Keep your hair on! Michael will go to the Ball
Michael Ball will be boasting a scene-stealing, 54eee treasure chest in the hit musical hairspray when it moves to a brand new date in the autumn.
Ball won awards and accolades during the original run 13 years ago for his turn as larger-than- life laundress edna Turnblad.
in addition to that awe-inspiring bust, edna is also an agoraphobic whose liberated daughter Tracy coaxes her out of their Baltimore home to help shake up the civil rights movement, and the town, with joyous songs by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman.
hairspray, based on John Waters’ 1988 movie comedy of the same name, was to have begun previewing at the london coliseum, home of english National Opera, on april 23.
Producer adam Spiegel has revealed to me that it will now begin performances at the coliseum on September 1, running through to November 8.
Spiegel said that he’d spoken to Ball ‘and he’s absolutely thrilled at the prospect of hairspray actually starting’.
Director Jack O’Brien and choreographer Jerry Mitchell, as well as Ball and his co-star Paul Merton, principals including lizzie Bea, Marisha Wallace and indeed the full company, had begun rehearsals on March 16, but shut down soon after as theatres across the UK were forced to bring down their curtains.
‘You can’t Stop The Beat,’ said Spiegel, referring to one of the show’s signature numbers, ‘but it turns out you can pause it’.
Those who purchased seats will have a month from today to exchange their tickets for the new booking period: September 1 to November 8. From May 5 the remaining seats will go on general public sale.
it’s a gargantuan task. Nearly 100,000 people have bought tickets. ‘it’s a big job, like re-booking
Wembley Stadium,’ Spiegel agreed. Should circumstances allow theatres to reopen earlier, say in august, Spiegel said he would consider shifting hairspray to an earlier date.
When i pointed out the logistical nightmare that would entail, he replied sharply: ‘in the new world we’re operating in, i don’t mind logistical nightmares.’
But we’re not there yet. ‘as of now,’ Spiegel said, ‘hairspray will begin at the london coliseum on September 1.’
Meanwhile, he and the creative team are at an embryonic stage in exploring methods to engage actors during the lockdown. For instance, he said, ‘it may be that some of the music is taught in the early stages on internet platforms. We will have to come up with innovative new methods to cope with this extraordinary paralysis.’
and then there are discussions to be had about theatres being fully safe for audiences to return to. ‘Somehow the industry has got to find ways to adapt,’ Spiegel said.
■ VISIT hairspraythemusical.co.uk for more information. site goes live with new details from 9.30am Bst today.