Signature Theater Extends HAIRSPRAY Thru 2/5

Signature Theatre today announced that the run of Hairspray will be extended for one week, through February 5th. Tickets for the extension, starting at $73, will go on sale Friday, January 6th at (703) 8200-9771 or by visiting www.signature-theatre.org.

Artistic Director Eric Schaeffer said, “It’s so exciting to see that Hairspray has been so embraced by everyone. This amazing story, filled with show-stopping songs and incredible dance numbers has brought audiences to their feet each and every night, and we wanted to make sure to give more people the opportunity to experience this very special theatrical event.”

Signature Theatre has a national reputation for its work with musicals – reinventing classics, as well as producing world premieres. Directed by Mr. Schaeffer, Signature’s production of Hairspray stars national radio host Robert Aubry Davis (WETA’s “Around Town” and Sirius/XM Radio) and a star-in-the-making in Carolyn Cole (Tracy Turnblad). The impressive cast of DC favorites is headlined by Nova Y. Payton (Motormouth Mable), Sherri L. Edelen (Velma Von Tussle), Patrick Thomas Cragin (Link Larkin), Stephen Gregory Smith (Corny Collins), and Harry A. Winter (Wilbur Turnblad).

Based on the 1988 New Line Cinema film directed by John Waters, Hairspray features music by Academy Award® nominee Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman, and a book by Mark O’Donnell and Thomas Meehan. The musical, which played on Broadway for 6 ½ years, took home a remarkable eight 2003 Tony Awards®, including “Best Musical.” Signature Theatre’s production features an award-winning creative team including Karma Camp (choreographer), Dan Conway (set designer), Kathleen Geldard (costume designer), Colin K. Bills (lighting designer), and Matt Rowe (sound designer). Jon Kalbfleisch is the music director, with Gabriel Mangiante conducting a 9-piece orchestra.

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 sponsored by Jaylee Mead and, in part, by STGi.
HAIRSPRAY

Book by Mark O’Donnell and Thomas Meehan

Music by Marc Shaiman

Lyrics by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman

Directed by Eric Schaeffer

Based on the 1988 film directed by John Waters

November 21, 2011 – February 5, 2012

The MAX
Performances are Tuesday through Sunday evenings, with matinees on Saturdays and Sundays. Tickets are on sale and start at $73. Single tickets are available in person at the Signature Box Office or by calling Ticketmaster at (703) 573-SEAT. Student discount tickets are $30 and must be purchased the week of the performance.

SIGNATURE’S 2011-12 SEASON TICKET INFORMATION

The remaining line-up for Signature Theatre’s 2011-2012 season features the Tony Award®-winning show God of Carnage and the Washington DC premiere of the cult classic musical Xanadu. Signature is also home to the world premiere works Brother Russia, and Really Really (beginning performances January 31). Discount subscription packages (starting at 3 shows) are available by calling the Signature Box Office at (703) 820-9771 or visiting www.signature-theatre.org.

ABOUT SIGNATURE

Recipient of the 2009 Regional Theatre Tony Award®, Signature Theatre is a non-profit professional theater company in Arlington, Virginia dedicated to producing contemporary musicals and plays, reinventing classic musicals, and developing new work. Under the leadership of co-founder and Artistic Director Eric Schaeffer and Managing Director Maggie Boland, Signature has presented 36 world premiere productions and is renowned for combining Broadway-quality productions with intimate playing spaces.

In addition to hosting the finest talent from the DC metropolitan area and New York, Signature has been home to such theatre luminaries as Chita Rivera, George Hearn, Hunter Foster, Emily Skinner, Marc Kudisch, Judy Kuhn, John Kander and Fred Ebb, Cameron Mackintosh, Terrence McNally, and the company’s signature composer, Stephen Sondheim. Since its founding in 1989, Signature has won 72 Helen Hayes Awards for excellence in the Washington, DC region’s professional theater and has been honored with 293 nominations.

Signature is partially supported by a grant from the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts and by a gift from Arlington County through the Arlington Commission for the Arts and the Cultural Affairs Division of the Department of Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Resources.

DIRECTIONS

Signature Theatre is located at 4200 Campbell Avenue (22206) off I-395 at the Shirlington exit (#6). After the exit, blue Signature signs mark the way to the theatre. Free parking is available in two adjacent public garages. Please note that Campbell Avenue is a new street and some GPS online mapping systems do not yet recognize Signature Theatre’s address. For directions visit http://signature-theatre.org/map.htm.