HAIRSPRAY to Open Delray Beach Playhouse's 2026–27 Season

Hairspray, winner of eight Tony Awards including Best Musical, opens the Delray Beach Playhouse's 2026–27 Main Stage season on Friday, Nov. 20 at 7:30 p.m. and runs four weekends through Sunday, Dec. 13.

It's 1962 in Baltimore, and Tracy Turnblad wants exactly one thing: a spot dancing on 'The Corny Collins Show.' She gets it, and then she uses it to change who else gets to dance there.

Based on the 1988 film written and directed by John Waters, Hairspray has a book by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan, music by Marc Shaiman, and lyrics by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman. Their score is built on the dance music and rhythm and blues of the early '60s, and it carries the whole evening, from 'Good Morning Baltimore' and 'Welcome to the 60's' to 'I Know Where I've Been' and the finale, 'You Can't Stop the Beat.' The show also won Tony Awards for Best Book and Best Score, along with the Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album, ten Drama Desk Awards and four Olivier Awards, including Best New Musical.

It's a family-friendly musical with a big heart and bigger hair, and the run is built for coming back with company. There are sixteen performances in all, including a full weekend of shows Nov. 27–29 for families gathering over Thanksgiving.

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE

• Friday, Nov. 20 — 7:30 p.m. (Opening Night)
• Saturday, Nov. 21 — 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
• Sunday, Nov. 22 — 2:00 p.m.
• Friday, Nov. 27 — 7:30 p.m.
• Saturday, Nov. 28 — 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
• Sunday, Nov. 29 — 2:00 p.m.
• Friday, Dec. 4 — 7:30 p.m.
• Saturday, Dec. 5 — 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
• Sunday, Dec. 6 — 2:00 p.m.
• Friday, Dec. 11 — 7:30 p.m.
• Saturday, Dec. 12 — 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
• Sunday, Dec. 13 — 2:00 p.m. (Closing)

TICKETS

Single tickets start at $55. Hairspray is the first production of the Playhouse's 2026–27 Main Stage subscription season, which continues with Groundhog Day, Boynton Beach Club and The Shawshank Redemption. For tickets and subscriptions, call the box office at 561-272-1281 or visit delraybeachplayhouse.com.

The Delray Beach Playhouse, 950 NW 9th Street, Delray Beach, FL 33444, on Lake Ida. Free parking, with a concession stand open before every performance.

ABOUT THE DELRAY BEACH PLAYHOUSE

The Delray Beach Playhouse has been presenting theater on Lake Ida since 1947 and is the oldest continuously operating theater in Palm Beach County. Programming spans Off-Broadway musicals and plays, tribute concerts, comedy, cabaret, children's theater, camps and classes.