HAIRSPRAY Dances To The Des Moines Stage 3/20-3/22

It's time to let your hair down and dance the night away! HAIRSPRAY, Broadway's musical comedy phenomenon that inspired a major motion picture is coming to the Civic Center of Greater Des Moines for one weekend only Friday, March 20 to Sunday March, 22.

POST-PERFORMANCE DISCUSSION, Friday, March 20, following 7:30 p.m. performance

There will be a post-performance discussion with cast members of HAIRSPRAY immediately following the 7:30 p.m. performances on Friday, March 19. Audience members are invited to a Q&A in the main hall with members of the HAIRSPRAY Company who will share their experiences of this show and provide an opportunity for questions and answers. The Q&A is free to all ticket holders.

THEATER JAM TEEN NIGHT, Saturday, March 21, 6:30 p.m.

Civic Center of Greater Des Moines, $20 per ticket

High school teens are invited to the Civic Center to experience HAIRSRPRAY, as part of Theater Jam - a teen night at the theater. The night will include the performance, an opportunity to hang out in an exclusive teen lounge, learn a move from the musical, chat with HAIRSPRAY cast members, and refreshments. A special $20 ticket which includes a ticket to HAIRSPRAY and all Theater Jam activities is available for high school teens.

Theater Jam tickets are limited and can be purchased in person at the Civic Center Ticket Office (open Monday-Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.). A valid ID is required for purchase and access into Theater Jam events.

STUDENT RUSH DISCOUNT TICKETS

The Civic Center is also offering discounted student rush tickets for all performances of HAIRSPRAY at $25 per ticket. Student rush tickets will be available for purchase to any student with a current/valid student ID. Tickets must be purchased on the same day as the performance they wish to attend at the Civic Center Ticket Office and are limited to one ticket per student.

HAIRSPRAY, a presentation of the Willis Broadway Series, appears at the Civic Center Friday, March 20 to Sunday, March 22, 2009. Tickets for HAIRSPRAY are on sale now at the Civic Center Ticket Office, all Ticketmaster locations, charge-by-phone at (800) 745-3000 and online at CivicCenter.org.

All pricing includes a Building Restoration Fee of $2.50

This fantastically fun musical, winner of eight 2003 Tony Awards including Best Musical, is currently enjoying its 5th record-breaking year on Broadway. And now, the people of Des Moines will be swept away to 1960s Baltimore in this smash hit musical, piled bouffant-high with laughter and romance - and enough deliriously tuneful songs to fill a nonstop platter party. It's HAIRSPRAY, live on stage in living color!

Everyone is raving about this delightful musical, including the critics. "A great big fat gorgeous hit," claims Clive Barnes of the New York Post. "Completely irresistible! Get those tickets now!" declares syndicated columnist, Liz Smith. "So many numbers bring down the house, it's a wonder the theater is still standing," says Jeremy Gerard of New York Magazine.

In HAIRSPRAY it's 1962-the '50s are out and change is in the air. Baltimore's Tracy Turnblad, a big girl with big hair and an even bigger heart, has only one passion-to dance. She wins a spot on the local TV dance program, "The Corny Collins Show" and, overnight, is transformed from outsider to irrepressible teen celebrity. But can a plus-size trendsetter in dance and fashion vanquish the program's reigning princess, win the heart of heartthrob Link Larkin, and integrate a television show without denting her 'do? Only in HAIRSPRAY! Welcome to the '60s!

HAIRSPRAY is based on the New Line Cinema film written and directed by John Waters, who served as a creative consultant on the musical comedy. It features a book by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan. HAIRSPRAY features an original score by Academy Award-nominated Marc Shaiman (who co-wrote the music and lyrics for the acclaimed animated musical, South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut) and lyrics by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman. This production of HAIRSPRAY is based on Jack O'Brien's original direction and Jerry Mitchell's original choreography, recreated by Matt Lenz and Danny James Austin, respectively. Scenic design is by David Rockwell; the set coordinator is Michael Allen; costume design is by William Ivey Long; lighting design is by Kenneth Posner and Paul Miller; the sound is by Shannon Slaton; wig and hair design is by Paul Huntley; and the musical supervisor is Lon Hoyt. HAIRSPRAY is produced by NETworks Presentations.