Has Hairspray made anything official about its closing?

[Princeton2]

Posted: 10/13/08 at 7:31am

Broadwayworld and playbill never updated their stories from 'expected' and ticketmaster are still selling past January. I know broadway.com wrote the story as if it were fact but I dont recall seeing any statements etc.

[winston89]

Posted: 10/13/08 at 8:28am

I don't think Hairspray has. I just checked their website and they make no mention of it closing or anything like that. I also haven't really heard anything about the closing other then the articles that talk about how there is a good chance of it doing so.

[Drunk Chita Rivera]

Posted: 10/13/08 at 9:00am

Double Post Updated On: 10/13/08 at 09:00 AM

[Drunk Chita Rivera]

Posted: 10/13/08 at 9:00am

It was on the news. And Broadway.com has it closing in January/

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 10/13/08 at 9:17am

Broadway.com is a ticket broker.

They're not a news source.

[winston89]

Posted: 10/13/08 at 9:21am

Drunk Chita Rivera, all the Broadway news (Playbill and BWW) are using phrases like "Likely" and "Possible" and things like that. Those aren't the exact words that they are using but that is just a sense of things.

In all honesty nothing has been officially announced yet and people are wondering when they will be.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 10/13/08 at 9:50am

Harvey has given a date in his blog. When he blogged about his return, which he announced as official, he indicated a closing date of January 18, 2009.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 10/13/08 at 9:52am

Has CoolKid bought his tickets yet? It's not official till CoolKid begs for tickets.

[zamedy]

Posted: 10/13/08 at 10:30am

I've got my tickets for January 18th. Marc Shaiman was kind enough to respond to a message I had sent to him inquiring about the same thing. He basically said no one knows if the show will extend past the 18th... it would depend on public demand.
January and February are tough months as it is. I'd think the box office would have to really be doing gangbusters to keep the show open beyond the 18th. I guess we'll see what happens. Anyway.. here's the latest entry from Harvey's blog. I love this man. Can't wait to see him bring Edna to life one more time!

HEADING BACK TO HAIRSPRAY!

I got the saddest call last week saying that it might be time to say farewell to the Broadway production of HAIRSPRAY. After close to 7 years and 2,600 performances, the show that never fails to send audiences dancing out of the theater every night is going bye-bye. I assume it's partly the economic picture and partly just plain old TIME.

Anyway, they called and asked if I would go back in and play EDNA for the last go 'round and I said YES. How could I say no? HAIRSPRAY has become such a defining signpost in this past decade of my life. Starting in 2000 I participated in workshop productions every 6 months until it was time for the full production. We then went to Seattle where we were all blown away by the outrageous lovefest the show created there. Then we headed back to NY and took Broadway by storm.

The original production spawned two American tours as well as countless productions around the world. Our finale song, YOU CAN'T STOP THE BEAT, has become a staple for college and High School bands and the movie version won millions of fans around the world. Yes, HAIRSPRAY is a genuine phenom and I am thrilled to have been part of it all.

Since leaving the show I've gone on to perform in FIDDLER ON THE ROOF for a year on Broadway during which I wrote and eventually starred in A CATERED AFFAIR which tried out in San Diego before coming to Broadway this past spring. I also played Edna in the HAIRSPRAY LAS VEGAS gig for a few months. I also tore down and rebuilt my home from the ground up. In other words, it's been a busy decade for me. The only thing that would have made me happier would have been to keep HAIRSPRAY running another few years. Well, I doubt the BEAT will ever be silenced and it will carry on in endless productions for decades to come. And I am THRILLED to have the opportunity to say a proper goodbye to EDNA and all of her fans.

So... If you want exact dates of when I'll be at the NEIL SIMON THEATER or any other information PLUS all the dish and photos and fun, do like you always do and...

...STAY TUNED!
Updated On: 10/13/08 at 10:30 AM

[winston89]

Posted: 10/13/08 at 10:55am

One of my pet peeves is when people type/spell theatre theatER as oppose to theatRE.

[HometownGlory]

Posted: 10/13/08 at 11:01am

Isn't the actual performing space spelled TheatER, while the principle concept is spelled TheatRE? As in: "I'm going to the Neil Simon Theater," versus "I love everything about the the Theatre."

...or maybe that's just what I learned.

In regards to the actual post: no, aside from Harvey's blog and Marc's indications, there is no official statement, although Riedel talked about Margo Lion announcing to the cast. Looks like they'd love for it to extend.