Then & Now: HAIRSPRAY Original Cast Celebrates 20th Anniversary With Reunion

Hairspray celebrated its 20th Anniversary of Broadway's opening night on August 15th. To celebrate, original cast members got together in New York to commemorate the opening and recreate one of the show's dance numbers, The Nicest Kids In Town.

Shoshana Bean wrote on Instagram "Last week we celebrated the 20 year anniversary of our big fat beautiful hit Hairspray. I thought it would be fun to get the original gang back together to see if our 40 and 50 something year old bodies could still manage Jerry Mitchell's choreo 20 years later. I'd say we still got it. The elders tried to tell us kiddos way back then... we didn't listen. But now we know."

"Families and experiences and gifts like Hairspray come around once in a lifetime IF you're lucky. Damn are we lucky. My family... to lose thee were indeed to lose myself. I am yours and you are mine... forever. This one is for those from our fam who are no longer with us in the physical. Especially our dear IQ, Todd Michael Smith. Grateful he was with us in the form of his beautiful daughter who came up to dance in his place."

Hairspray is the winner of eight 2003 Tony Awards, including best musical, best actor, best actress, best featured actor, best score, best book, best director, and best costume design. Hairspray also swept every one of the year's best musical awards, winning, in addition to the Tony, the New York Drama Critics Circle Award, the Drama Desk Award, the Outer Critics Circle Award, and the Drama League Award.

Photo: Original Broadway Cast Paul Kolnik / 2022 Cast Reunion via Shoshan Bean on Instagram