Jerry Mitchell to Direct/Choreograph HAIRSPRAY at the Hollywood Bowl

Tony Award winner Jerry Mitchell has been announced as the director/choreographer of the Hollywood Bowl's production of HAIRSPRAY, the 2003 winner of eight Tony Awards including Best Musical, in addition to holding the record as the 20th longest running show in Broadway history. Lon Hoyt has been announced as the musical director of the production. Mitchell was the original choreographer of Hairspray on Broadway, and Hoyt was the original musical director of the Broadway production.

This invigorating phenomenon of HAIRSPRAY- based on the classic film by John Waters - is the doo-wop inflected story of big dreams, big voices and, of course, big hair! Mitchell and Hoyt, with director Jack O'Brien, are currently preparing Catch Me If You Can, which is in previews on Broadway.

HAIRSPRAY will have three performances only at the Hollywood Bowl -- Friday and Saturday August 5 and 6 at 8:30pm, and Sunday August 7 at 7:30pm. Subscriptions and Five or More packages for the 2011 season at the Hollywood Bowl are available now at HollywoodBowl.com or via credit card phone order at 323-850-2000. Single tickets are available beginning May 7, 2011 and will be available in person at the Hollywood Bowl box office, by calling 323-850-2000 and at HollywoodBowl.com.

Jerry Mitchell made his Broadway and West End debuts as director with the 2011 Olivier Award-winning Best Musical, Legally Blonde, for which he also served as choreographer and was nominated for the Tony and Olivier Awards for his choreography and the Drama Desk Award for his direction. Jerry received Broadway's Tony Award as choreographer of the 2005 Tony Award-winning Best Revival of La Cage aux Folles, having also been nominated for the Tony in the same category for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.

Previously, Jerry received Olivier, Tony and other nominations for choreographing Hairspray and The Full Monty. For Broadway, Jerry also choreographed Never Gonna Dance and the revivals of Gypsy (starring Bernadette Peters), The Rocky Horror Show and You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, as well as Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Off-Broadway and film). Most recently, he directed and choreographed Peepshow, a Las Vegas extravaganza production show and served as production supervisor for Broadway's Priscilla Queen of the Desert.

Jerry proudly conceives, directs and choreographs Broadway Bares, a comedy burlesque performed annually for the charity Broadway Cares. Currently, he is the choreographer of Broadway's Catch Me If You Can and is supervising the writing of Broadway musicals based on the films Kinky Boots, Mad Hot Ballroom and Queen of the Stardust Ballroom, all of which he will direct and choreograph for Broadway.

Lon Hoyt is currently the associate conductor for Catch Me If You Can on Broadway, and was the music director/conductor for Hairspray on Broadway as well as the music supervisor for the two National Tours, Toronto, Las Vegas, London and Johannesburg companies. He was the music director for the Hairspray movie and soundtrack, and music supervisor/arranger for Lennon. Other Broadway Musical Director and Conductor credits include Hair, The Rocky Horror Show, Street Corner Symphony and Footloose. Off-Broadway, he conducted Forever Plaid, Song of Singapore, A Backer's Audition, Dream a Little Dream, Hit the Lights, and The Diva is Dismissed. He is also the arranger/orchestrator for songs in the upcoming movie Rock On. As an actor, Lon has appeared in lead roles on Broadway in Tommy, Baby, Leader of the Pack, Starlight Express, and Rock N Roll! The First 5000 Years. He can be heard playing piano in the film and on the soundtrack of Boys on the Side. Lon attended Cornell University to become a veterinarian, and ended up in show business. He still finds his degree in animal science useful for working on Broadway.
HAIRSPRAY with music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Shaiman and a book by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan, is based on the 1988 John Waters film Hairspray. The songs include 1960s-style dance music and "downtown" rhythm and blues. Set in 1962 Baltimore, Maryland, plump teenager Tracy Turnblad's dream is to dance on The Corny Collins Show, a local TV dance program. When Tracy wins a role on the show, she becomes a celebrity overnight and launches a campaign to integrate the show.

The musical's original Broadway production opened on August 15, 2002 and won eight Tony Awards out of thirteen nominations. It ran for over 2,500 performances and has also had U.S. national tours, a London West End production and numerous foreign productions and was adapted for a 2007 musical film. The London production was nominated for a record-setting eleven Laurence Olivier Awards, winning for Best New Musical and in three other categories
One of the largest natural amphitheaters in the world, with a seating capacity of nearly 18,000, the HOLLYWOOD BOWL, now celebrating its 90th season, has been the summer home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic since its official opening in 1922, and is home to the best and brightest in all genres of music. The 2004 season introduced audiences to a revitalized Hollywood Bowl, featuring a newly constructed shell and stage and the addition of four stadium screens enhancing stage views in the venue. To this day, $1 buys a seat at the top of the Bowl for many of the Los Angeles Philharmonic's concerts. While the Bowl is best known for its sizzling summer nights, during the day California's youngest patrons enjoy "SummerSounds: Music for Kids at the Hollywood Bowl," the Southland's most popular summer arts festival for children, now in its 42nd season. In February 2011, the Hollywood Bowl was named Best Major Outdoor Concert Venue for the seventh year in a row at the 22nd Annual Pollstar Concert Industry Awards; the Bowl's summer music festival has become as much a part of a Southern California summer as beaches and barbecues, the Dodgers, and Disneyland.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride/WM Photos