunday, fans of Waters’ outrageous sensibility turned out to see how his first two fast-and-loose experimental films might forecast where his career was headed. They came looking for such skidmarks in his early shorts, and found them loaded with familiar themes.

Made in 1964 while Waters was still in high school, the 17-minute, black-and-white “Hag” challenged local mores by focusing on a taboo relationship between a white girl and her Black boyfriend (tensions that would later inspire “Hairspray”), climaxing with Mary Vivian Pearce showing off racy dance moves forbidden on Baltimore’s “The Buddy Deane Show,” as “Hairspray’s” Tracy Turnblad later would.

Heavily indebted to early-’60s underground films (the Kuchar brothers and Andy Warhol in particular), pop art and the theater of the absurd, the loosely plotted film is full of endearing glitches: Waters did all of his editing in camera, resulting in awkward “jump cuts” and accidentally double-exposed sequences. “We screwed it up badly, technically, and just called it art,” Waters explained.

Rather than recording dialogue, he prepared a soundtrack full of unlicensed songs — the reason the film has rarely been seen since its original 1964 screening (in a beatnik coffee shop), since music rights would cost a fortune. The actual budget couldn’t have been more than $60, Waters estimated, since the whole escapade was shot on 8mm footage stolen by the gay director’s then-girlfriend “Mona Montgomery.”

Mona (not her real name) also stars in “Hag,” dancing with her on-screen boyfriend (Bobby Chappel) in the woods, before marrying him on the roof of Waters’ childhood home. The ceremony is overseen by someone in a Ku Klux Klan costume and attended by a collection of weirdos, including a young man in drag — not Divine, as Waters had not yet met his future muse.

Harris Glenn Milstead (the actor audiences know as Divine) made his screen debut in 1966’s “Roman Candles,” appearing alongside Waters troupers David Lochary, Pat Moran and Mink Stole (who attended Sunday’s show, calling out from the audience at times). The project’s ostensible star was a well-known local beatnik named Maelcum Soul, who tended bar at Martick’s. She wore heavy face paint everywhere she went — a look later adopted by Divine. Appearing in what Waters called “half drag,” Milstead sports makeup and what looks like a red silk turban toward the end, lurking behind bushes to spy on the other characters.

“There was nothing left on the cutting room floor,” Waters claimed, apologizing at times for the characters’ repetitive and silly behavior. The advantage of having three screens, he said, was that “you could look at something else. Each one by itself would have been really boring, but three at once made it confusing, at least. That’s better than boring.”

Not that anyone would accuse Waters of being boring. The Academy Film Archive restored Waters’ first five films — including “Eat Your Makeup,” “Mondo Trasho” and “The Diane Linkletter Story” — and though rights issues make them tricky to screen publicly, excerpts can be seen in the museum’s exhibition.

“Sadly, I didn’t know then that you had to pay for music rights,” the cult filmmaker admitted. “I didn’t even know there was editing. I just shot the shots in order of the movie and that’s it.” In a way, Waters joked, his avant-garde naiveté anticipated Denmark’s lo-fi Dogma 95 movement, “and I was Lars von Queer.”

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