Carolyn Cole, Sherri L. Edelen, et al. to Star in Signature Theatre's HAIRSPRAY

It's time to let your hair down and dance the night away! The 1960's are coming back to Washington as the Broadway sensation Hairspray will begin performances at the Tony Award®-winning Signature Theatre on November 21st - just in time for the holidays. Directed by Signature's Artistic Director Eric Schaeffer, the production will star national radio host Robert Aubry Davis (WETA's "Around Town" and Sirius/XM Radio), making his musical theater stage debut in the iconic role of Edna Turnblad. The impressive cast of DC favorites is headlined by Carolyn Cole (Tracy Turnblad), Nova Y. Payton (Motormouth Mable), Sherri L. Edelen (Velma Von Tussle), PatRick Thomas Cragin (Link Larkin), and Harry A. Winter (Wilbur Turnblad). Hairspray will play at Signature's MAX Theatre from November 21, 2011 through January 29, 2012. Tickets are now on sale.

Schaeffer said, "Hairspray is already a stage classic and we are so excited to reinvent it for the Signature stage with such a phenomenally talented cast, including Robert Aubry Davis in high-heels as Edna. With so much humor, heart, and a score of charming songs, Hairspray promises to be a delight for everyone this holiday season!"

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!

Performances are Tuesday through Sunday evenings, with matinees on Saturdays and Sundays. There will be no performance on Thanksgiving Day. A special Monday night performance has been added as the first performance on November 21st. Tickets are now on sale and start at $63. 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 is also offering "$22 for Tuesdays," making available $22 tickets to the first two public Tuesday performances on November 22nd & 29th.

The remaining line-up for Signature Theatre's 2011-2012 season features the Tony Award®-winning shows Hairspray and 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. In addition to the mainstage shows, Signature is presenting a special limited engagement of the world premiere musical A Second Chance (playing through December 11th). Stephen Sondheim's first musical Saturday Night will be a special concert event that will play for four performances only (October 29th and 30th). 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.

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 35 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.

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.