Hairspray in the West End with Michael Ball to reschedule run to autumn 2020

The West End production of Hairspray the Musical has been rescheduled while the coronavirus continues.

Originally due to open in April of this year, the show wiill now play its first performance on 1 September, running until 8 November.

The piece is set to star Michael Ball and Paul Merton, with Ball reprising his award-winning role as Edna Turnblad and Merton making his West End musical debut as Wilbur Turnblad. They will be joined a cast including Lizzie Bea as Tracy Turnblad, Rita Simons as Velma Von Tussle and Marisha Wallace as Motormouth Maybelle.

Hairspray the Musical 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 in 2008 won four Olivier Awards.

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 and casting by Jill Green.

Current ticket holders can re-schedule their performance dates from today, with full information available on the Hairspray website here.