Micky Dolenz to Join HAIRSPRAY in London Feb. 2, 2010; Conley Rejoins as Turnblad

The producers of "HAIRSPRAY" are delighted to announce that Micky Dolenz is to join the cast as loveable, ever-so-slightly crazy-joke shop owner Wilbur Turnblad in the hit musical, currently running at London's Shaftesbury Theatre on Tuesday 2 February 2010. Micky is joined by Brian Conley, reprising the role of Wilbur's larger than life wife Edna Turnblad and Chloe Hart, who continues her run as their daughter, the show's heroine Tracy.

Micky Dolenz is an actor, musician, writer and director. Starting out as a child star on US television in Circus Boy, he shot to fame in the globally successful, Emmy Award winning NBC television show The Monkees. Playing a band in the show, the actors were also hugely successful as a chart group with international hits including I'm A Believer, Last Train To Clarksville and Daydream Believer. Since the band, he has guested in many television shows, provided voiceover for countless animated series and written, produced and directed for television, notably in the UK as lead producer/director on the hit children's show Metal Mickey. He has also appeared in Elton John and Tim Rice's AIDA on Broadway and on stage in the USA in Pippin', Grease and A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum. In the early 1980s, Dolenz directed a stage version of Alan Parker's Bugsy Malone in the West End, the cast of which included a then unknown 14-year-old Catherine Zeta-Jones.

Micky says of "HAIRSPRAY", "I remember going to the original premiere of the movie in the 80's. I loved the piece then and I love it now. Having four daughters, I can certainly relate to Wilbur's love and support for his little girl."

The smash hit award-winning musical "HAIRSPRAY" at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London recouped its entire £3.5 million capitalisation in a record-breaking 29 weeks. The show opened on 30 October 2007 to universal critical acclaim and smash hit business. At the 2008 Olivier Awards, "HAIRSPRAY" won ‘Best Musical', as well as ‘Best Actor in a Musical' for Michael Ball, ‘Best Actress in a Musical' for LeAnne Jones. The show has also won ‘Best Musical' at the Evening Standard Awards, the Whatsonstage.com awards, the Critics Circle Awards and the Variety Club Showbiz Awards. The musical continues to break all box office records at the theatre and is now booking until October 2010.

"HAIRSPRAY" is produced in the West End by Stage Entertainment with Margo Lion, The Baruch/Viertel/Routh/Frankel Group and New Line Cinema in association with others from the Broadway producing team.

"HAIRSPRAY" opened at the Neil Simon Theatre in New York in August 2002 to rave reviews and public acclaim. "HAIRSPRAY" subsequently swept the board at the 2003 Tony Awards, winning 8 including ‘Best Musical', the Drama Desk Awards, winning 10 including ‘Best Musical', and the Outer Critics Circle Awards, winning 5 including ‘Best Broadway Musical'. "HAIRSPRAY" also won the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for ‘Best Musical' and the Drama League Award for ‘Outstanding Musical Production'. The show has also played two hugely successful US tours as well as seasons in Toronto and Las Vegas, and further afield in South Africa, Brazil and Scandinavia.

"HAIRSPRAY" has a book by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan, music by Marc Shaiman and lyrics by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman. The musical is based on the New Line Cinema film, written and directed by John Waters. The musical is directed by Jack O'Brien and choreographed by Jerry Mitchell. The scenic design is by David Rockwell, the costumes by William Ivey Long, the lighting by Kenneth Posner and the sound by Steve C. Kennedy. With orchestrations by Harold Wheeler and arrangements by Marc Shaiman, the musical direction is by Lon Hoyt. The West End production of "HAIRSPRAY" is staged by the entire original Broadway creative team.
Performances times at the Shaftesbury Theatre are Tuesdays to Saturdays at 7.30pm, with Thursday, Saturday and Sunday matinees at 3.00pm. Tickets, priced from £22.50 - £62.50, are available from the Shaftesbury Theatre Box Office on 0207 379 5399 or by visiting www.hairspraythemusical.com.