Theatre gets Hairsprayed

The hit West End and Broadway show Hairspray is coming to the Rugby area for the first time, thanks to the talented Henry Street amateur group.

The joyous musical centres on oversized Tracy Turnblad, who has a dream to sing and dance on her local TV station in downtown Baltimore in the early 1960s.

As she tries to make her dream come true, she also vows to bring racial integration to her favourite Corny Collins Show.

The production stars Emma Smart in the lead role of Tracy, while Darren Pratt is her plus-sized mother Edna - the role played by John Travolta in the big screen version of the show.

Among the well-known members of the cast are Ruth MacCallum as Velma and her husband Andy as Tracy’s fun-loving dad Wilbur. Matt Duckett is TV show host Corny Collins, while Ben Handforth plays teen idol and heart-throb Link Larkin.

And there are number of new faces to Rugby audiences among the 30-strong cast, including Alex Mushore as Seaweed Stubbs, Samantha Wiles as Amber, Beth Higginson as Penny, and Francine Southarn as Motormouth Maybelle.

Director Bryan Jones said: “Tickets have gone like hot cakes, and most of the seats are already sold.

“We’re all looking forward to making it a big, loud, happy Hairspray party.”

It opens on Saturday with performances running until Saturday June 13. There is no performance on Sunday and the show starts at 7.30pm.

Tickets for the show cost between £12 and £15 and are fast selling out. To book tickets in advance visit www.rugbytheatre.co.uk.