Michael is one of Britain's leading Musical figures, having appeared on Broadway and dominated the West End for more than 20 years. His many
musical credits include Godspell, Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, The Pirates of Penzance and Sondheim's musical Passion. His portrayal
of Alex in Andrew Lloyd-Webber's Aspects of Love in the West end and Broadway brought him worldwide recognition, and his single Love Changes
Everything from the same production shot to No. 1 in the UK singles chart. More recently he delighted audiences in the West End as Caractucus Pott's in the smash hit Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
His successful career includes representing Great Britain in the Eurovision Song Contest, gaining him a second No 1 in the UK Singles
chart and twelve hit solo albums. His numerous successful tours, concerts and guest appearances include performances at HM The Queen's
40th Anniversary Gala, The Royal Variety Show, the opening of the Rugby World Cup and the VE Day 50th Anniversary concert in Hyde Park, open air
concerts with the BBC's Big Band, Proms in the Park, held in Hyde Park for the Last Night of the Proms and a sell out concert at the Sydney
Opera House, Australia. He has recorded two television series Michael Ball for Carlton and three shows for the BBC entitled An Evening with Michael Ball. In 1999 he was awarded the Theatregoers Club of Great Britain's award for Most Popular Musical Actor over the last 21 years.
Michael is thrilled to be playing Edna. He said:
‘The secret is to play Edna as a woman and not as a man in drag. You behave like a woman and you convince people and find the pathos, the way
Dustin Hoffman did in Tootsie. It's a going to be great fun.’
Ian Talbot was the Director and Artistic and Managing Director of the New Shakespeare Company,until last year. Ian has been associated with the company since 1971 and roles performed there include: Bottom - A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Sir Toby Belch - Twelfth Night; Trinculo The Tempest; Touchstone - As You Like It; Napoleon - Man Of Destiny and Dogberry - Much Ado About Nothing. He scored a great personal success as Lord Brockhurst in the last production The Boy Friend which he also directed.
With the RSC he has played, among others, the roles of Hortensio - The Taming Of The Shrew; Fool - King Lear; Trinculo -The Tempest; and Cornwall - Bond’s Lear.
In the West End, Ian played Max in Lend Me A Tenor at The Gielgud.
His directing credits include Joe Orton’s Good and Faithful Servant (RSC), The Secret Garden (Watermill Theatre, Newbury), The Pirates of Penzance (West Yorkshire Playhouse) and Kiss Me, Kate (Brisbane Festival).
For the New Shakespeare Company in Regent’s Park Ian has directed: Babes In Arms, The Fantasticks, Lady Be Good, The Card, Kiss Me, Kate and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (all nominated for Olivier Awards), Much Ado About Nothing, Androcles and the Lion, Look Here Old Son, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Twelfth Night, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, A Conneticut Yankee, The Taming of the Shrew (Middle East Tour), The Comedy Of Errors, Paint Your Wagon, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, The Music Man, Where’s Charley?, The Pirates of Penzance (Olivier Nomination Best Director 2000), Camelot, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Pirates Of Penzance, the much acclaimed H.M.S. Pinafore and last summer a return of Lady Be Good and The Boy Friend.
On television Ian has appeared in a number of productions, some of which include As Time Goes By, Heartbeat, Poirot and Midsomer Murders.
Ian was awarded the OBE in the 2007 Christmas honours.
Leanne trained at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts and makes her professional debut to play Tracy.
Leanne said: I am over the moon to be cast as Tracy in Hairspray. I feel like I'm living in a dream and soon someone will wake me up. I can't believe that it has happened to me.
Ben originates from Scarborough in North Yorkshire. In 2005 he was awarded a scholarship to attend the Italia Conti Academy of Performing Arts in London.
In 2007 he successfully auditioned for the BBC TV show Any Dream Will Do – Andrew Lloyd Webber’s search for the new ‘Joseph’ where he reached the semi finals.
Ben said: 'I am so thrilled to be making my professional musical theatre debut playing such a wonderful part as Link Larkin in such an amazing show as Hairspray.'
ADAM PRICE(Walking Edna/Wilbur/Male Authority Cover)
Training: Central School of Speech & Drama.
Musical Theatre includes: ‘Eddie Lyons’in Blood Brothers and ‘Mr. Fezziwig’ in The Ghosts Of Scrooge(Library Theatre, Manchester); ‘Don’ in Babes In Arms(Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre); ‘Sergeant’in The Boys From Syracuse(Crucible Theatre, Sheffield); ‘Benny Southstreet’ in Guys & Dolls(Leicester Haymarket), ‘Louis LaRonde’ in The Red Balloon (Bristol Old Vic); ‘Sir Ruthven Murgatroyd’ in The Ghosts of Ruddigore (Opera Della Luna Tour); ‘Quasimodo’ in Notre Dame (Old Fire Station, Oxford) and created the role of ‘Fat Pig’ in Fat Pig – The Musical, working with Broadway’s Mark Bramble, Henry Kreiger and Danny Daniels (Leicester Haymarket). Also cabaret includes The Music of the Night(Café Royal, London).
Theatre: ‘Reverend Hutch’ in A Hole In The Fence (White Bear, London); ‘Mr. Bumble’ in Neil Bartlett’s Oliver Twist(Library, Manchester); ‘Simon’ in Make Some Noise and ‘Gary’ in One Step Beyond(Theatre Royal, Stratford East); ‘Charlie Beard’ in The Dark Side( No. 1 Tour ); ‘Young Shepherd’ in The Winter’s Tale and ‘Snout’ in A Midsummer Night’s Dream(Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre); and ‘Conrade’ in Much Ado About Nothing(WPT Hampstead Theatre). Adam has also appeared in numerous pantomimes up and down the country.
Television includes: Family Affairs, EastEnders, May To December, Coppers, The Cuckoo Sister, Grange Hill, Just Good Friends, Executive Stress, Kilroy, Blue Peter, Good Morning with Anne and Nick and The Culture Show. Adam has appeared in various commercials both in the UK and abroad and is enjoying his latest venture into voice-overs.
Film: The Cannes Critics Award Film Young Soul Rebels.
Adam is delighted and honoured to be part of the original London cast of Hairspray.
Training: Redroofs Theatre School from the age of 12-16, then London Studio Centre where he graduated in 1998 being awarded the Sheila O'Neal Cup for most outstanding all round performer.
Theatre whilst training:Carmen Jones (Old Vic Theatre, London); Porgy & Bess (Royal Opera House, London) and Carousel (The National Theatre, London).
Theatre: ‘Hud’ in Hair (Pleasance Theatre, London); ‘JT’ in Oh! What a Night (Australian Tour); ‘Tyrone Jackson’ in Fame (Edinburgh Playhouse and Aldwych Theatre, London); ‘Adrian’ in All you Need is Love (Queens Theatre, London); ‘Smokey Robinson’ and ‘Lionel Ritchie’ in Dancing in the Streets (Playhouse Theatre, London and UK tour) and ‘Rusty’ in Starlight Express (Apollo Victoria, London).
Television: London’s Burning (LWT); Christopher Columbus (BBC); Early Bird (Channel 4) and numerous commercials and voice-overs.
Other credits include: The Geri Halliwell Concert (Moscow); Samsung Trade Show (London); Toyota Trade Show (Barcelona); Aspire Academy Opening Show (Quarter). Adrian has modeled for Nike sports wear, Marks and Spencer and numerous photographic work. Adrian has also had extensive work doing back up and session singing for other singers.
Charlotte trained professionally at Laine Theatre Arts.
Her career started at the age of six when she played Gretal in The Sound Of Music at Sadlers Wells and Hull New Theatre.
Charlotte spent six years with the National Youth Music Theatre ( Wizard Of Oz, Creation and Oklahoma! ) touring the UK, featuring at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, performing for the Royal family at Buckingham Palace and appearing in numerous galas at theatres in London.
Whilst in training her theatre credits include Madam Armfeld ( A Little Night Music ) Diana Morales ( A Chorus Line ). She was a featured soloist in From The Top, Name of The Game and Moving On ( Epsom Playhouse ) West End Laine ( Aldwych Theatre) and she appeared in 50 Years of Stage and Screen
( Palace Theatre ).
After graduating in 2005 Charlotte made her debut in Me and My Girl UK tour playing the part of Clara Battersby also understudying and playing the part of the Duchess.
Charlotte is delighted to be making her West End debut in the original cast of HAIRSPRAY and would like to thank her Mum Dad and Grandparents for their continuing love and support.
Theatre:In the Club (Hampstead Theatre, London); A Christmas Carol (Shaw Theatre, London); Merry Wives of Windsor, Macbeth and Comedy of Errors (Oxford Shakespeare Company); The Incarcerator (Old Red Lion Theatre, London) and Office Suite (Theatre Royal, Bath); April in Paris (Man in the Moon); The Accrington Pals ( Pantemeters)
Television: Dalziel and Pascoe and Silent Witness(BBC); The Zoo and Where the Heart Is (Granada).
Writing: Dermot’s play Third Finger, Left Hand was produced by Nine Lives Productions in association with York Theatre Royal and the New End and enjoyed success in Edinburgh, York and London.
Training: Originally from Jersey, CI Dominic trained at the First Tower School of Dancing and then the Performers College, where he gained a National Diploma in Musical Theatre.
Theatre: Original London cast ‘Ensemble’ in Wicked (Apollo Victoria Theatre, London); ‘Gus’ and understudy to the role of ‘Bobby C’ in Saturday Night Fever (Germany); ‘Ensemble’ in Elton John and Tim Rice’s Aida (Germany) and ‘Dancer’ in Royal Variety Performance (Coliseum Theatre, London).
Television includes: Various appearances on Top of the Pops (BBC); Dancer on Love on a Saturday Night (ITV Granada) and Dancer on Children In Need.
Aside from musical theatre Dominic plays guitar and is a singer/songwriter, and is currently working on various independent projects. (Taken out line about website)
Dominic would like to thank his family and friends for their ongoing love and support.
Theatre whilst training: ‘Jemma’ in Babes in Arms, ‘Female lead’ in Closer than Ever and ‘Juliet’ in Romeo and Juliet.
Theatre Credits: ‘Swing’ and understudy for ‘Glinda’ in Wicked (Apollo Victoria, London); ‘Anne Catherick’ in The Woman in White (Palace Theatre, London); ‘Ali’ and frequently playing ‘Sophie’ in Mamma Mia (Prince Edward Theatre, London) and ‘Fantine’ in Les Miserables (Palace Theatre, London).
Theatre: Evita (Adelphi Theatre, London); understudying the role of ‘Sally’ in Me & My Girl (UK Tour); ‘Ellie’ in Showboat (Royal Albert Hall); High Society(Shaftesbury Theatre, London); ‘Ensemble’ and understudy for ‘Baroness’ in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (London Palladium); ‘Adelaide Adams’ and understudy for ‘Katy Brown’ in Calamity Jane(Shaftesbury Theatre & UK Tour); ‘Joule’ and understudy for ‘Buffy’ and ‘Ashley’ in final cast of Starlight Express (Apollo Victoria, London) and A Celebration of West-End Theatre(Palace Theatre, London). Pantomime credits include ‘Alice’ in Dick Whittington and ‘Tinkerbell’ in Peter Pan (both at The Grand Opera House, Belfast); Dick Whittington (Lyceum Theatre, Crewe) and Mother Goose (Festival Theatre, Chichester).
Television: The Cherries - Pilot TV show 1999 now titled The All Stars(ITV Carlton); featured artist in television series Wild Frontier and Halifax commercial (RSA Films, ITV) and Ident for Schwartz – Richard & Judy Sponsorship (Channel 4).
Training: Arts Educational Schools graduating in July 2007.
Theatre whilst training: ‘Pirate/Policeman’ in Pirates of Penzance; ‘Major Holmes’ in The Secret Garden; and ‘Harold Nichols’ in The Full Monty.
Theatre: ‘Ensemble’ in Follies in Concert (London Palladium); ‘Dancer’ in Jack and the Beanstalk (Sheffield Lyceum) and ‘Ensemble’ in Sondheim’s 75th Birthday Gala (Theatre Royal, Drury Lane).
Ewan is overjoyed to be appearing in Hairspray and would like to thank his family and Arts Educational for their faith and support
Training: Originally from Johannesburg, South Africa, Fem graduated from The National Theatre Ballet School (Melbourne, Australia).
Theatre in South Africa: ‘Audrey’ in Little Shop of Horrors; ‘Narrator’ in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat; ‘Alma’ in Summer Holiday; ‘Soul Girl’ in Jesus Christ Superstar; ‘Janet’ and ‘Columbia’ in The Silver Jubilee Rocky Horror Show; ‘Sr Mary Leo’ in Nunsense Jamboree;Oklahoma! and Let’s Rock, earning her 5 F.N.B Vita Awards.
Theatre in the UK: ‘Mabel Washington’ in Fame (Shaftesbury Theatre, London); ‘Betty Blast’ in Footloose (Novello Theatre, London); Annie Get Your Gun (UK Tour) and Debbie Does Dallas.
Fem was recently Assistant Director for a South African version of Debbie Does Dallas starring Caprice. Keeping her love for improvisational music alive, Fem is a professional Jazz vocalist and electric violinist and can be seen gigging in and around London.
Training: Tiffany Stage Academy and Performers College, Essex.
Gavin’s career started at the age of twelve when he toured with Take That on both English and European tours, playing the role of mini ‘Jason Orange’. He then joined the company of Oliver! at the London Palladium playing ‘Dipper’ for six months. Gavin also backed Sir Elton John at the Stonewall Equality Show (Royal Albert Hall).
Theatre: ‘Travis’ and alternate ‘Ren’ in the original London cast of Footloose (Novello Theatre and UK Tour). Goody, Nick, Joe Vegas and Schlomo in Fame (Aldwych Theatre); Joey and understudy Bobby C in Saturday Night Fever (UK Tour); he made his West End debut as ‘Swing’ and understudying ‘Pepper’ in Mamma Mia (Prince Edward Theatre, London).
Television: Hall of Fame for Barbara Windsor (BBC); Hidden Talents of the Rich & Famous 2 (LWT); Barrymore (LWT) and has also been part of the Blue Peter Pantomime.
Gavin would like to thank his family and friends for their continued love and support.
Theatre:Daddy Cool (World Tour), Assistant Choreographer and Dance Captain to Adam Cooper on Imagine This and Promises Promises (Crucible Theatre, Sheffield), Singing in the Rain (Sadler’s Wells) and ‘Maria’ in Saturday Night Fever (UK Tour). Her dance credits include Between Sleeping and Waking (Resolutions, The Place); ‘Cecile’ in Les Liaisons Dangereuses(Japan Tour, Sadler’s Wells) and The Lewitsky Legacy (Arts Theatre, Los Angeles).
Commercial Stage: Will Young ‘Keep On’ Arena Tour; Assistant to Michael Rooney on Kylie’s Showgirl Homecoming Tour; 19 Management Concert (Royal Albert Hall) and has danced for Rachael Stevens, Cathy Dennis, Gareth Gates, Will Young, Emma Bunton and Paul Hardcastle.
Television/Music Video/Commercial: The Royal Variety Show for James Morrison, Children In Need for Danni Minogue, Backing Dancer and Singer on X Factor, It’s Now or Never (ITV); Avenue to the Stars for Charlotte Church, T4 Pop Beach for Will Young, Children In Need for Girls Aloud, TOTP Saturday and GMTV for Nadia, Olympic Torch Concert, Top Of The Pops, TOTP Saturday, Entertainment Today, GMTV, T4 Popworld, T4 Party In The Park, Emma Bunton (UK, Europe and US promotional tour). Helen’s music video credits include: Assistant Choreographer to Paul Roberts on Paul McCartney’s Ever Present Past, Cleo’s Feeling Like This, ‘Lead Girl’ in Matt Willis’ Hey Kid, Heather Small’s Radio On, Loleatta Holloway’s Love Sensation, Will Young’s Happiness, Nadia’s Little Bit Of Action and Ashleigh’s Falling For You. Commercials include: Nike Yoga Wear, McCain Oven Chips and Marks and Spencer.
Helen has choreographed and taught at Bird College and London Studio Centre and teaches workshops at Pineapple as part of the Pineapple Professionals team.
Theatre: Most recently ‘Ensemble’ and Dance Captain in Sir Trevor Nunn’s adaptation of Porgy & Bess (Savoy Theatre, London); ‘Joule’ and understudy to ‘Buffy’, ‘Ashley’ and ‘hip-hoppers’ in Starlight Express (UK Tour); ‘Ensemble’ in The Genius of Ray Charles (Haymarket Theatre, London); ‘Baby Aurora’ & ‘Flower Girl’ in Sleeping Beauty (Kirov Ballet at the Coliseum) and ‘Ensemble’ in Les Ballet Negres (Les Ballet Negres at the Royal Albert Hall).
Television: Idents for ITV4 as well as being a featured dancer in the 2005 Royal Variety Performance, broadcast from the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. Holly is also featured in the 50 Cent and Justin Timberlake video Ayo Technology.
Music: Holly was a founder member of the group Tymes 4 who released two top twenty hits and toured the UK and Europe. In 2002 Holly released ‘I’m In Heaven’ with the producer Jason Nevins that was a UK top ten hit. In 2004, her single ‘Touch It’ reached number 3 in the US club charts.
JACQUI ZVIMBA(Female Swing/Understudy Dynamites and Inez)
Training: Arts Educational Schools.
Theatre whilst training: ‘Erzulie’ in Once on This Island; ‘Kit Kat Girl/Dance Captain’ in Cabaret; ‘Soloist’ in Songs for a New World and ‘Shy’ in The BestLittle Whorehousein Texas.
Theatre:Sunshine On Leith (Dundee Rep Theatre); Daddy Cool (Shaftesbury Theatre, London); Dancing in the Streets (Cambridge Theatre and Aldywch Theatre, London); ‘Chiffon’ in Little Shop of Horrors (Jersey Opera House); ‘Shalif’ in Sunsets and Mornings (Wellingborough Castle Theatre) and ‘Edna Mae’ in Simenon et Josephine (Opera Royal De Wallonie).
Television includes: This Morning (ITV); Children In Need (BBC); Philips Baby Toothbrushes and Health Scotland Anti-Smoking Campaign.
Training: Jenii has recently graduated from the GSA Conservatoire where she trained in Musical Theatre.
Theatre: Jenii has recently returned from Kuala Lumpur performing in My Fair Lady for Bronowski Productions following its Cyprus production earlier this year.
Other credits include; ‘Mariella’ in A Model Girl (Greenwich Theatre, London); Magic Moments (UK tour) and ‘Amber’ in Time's Up(Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford). Prior to training, Jenii toured with the National Youth Music Theatre's production of Oklahoma!, which was performed at The Waterfront Theatre, Belfast; The Sherman Theatre, Cardiff and The Peacock Theatre, London. Jenii also played the role of ‘Eliza Dolittle’ in their workshop production of My Fair Lady.
Jenii would like to thank her parents for their continued support.
Theatre: Johnnie made her West End debut as Mabeline in 125th Street and then went on to understudy ‘Muzzy’ in Thoroughly Modern Millie (Shaftesbury Theatre, London); World premiere of 1984 (Royal Opera House); The Exonerated (Riverside Studios, London) and ‘Ma Rainey’ in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Royal Exchange, Manchester).
Music: In 1998 Johnnie launched her international career with an appearance on Vh1 Europe’s acoustic programme Take It to the Bridge as a singer-songwriter and has toured major festivals throughout the UK and Europe.
Television and Voice-overs: Her voice was featured as The Three Muses from the Disney soundtrack of Hercules; as ‘La La’ and ‘Poe’ for the Teletubbies; on the Power Rangers’ theme and the children’s show Brum. Commercials include American Airlines, Pepsi and Coca-Cola. She is currently a featured guest medium on television’s Most Haunted and Most Haunted Live.
Johnnie’s singing career started at the age of 3 when her Great-Grandfather would take her to roadside revivals and tell her, “Just sing for the people little Johnnie.” She has been singing and writing songs ever since.
Theatre: Kate made her first professional appearance as ‘Liat’in South Pacific(Grange Park Opera). Other theatre includes: ‘Gang Gang’in Nos Vie En Rose (Edinburgh Festival and Birmingham Hippodrome); ‘Female Tribe Member’in Hair (Gate Theatre, London); ‘The Princess’in The Old Vic’s production of Aladdin which starred Sir Ian McKellen as Widow Twankey; ‘Nala’in The Legend of the Lion King (Disneyland Resort, Paris); ‘Genie of the Ring’in Aladdin (Devonshire Park Theatre, Eastbourne) and most recently ‘Stephany’in Tender Dearly (West Yorkshire Playhouse).
Television: Kate has recently been seen on television as ‘DS Chadderton’in Emmerdale (ITV).
Training: Bodyworks Company Dance Studios, Cambridge.
Theatre: Trevor Nunn’s Porgy & Bess(Savoy Theatre, London); Thriller Live(Dominion Theatre, London & UK Tour); ‘Swing’ and understudy for ‘Tyrone Jackson’ in Fame(Aldwych Theatre, London); ‘Featured Dancer’ in The Genius of Ray Charles(Haymarket Theatre, London); ‘ JT’ in Oh! What a Night (UK & European Tour); ‘Ensemble’ in I Can’t Stop Loving You (Reno, USA); ‘Tyrone Jackson’ in Fame(Malta); ‘Apollo MC’ in Buddy (Isle of Man); ‘Ensemble’ in Fame (UK Tour); ‘Derek’ in Home for Christmas and Ritchie in A Chorus Line (Cambridge Theatre). Lewis was a featured dancer in Showtime in Malta and has also been a backing dancer on Fragma v’s Coco’s Concert Tour. Television: Lewis has appeared on television as lead dancer in It’s Now or Never(September Films, ITV); Sabrina the Teenage Witch; a pilot video for Dance Masters and pop video’s for Canteena and Word on the Street.
For more information on Lewis, please visit: www.access-associates.co.uk/ldavies
Lewis is thrilled to be appearing in Hairspray and would like to thank his Mum and girlfriend Yasmin for their wonderful support.
Training: Michael was born in London, but was brought up in Newquay, Cornwall. He attended Truro College and then Stella Mann College graduating in 2007.
Theatre: ‘Zach’ in A Chorus Line(Radlett Theatre); ‘Brendon’ and ‘Archibald’ in Eureka High as part of Perfect Pitch New Musicals, (Gatehouse Theatre) and ‘Governor’ and ‘Narrator’ in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas(Radlett Theatre).
He is thrilled to be making his first professional and West End debut in Hairspray.
He would like to say thank you and give his love to his friends for their constant support. A big thank you also goes to his Mum, Dad, and brother for their love and support.
Theatre whilst training: Featured soloist in Seeing Tomorrow, The Name Of The Game and From The Top! (Epsom Playhouse Theatre); ‘Theseus’ in A Midsummer Nights Dream; ‘Napoleon’ in Animal Farm and ‘Ugly’ in Honk.
Theatre: Original Swiss cast of We Will Rock You (Zurich) and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (New Victoria Theatre, Woking).
Television: ‘Laurence’ in Abigail’s Party (Sitcom Training Project for ITV).
Michael is thrilled to be making his West End debut in Hairspray and wishes to thank his family and friends for their love and endless support.
Theatre: Aladdin and the Enchanted Lamp (Bristol Old Vic); Life of Galileo and The Alchemist (both at the National Theatre); ‘Titiola’ in Icarus Girl (Arcola) and more recently ‘Hayley’ in The Walworth Farce (Druid Theatre and the Traverse, Edinburgh as part of the 2007 Festival).
Television: Holby City and Daphne (both BBC) and recently filmed Honest, due to be screened later in the year.
Natalie is delighted to be making her West End debut in Hairspray.
Training: Doreen Bird College where she graduated with a BA (Hons) in Performing Arts.
Theatre: ‘Witch’s Mother’ and Ensemble in the original London cast of Wicked (Apollo Victoria, London). Other theatre includes: Ensemble/Cover ‘Frenchy’, ‘Patty’ and ‘Miss Lynch’ in Grease the Musical (UK Tour); ‘Lead Soloist and Dance Captain in Fire of Dance (UK & European Tour); West End and Hollywood Gala (Queen's Theatre, London); Thursford Christmas Spectacular; Cover ‘Irish Lead’ in Spirit of the Dance (European & Asian Tour) and celebrity cruises travelling from New York to Bermuda.
Television & Film:The Royal Variety Performance, Children In Need and Blue Peter (BBC); Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Warner Brothers Movie) and commercials for Ford Cars, Cable and Wireless and Pilsner Beer.
West End Theatre: ‘Enjolras’ in Les Miserables (Palace Theatre, London); ‘Tony’ in West Side Story (Prince of Wales, London); ‘Kenickie’ in Grease(Cambridge and Dominion Theatre, London); ‘Nanki Poo’ in Hot Mikado (Queens Theatre, London) and Smokey Joe’s Café (Prince of Wales, London).
Theatre includes: ‘Nicholas’ in Nicholas Nickelby; ‘Les’ in East; ‘Ralph’ in Bouncers and ‘Romeo’ in Romeo and Juliet (Chapter Gardens, Windsor Castle).
Regional Theatre includes: ‘Zoltan Kaparthy’ in Simon Callow’s My Fair Lady (National Tour); ‘Tony’ in West Side Story (Leicester Haymarket) and ‘Danny’ in Grease (UK and Scandinavian Tours).
Television: ‘Mike’ in Pilgrim’s Rest and ‘Rodney’ in A Date With… (Kudos Productions).
Recordings include: West Side Story; Hot Mikado; Grease; Singin’ in the Rain; Godspell; My Fair Lady; Kiss Me Kate and The Rocky Horror Show.
Paul lives in Surrey with his sons Joe and Benny and his wife Ali, with whom he also runs the part-time theatre school Stagecoach Kingston for 6-16 year olds.
Training: National Youth and Youth Music Theatre andElmhurst School for Dance and Performing Arts.
Theatre: ‘Marshall Blackstone’ in Babes in Arms (Chichester Festival Theatre);
‘Cole’ in Stolen (Landor Theatre); original UK production of White Christmas (Southampton Mayflower Theatre); ‘Dance Captain’ and understudy for ‘Inventor’ in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (original UK nationaltour); ‘Ensemble’ in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (London Palladium); Dick Whittington (Nottingham Theatre Royal); Footloose (originalEuropean tour); Cinderella (Sunderland Empire); Sleeping Beauty (Vienna Festival Ballet UK national tour) and performing onboard P&O Cruises (Cruising Musicals Consortium).
Television/Film: This Morning with Philip Schofield (ITV) and ‘Masquerade Dancer’ in feature film The Phantom of the Opera (Really Useful Films).
Training: Rachael was born in Harlington, South Yorkshire and trained at The Doreen Bird College of Performing Arts.
Theatre:The Sound of Music (Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield); ‘Jenny Blackwell’ in Made in Sheffield (Crucible Theatre, Sheffield and Lilian Baylis Theatre, London); ‘Spirit’ in Spirit of the Dance (US Tour); ‘Rumpleteaser’, ‘Demeter’ and ‘Bombalurina’ in Cats (Germany); ‘Pearl’ in Starlight Express (Germany); made her West End debut as ‘Serena Katz’ in Fame (Aldwych Theatre, London); ‘Kristine’ in A Chorus Line (Sheffield Crucible); ‘Ariel’ in the UK premiere of Footloose (Tour); ‘Miranda’ in Return to the Forbidden Planet (Lincoln Theatre Royal) ‘AJ’ in a new musical comedy Loveshack (UK Tour); ‘Annette’ in Saturday Night Fever(Victoria Palace Theatre, London) and ‘Meat’ and understudying ‘Scaramouche’ in We Will Rock You (Dominion Theatre, London).
Theatre: Classically trained, Sandra made her West End debut as ‘Ensemble Soloist’ and understudy ‘Maria’ in Sir Trevor Nunn’s adaptation of Porgy & Bess (Savoy Theatre, London); ‘Rafiki’ in The Legend of the Lion King; ‘Lorraine’ in Boogie Nights and ‘Genie of the Lamp’ in Aladdin (Qdos Entertainment) and‘City of Angels 4’ in City of Angels, ‘Miss Roxie’ in The Roaring Twenties’ and ‘Rizzo’ in Grease.’
Vocal performances: Most recent credits include Mass Carib, directed by Felix Cross for the Greenwich & Docklands Festival 2007; OperaGenesis for the Royal Opera House and short opera Drive, Ride, Walk for theTête à Tête Opera Festival (Bridewell Theatre Group). Sandra has also performed in various international live band shows.
Sandra is thrilled to be part of the London premiere of Hairspray.
Training: Terel trained at the Sylvia Young Theatre School in Marylebone.
Theatre: Carmen Jones (Royal Festival Hall); Porgy and Bess (Savoy Theatre, London); Rita (Nottingham Playhouse); Royal Hunt of theSun (The National Theatre, London); Jack And The Beanstalk (Hackney Empire); MaryPoppins (Prince Edward Theatre, London); Ragtime (Piccadilly Theatre, London); TheDream Dealer (Bridewell Theatre, London); Peter Pan (Royal Festival Hall); ‘Curly’ in Whistle Down The Wind (Aldwych Theatre, London); Oliver! (LondonPalladium) and Aladdin (Lewisham Theatre). Terel has appeared in many cabarets including Royal Galas. He has also appeared as a soloist at The Royal Albert Hall and at The Wolf Trap Open Air Theatre in Washington.
Television: BBC Jam (BBC); Simeon in StrictlyGhetto (YCTV); Josh/Big Kid in Holy Smoke (Channel X Productions); Presenting on Generation X (BBC); Narrator in The Real Meaning ofChristmas (GMTV); Short Change (BBC); The Wilsons (Hat Trick); Disnews (Buena Vista); EastEnders (BBC); Frontiers (BBC); Madson(BBC) and Thieftakers (Carlton). Terel is a presenter and singer on the new BBC interactive website BBC Jam.
Training: Tim trained at Parkside Academy in Northampton before graduating from Guildford School of Acting in 2003 where he was awarded the Sean McGrath Scholarship.
Theatre: He made his professional debut as ‘Marshalsea Boy’ in A Christmas Carol(Royal Theatre, Northampton) before going on to play the part of ‘Sammy’ in the original cast of the musical Jolson(Hippodrome, Birmingham and Victoria Palace, London). His other professional credits include: ‘Daz’ where he understudied ‘The Postman’ in the original cast of Loveshack(Number 1 UK tour); ‘Otis’ and ‘Stretch’ in Oh! What A Night(UK & European Tour); Beyond The Masque(Derngate, Northampton); ‘Trey’ in East End Of Chicago(Stratford Circus, London); ‘Yo-Less’ in the world premiere of Terry Pratchett’s Only You Can Save Mankind(Pleasance, Edinburgh); Dancer and Singer in Marvin Gaye: A Celebration Musical(Belgian Tour); ‘Pepe’ in West Side Story(Larnaca, Cyprus), and most recently ‘James Brown’ in the original cast of Sweet Soul Music(Number 1 UK Tour). His workshops include ‘Remi’ in Safe by David Hermanstein for the West Yorkshire Playhouse.
Television/Recordings: Shoot the Writers for ITV1 and his commercials for Live Visual Camera - Microsoft XBOX. Tim also records voiceovers, most recently voicing A-Z, an animated film for Channel Four and is on the original cast recording for Jolson.
Tim is thrilled to be a part of Hairspray and would like to thank his family, friends and agents for their constant love and support. Tim would like to dedicate his performance to his sister and his nan.
West End Theatre: ‘Madame Thenardier’ in Les Miserables(Queens Theatre, London); ‘Linda’ in Ray Cooney’s Cash On Delivery(Whitehall Theatre, London) and ‘Ilona Ritler’ in She Loves Me(Savoy Theatre, London – Olivier Award for Best Supporting Performance in a Musical).
Regional Theatre: ‘Irma’ in Sex, Chips and Rock ‘n’ Roll(Royal Exchange, Manchester– TMA Award for Best Performance in a musical); ‘Billy Liar’s Mum’ in Billy Liar(National Tour); ‘Liz’ in High Society(Regents Park Open Air Theatre, London – Olivier Award Nomination for Best Performer); ‘Martha’ in Last Song of the Nightingale (New End, Hampstead and Greenwich Theatre, London and Edinburgh Festival); ‘Ida’ in Honk!(National Tour); ‘Miss Adelaide’ in Guys and Dolls (Sheffield Crucible); ‘Celeste’ in Sondheim’s Saturday Night and ‘Rita La Porta’ in Lucky Stiff (Bridewell Theatre, London); ‘Florence Bravo’ in Bedevilled (Sheffield Crucible); ‘Lisa’ in Terry Johnson’s Dead Funny(National Tour); ‘Pauline’ in One For The Road (Palace, Watford); ‘Kate Hardcastle’ in She Stoops to Conquer and ‘Angie’ in Putting on the Ritz(Leicester Haymarket); Educating Rita and ‘Wendy’ in Spring Awakening(Sheffield Crucible); Amid the Standing Corn(National Tour – Joint StockTheatre Company); ‘Sandra’ in Breezeblock Park, ‘Linda’ in Blood Brothers, ‘Katalin Hunyak’ in Chicago and ‘Marty’ in Grease(Forum, Manchester); ‘Mrs Johnstone’ in Blood Brothers (Olympia, Dublin); ‘Mima’ in Working Class Hero, ‘Orderly’ in Ten Tiny Fingers and ‘Mary’ in European premiere of Merrily We Roll Along(Library Theatre, Manchester); ‘Portia’ in The Merchant of Venice, Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Hero in Much Ado About Nothing(School’s Tour); Aladdin(Sheffield Crucible); Cinderella(Lewisham); ‘Polly Perkins’ in Robinson Crusoe(Lincoln) and Hans Christian Anderson(Tour). ‘White Rabbit’ in Alice in Wonderland (Jersey). For her performances in Carousel(Royal Exchange, Manchester),Grease, Working Class Hero and Merrily We Roll Along, Tracie received the Manchester Evening News Drama Award for Best Actress.
Television: Tracie has played leading roles in numerous programmes most recently ‘Jean Hobbs’ in Doctors; ‘Grace Beck’ in Dalziel and Pascoe; ‘Linda’ in Casualty; ‘Maureen’ in Northern Lights; ‘The Murderer’ in Vincent with Ray Winstone; The Royal; The Court; ‘Judy Garland’ in The Long Firm; ‘The Murderer’ in M.I.T; The Bill; Heroes and Villains; Keen Eddie; Burn It; Mersey Beat; Where The Heart Is; The Ambassador opposite Pauline Collins; Verdict; Heartburn Hotel; Heartbeat; ‘Liz’ in two series of Next Of Kin opposite Penelope Keith; ‘Tracy’ in two series of Joking Apart; ‘Norma’ in three series of Making Out; The Gingerbread Girl; Rich Tea and Sympathy opposite Patricia Hodge; Ruth Rendell Mysteries; Made In Heaven; The Bretts; The Ritz; The Refuge; Unnatural Causes opposite Frances De La Tour; The Rector of Stiffkey; Boon; The Courtroom; Casualty opposite Julia Foster; Brushstrokes; ‘Sharon Gaskill’ in Coronation Street; The Upper Hand; Alas Smith and Jones; Black Silk opposite Rudolph Walker; Relative Strangers; Going Out; Educating Marmalade and Knock Knock(Jackanory). Tracie also won Celebrity Stars in TheirEyes as ‘Judy Garland’.
Presenting: Tracie was the anchor woman for Soap Fever, The Bombing of Manchester (Documentary); OKTV for Carlton and had her own show called Tracie Goes to Hollywood.
Film: ‘Millandra’ in Shirley Valentine(Paramount); Knights and Emeralds for David Puttnam; Deep Red Instant Love; Lofty Life (Animated Short) and F2.8. Tracie also produced a short, French Fries on the Golden Front.
Concerts: An Evening with Cy Coleman (St. David’s Hall, Cardiff); An Evening of Gershwin (Royal Albert Hall) and An Evening With Tommy Steele(Tour).
Recordings:She LovesMe; Saturday Night; People Like Us and The Snowfield. Tracie is the recorded voice of ‘Bridget Jones’ for both books of Bridget Jones Diary and The Edge of Reason for which she received the International Audie Award for Comedy Best Actress.
Tracie also has a Green Card and lives in L.A. and North London. But she doesn’t have Big Hair.
Theatre: Wendy hails from Edinburgh and has most recently been treading the revolve at the Queens Theatre in Les Miserables where she covered and played the role of Madame Thenardier. Other theatre credits include ‘Lady Macbeth’ in Macbeth(Bitesize Theatre Company) and ‘Isobel’ in Blude Red (Cutting Edge Theatre Company). Recent concerts include An Enchanted Evening(Theatre Royal, Drury Lane) and Les Miserables at Windsor Castle in the presence of HRH the Queen, Prince Philip and President Jacques Chirac of France.
Theatre: ‘Ensemble’ and understudying ‘Elizabeth’ in Dirty Dancing (Aldwych Theatre, London); ‘Billie Holiday’ in The Billie Holiday Story (National Tour); ‘Shente’ in The Good Woman of Setzuan; ‘Julie’ in Hot Stuff (Leicester Haymarket Theatre); ‘Sybil’ in The Big Life (Apollo Theatre, London); ‘Sarafina’ in The Lion King(Lyceum Theatre, London); Simon Callow’s production of Carmen Jones (Old Vic, London); and Fame (Cambridge Theatre, London); ‘Heavenly’ in Jonzie D’s Aeroplane Man (Queen Elizabeth Hall); ‘Inscrutable Lady’ in Kerry Michael’s Aladdin and ‘Carrie’ in Paulette Randall’s production of Shoot to Win (both at Theatre Royal, Stratford East) and also as ‘Evelyn’ in The Teacher (BBC).
Yaa has also modelled for Coca-Cola/Schweppes, Levis, Ebony and Vogue magazines. She choreographed her first musical, Passports to the Promised Land, appeared on MTV Base Lounge with the band The Projects with the gospel group Chosen (Revelation TV) and is currently writing her debut album.
Training: Zara trained at Arts Educational Schools (Tring and London) where she graduated with a BA (Hons) Degree in Musical Theatre.
Theatre: Zara started her professional career at the tender age of 12 touring the UK and performing at The Royal Festival Hall in the English National Ballet’s The Nutcracker. She was in the original cast of Sex, Chips and Rock 'n' Roll(Royal Exchange, Manchester). She then joined the cast of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (UK Tour). Other theatre credits include: Robin Hood and The Babes in the Wood (Malvern Theatres); Snow White and the Dwarfs (Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield) and played the part of ‘Wendy’ in Peter Pan for the past two Christmas seasons.
Zara is over the moon to be making her West-End debut in Hairspray, and would like to thank all her friends and family for their continued love and support.
