Hairspray - Micky Dolenz joins cast
Lizzie Guilfoyle
ON FEBRUARY 2, 2010, former Monkee Micky Dolenz will take on the role of joke shop owner Wilbur Turnblad in the award-winning musical Hairspray, which is currently booking at the Shaftesbury Theatre until October 24, 2010.
Dolenze will partner Brian Conley, who returns to the cross-dressing role of Wilbur’s wife Edna. It was a role Conley first played earlier this year when he took over from Michael Ball.
Based on John Waters’ cult 1988 film, Hairspray is the story of Tracy Turnblad, a big girl with big hair and an even bigger heart. But Tracy has a passion – to dance. And when she wins a spot on the local TV dance programme, ‘The Corny Collins Show’, she becomes an overnight success – no longer an outsider but an irrepressible teen celebrity.
The Monkees were a pop rock quartet assembled in 1966 for the American television series The Monkees, which aired from 1966 to 1968. Their hits included I’m A Believer, Last Train to Clarksville, Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You and Daydream Believer.
Dolenz has since appeared in Broadway shows such as Grease, Elton John and Tim Rice’s Aida and A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum.
The current cast of Hairspray is led by comedian Phill Jupitus (as Edna), Tony Timberlake (Wilbur), Belinda Carlisle (Velma Von Tussle) and Chloe Hart (Tracy Turnblad).