Niki Metcalf News

See photos of Andrew Levitt aka Nina West hosted Tony Award Winning actress and original Hairspray on Broadway cast member, Marissa Jaret Winokur, at the Dolby Theater for the 20th Anniversary Tour of Hairspay.

Aerosol is in the air as Tracy Turnblad, Penny Pingleton, and the teens of Baltimore bring politics and pizzazz to Hollywood with a stunning production of one of the best and beloved musicals of all time.

It was a Hollywood who's who from music, film, television, and social media last night at the world famous Dolby Theater for the 20th Anniversary Tour opening night of HAIRSPRAY starring Andrew Levitt aka Nina West.

As if the universe knew that our increasingly divisive country is in desperate need to revisit this hit 2002 Tony Award-winning musical again, HAIRSPRAY has now embarked on a brand new non-equity national tour starring RuPaul's Drag Race fan favorite Nina West. The show, now at Segerstrom Center for the Arts through April 30, does not disappoint.

The new North American tour of Tony Award-winning Hairspray lands in Southern California, first at Segerstrom in Costa Mesa April 18th though April 30th, and then at the Dolby in Hollywood May 5th through May 21st. This cast, headed by Andrew Levitt (aka Nina West) as Edna Turnblad and Niki Metcalf as Tracy Turnblad, is helmed by Hairspray’s original director Jack O’Brien and original choreographer Jerry Mitchell. Playing the Turnblads’ nemesis Velma Von Tussle is the delicious Addison Garner, whom I got a chance to pose some queries to.

A new national tour of HAIRSPRAY, adapted from the original 2002 Broadway production, has arrived at the Eccles Theater in Salt Lake City, bringing with it effervescent joy.

HAIRSPRAY is a toe-tapping, dance in your seat, good time show with a message we still need to hear. With an audience who came ready for a party, the show hummed along with enthusiastic support from the crowd. With catchy tunes, over-the-top characters, and energetic dance numbers, HAIRSPRAY is a whirl of excitement. Beyond the flash, the show has a poignant message of inclusion, self-worth, and acceptance.

You will be hard-pressed to find anything more fun than this super sassy, high-energy celebration of self-acceptance, inclusivity, and, of course, big hair.

Good morning, Sacramento! Hairspray has brought the beat to town, and you do not want to miss this spectacle of bright, brash, and beautiful 60s splendor! Based on the 1988 John Waters’ movie that became a cult classic, Hairspray opened on Broadway in 2002. It garnered 13 Tony Award nominations and took home 8 wins, including Best Musical. Its staying power rests with the timeless music by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, and enduring themes woven throughout the book by Mark O’Donnell and Thomas Meehan.

The tour of HAIRSPRAY is pure joy, lighting up Milwaukee’s Marcus Center through February 12th with exuberant dancing, glorious voices, and a bright, bubbly outlook that’s just what this Wisconsin winter needs. 

Listen to the first episode of the fourth season of the theatre podcast, Breaking the Curtain.

I strongly recommend going to see this show for its last couple of performances at Capital One Hall, or try to catch a performance in another city that the tour will be visiting.

What did our critic think of HAIRSPRAY at Orpheum Theatre? You can't stop the beat! Hairspray, Broadway's Tony Award-winning musical comedy phenomenon is back on tour! Join 16-year-old Tracy Turnblad in 1960s Baltimore as she sets out to dance her way onto TV's most popular show. Can a girl with big dreams (and even bigger hair) change the world?

This super-sixties musical continues to feel fresh, while also seeming like it's been around forever.

As I settled into my seat at Proctors to watch the new touring production of HAIRSPRAY, I wasn’t expecting anything particularly revolutionary. Instead, I was met with a production that embodies the show’s themes of love and solidarity so effectively that I’m convinced this show is more timely now than it was when it was conceived two decades ago.

Based on John Waters' 1988 cult film of the same name, Hairspray takes place in Baltimore, Maryland in the year 1962. The story centers on a plump teenage girl named Tracy Turnblad, whose lifelong dream is to dance on the local TV dance program known as The Corny Collins Show. When Tracy wins a role on the show and becomes an overnight sensation, she launches a campaign to integrate the show.

HAIRSPRAY, Broadway's Tony Award-winning musical comedy phenomenon, will go on sale Friday, November 18 at 10am. This new North American tour, helmed by original director Jack O'Brien and original choreographer Jerry Mitchell, will play April 11 - 16, 2023 in Salt Lake City at the Eccles Theater. 

Following an interview last month with Travis Cormier who plays Strat; the leader of the Lost in Jim Steinman's Bat Out of Hell The Musical in Las Vegas, Breaking the Curtain is back with another interview, joined by Alizé Cruz. Alizé plays the role of Raven Falco; the daughter of Falco who catches the eye of Strat.

The audience was thrilled to welcome home Columbus’s own sextuple superstar, Andrew Levitt aka Nina West, who has successfully conquered the entertainment genres of TV, film, theatre, music, web series, and most recently as an author of children’s book, “The You Kind of Kind.”  His role as Edna Turnblad is just icing on the cake.

You Can't Stop the Beat! The Grand is proud to present the Wilmington engagement of the Tony Award-winning musical comedy phenomenon HAIRSPRAY at the historic Playhouse on Rodney Square from December 1 to December 4.