Hairspray in the West End full casting confirmed

After pandemic delays of over a year, the full Hairspray West End cast has been confirmed.

Michael Ball will lead the show as Edna Turnblad, joined by Lizzie Bea as Tracy Turnblad and the freshly unveiled Les Dennis as Wilbur.

Marisha Wallace will take the role of Motormouth, while Rita Simons and Jonny Amies will also join the cast as Velma Von Tussle and Link Larkin respectively.

The show is based on the 1988 film of the same name, which starred Divine and Ricki Lake. It originally opened in 2002 on Broadway and won eight Tony Awards, with songs such as "You Can't Stop the Beat", "Big, Blonde and Beautiful" and "Good Morning Baltimore". The original London production ran in 2008, picking up a number of awards.

The full company includes Georgia Anderson (Amber von Tussle), Kimani Arthur (Little Inez), Dermot Canavan (Wilbur for certain performances), Lori Haley Fox (Female Authority Figure), Mari McGinlay (Penny Pingleton), Ashley Samuels (Seaweed J Stubbs), Michael Vinsen (Corny Collins) and Imogen Bailey, Pearce Barron, Jordan Benjamin, Joel Cooper, Luke George, Christopher Gopaul, Bradley Judge, Winny Herbert, Lily Laight, Madeleine Lawton, Holly Liburd, Will Luckett, Mireia Mambo, Kody Mortimer, Robyn Rose, Tinovimbanashe Sibanda, Amy West and Natalie Woods.

Jack O'Brien will direct, with book by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan, music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Shaiman and Scott Wittman, choreography by Jerry Mitchell, costumes by William Ivey Long, set by David Rockwell, sound design by Steve C Kennedy, musical supervision by Alan Williams, musical direction by Alan Berry, lighting by Kenneth Posner, original wigs and hair by Paul Huntley and casting by Jill Green.

The company manager is Jonathan Stott, with Ben Delfont as stage manager, Rachel Phillips as deputy stage manager, Mark McGowan as assistant stage manager / book cover, with Alice Jenkins and Damian Stanton as assistant stage managers.

The show will run from 22 June to 29 September 2021. The first four weeks will play with social distancing.