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Book by Mark O’Donnell, Thomas Meehan Music by Marc Shaiman Lyrics by Scott Wittman, Marc Shaiman Based upon the New Line Cinema filmwritten and directed by John Waters Choreography by Jerry Mitchell Directed by Jack O’Brien
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JOHN WATERS (Consultant) One of the founders of the American independent film movement, transformed American cinema with his radical sensibility that gave us Pink Flamingos, the screen gimmick Odorama, the immortal Divine, the phenomenon of midnight movies, and Baltimore, Maryland as a film capital. As America's trash-auteur, author, social critic, debonair lover of the lurid, and provocateur, he has rejoiced in shocking and charming audiences throughout the world. Mr. Waters is the writer-director of the films Cecil B. Demented (2000), Pecker (1998), Serial Mom (1994), Cry-Baby (1990), Hairspray (1988), Polyester (1981), Desperate Living (1977), Female Trouble (1974), Pink Flamingos (1972), Multiple Maniacs (1970), and Mondo Trasho (1969). He is the author of four books: Shock Value, Trash Trio, Crackpot, and Director's Cut. Back to Top of Page |
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JERRY MITCHELL (Choreographer) began his choreographic career as associate choreographer to Michael Bennett on Scandal and Jerome Robbins on Jerome Robbins' Broadway. Since that time he has established himself as a top working choreographer, acting as the staff choreographer for "The Rosie O' Donnell Show" and choreographing ABC's "Gepetto" starring Drew Carey. Emmy-nominated for choreographing "The Drew Carey Show," his memorable film work includes In and Out, Drop Dead Gorgeous and Scent of a Woman. He also choreographed the B'way revivals of The Rocky Horror Show (Drama Desk nomination) and You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown; Hedwig and the Angry Inch (on stage and film); nat'l tour of Jekyll & Hyde; and Paper Mill Playhouse's critically acclaimed Follies featuring Ann Miller. He conceives, directs and choreographs Broadway Bares, a comedy burlesque performed annually for the charity Broadway Cares. For his work on The Full Monty, Jerry received Tony Award, Drama Desk Award and Astaire Award nominations. |
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JACK O'BRIEN (Director). B'way: The Full Monty (Tony nom.), The Invention of Love (Tony nom.), Pride's Crossing, The Little Foxes and Hapgood for LCT (Lucille Lortel Award for Direction, 1995); Labor Day (MTC); Getting Away With Murder by Stephen Sondheim and George Furth; Damn Yankees (Tony nom., Best Musical Revival); Two Shakespearean Actors (Tony noms., Best Director and Play); The Cocktail Hour, Porgy and Bess (Tony Award). Recent awards: 2001 Joan Cullman Award for Extraordinary Creativity; 2001 Joe A. Callaway Award (S.S.D.C.); Drama League's 2001 Julia Hansen Award for Excellence in Directing. Artistic Director: The Globe Theatres since 1981, where he's staged, among others, The Seagull, The Magic Fire, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, Henry IV, Much Ado About Nothing, King Lear, Hamlet, and the world premieres of Terrence McNally's Up In Saratoga and A.R. Gurney's The Snow Ball. Opera credits: The Magic Flute, San Francisco Opera; Tosca, Santa Fe Opera; and Street Scene, NYC Opera. TV: "An Enemy of the People," "All My Sons," "Painting Churches," "The Skin of Our Teeth," among others, all for PBS' "American Playhouse." Back to Top of Page |
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MARK O'DONNELL (Book). Mark O'Donnell's plays include That's It, Folks!, Fables for Friends, and The Nice and the Nasty (all produced at Playwrights Horizons), and Strangers on Earth and Vertigo Park (both produced by Zena Group Theatre). He wrote the book and lyrics for the musical Tots in Tinseltown. Mr. O'Donnell collaborated with Bill Irwin on an adaptation of Moliere's Scapin. and he co-authored a translation of Feydeau's A Flea in Her Ear, both for the Roundabout. For Manhattan Theatre Club he translated Jean Claude Carriere's La Terrasse. He has published two collections of comic stories Elementary Education and Vertigo Park and Other Tall Tales (both Knopf) as well as two recent novels Getting Over Homer and Let Nothing You Dismay (both now in Vintage paperback). His humor, cartoons, and poetry have appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Atlantic, Spy, The New Republic, and Esquire, among many others. He has received a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Lecomte du Nuoy Prize, and the George S. Kaufman Award. |
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THOMAS MEEHAN (Book) won the 2001 Tony Award for co-writing the book for The Producers. He received his first Tony Award in 1977 for writing the book of Annie, which was his first Broadway show, and has since written the books for the musicals I Remember Mama, Ain’t Broadway Grand, Annie Warbucks and Broadway’s newest hit, Hairspray, for which he recently won his third Tony and has also co-written the book for the Broadway premiere of Bombay Dreams. He is currently working with Mel Brooks on the musical adaptation of Young Frankenstein. In addition, he is a long-time contributor of humor to The New Yorker, an Emmy-Award winning writer of television comedy, and a collaborator on a number of screenplays, including Mel Brooks’ Spaceballs and To Be or Not to Be. He and his wife, Carolyn, divide their time between a home in Nantucket and an apartment in Greenwich Village, near which, on Hudson Street, she owns and presides over the long-running and near-legendary children’s store, Peanut Butter and Jane. Mr. Meehan is a member of the Council of the Dramatists Guild. Back to Top of Page |
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MARC SHAIMAN (Music and Lyrics/Arrangements) won both a Tony and a Grammy Award for the score to the smash hit Broadway Musical Hairspray. He has been nominated for The Academy Award five times, for the films Sleepless in Seattle, The American President, The First Wives Club, Patch Adams, and South Park: Bigger, Longer, & Uncut. He has lost each and every time! In 2002, Marc was honored with the "Hollywood Outstanding Achievement in Music-In-Film" award at the 69th annual Hollywood Film Festival. They didn't send a car. Marc has composed, adapted and arranged music, served as music supervisor and written lyrics for over 40 other films, including When Harry Met Sally, Beaches, Sister Act, City Slickers, The Addams Family, A Few Good Men, Sister Act, In & Out and George of the Jungle. He started his career as Vocal Arranger for Bette Midler, eventually becoming her Musical Director and Co-Producer. His instincts, his ear and the fact that he is still a Bette Midler fanatic have enabled him to find and bring her the Grammy winning songs "Wind Beneath my Wings" and "From a Distance". But it is their collaboration on her Emmy Award winning performance for the penultimate Tonight Show with Johnny Carson which will always remain the highlight. Oh, he auditioned to play himself in her short-lived sitcom. He did not get the part. (I'm not making this up!) He has been nominated two times for the Emmy Award, and is an actual Emmy Award winner for co-writing Billy Crystal's 'Oscar Medleys. Other Television credits besides "The Academy Awards" are "Saturday Night Live" (Emmy Nomination for Writing), HBO'S "From the Earth to the Moon", "61*" and he has also appeared as a guest on: "The Rosie O'Donnell Show", "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno", "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" and "The Martin Short Show". Besides having won for Hairspray, Marc has been nominated for two other Grammy Awards for his work with Harry Connick, Jr. His gold, platinum, multi-platinum and Grammy winning albums include: South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, Bette Midler's Beaches, Some People's Lives, For the Boys, Bathhouse Betty, Harry Connick Jr's When Harry Met Sally and We Are in Love. As musical director, producer or arranger, Mr. Shaiman has worked with a shocking variety of performers including: Peter Allen, Eric Clapton, Rosemary Clooney, Harry Connick Jr., Billy Crystal, The Harlettes, Lauryn Hill, Jennifer Holliday, Nathan Lane, Jenifer Lewis, Darlene Love, Patti LuPone, Andrea Martin, Lonette McKee, Bette Midler, Catherine O'Hara, Martin Short, Barbra Streisand, Donald Trump (!), Luther Vandross, Robin Williams and Raquel Welch! (Although not all at the same time!!) Mr. Shaiman has appeared in many of the films he has worked on, including his scene stealing moments in: South Park, Beaches, Hot Shots and James L. Brooks' Broadcast News. He resides in both New York City and Los Angeles with partner and collaborator Scott Wittman. Back to Top of Page |
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SCOTT WITTMAN (Lyrics). On Broadway, in concert, for television and in many a bo, he has conceived, written, and/or directed and collaborated with the following (are you sitting?)...Kristin Chenoweth, Jayne County, Sandy Duncan, Christine Ebersole, Dame Edna, Ellen Foley, Annie Golden, Debbie Gravitte, The High-Heeled Women, Allison Janney, Madeline Kahn, Lainie Kazan, Laura Kenyon (as Lainie Kazan), Nathan Lane, Ute Lemper, Darlene Love, Patti LuPone, Lypsinka, Ann Magnuson, Andrea Martin, Lonette McKee, Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, Zora Rasmussen, John Sex, Martin Short, Elaine Stritch, Bruce Vilanch, Rufus Wainwright, Raquel Welch, Holly Woodlawn...and his most important partner, Marc Shaiman for 23 amazing years. He saw John Waters' Pink Flamingos at The Elgin Theatre with his friends Billy And Tracey in 1973, and has never been the same since. |
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STAGE ENTERTAINMENT (Producer) Stage Entertainment has been active for several years in the London’s West End as a co-producer of musicals that include Chicago, West Side Story, The Who’s Tommy, Fosse, Spend, Spend, Spend and The Full Monty. Inspired by the worldwide expansion of Stage Entertainment, the company opened an office on Poland Street in the West End. They presented Contact, the Tony Award®-winning musical directed and choreographed by Susan Stroman, as their first production in the UK. Recent productions in the West End include Blue Man Group and Fame with several other projects in development including High School Musical. For more information please visit www.stage-entertainment.com |
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MARGO LION (Producer) Broadway producing credits: The Wedding Singer, Caroline or Change, Hairspray, Elaine Stritch at Liberty, The Crucible, Triumph of Love, Seven Guitars, Angels in America: Millennium Approaches and Perestroika, Jelly's Last Jam, and I Hate Hamlet. Off-Broadway: Indoor/Outdoor, Mnemonic, The Cryptogram, Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, The Garden of Earthly Delights, How I Got That Story, George C. Wolfe's Harlem Song at the Apollo Theater. Television: Dinner With Friends (HBO). Ms. Lion is an adjunct professor at the NYU-Tisch School of the Arts and on the Board of Directors of the Labyrinth Theatre and The Non-Traditional Casting Project. Her productions have garnered 20 Tony Awards (including the 2003 Tony for Best Musical) and 1 Pulitzer Prize. She dedicates this show to the memory of her sister Patricia Lion Krongard, who shared her Baltimore childood and was a Hairspray zealot. Back to Top of Page |
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THE BARUCH-VIERTEL-ROUTH-FRANKEL GROUP (Producer) Steven Baruch, Tom Viertel, Marc Routh and Richard Frankel have produced and general managed a wide range of plays and musicals on and off Broadway, in London and on tour for the past 18 years. Currently on Broadway and on tour: Hairspray, The Producers, Stomp and Little Shop of Horrors. Previous productions include Swing!, The Sound of Music, Smokey Joe's Cafe, The Weir, A Funny Thing..., Angels in America, Driving Miss Daisy, Penn & Teller, Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, Oleanna, Mnemonic, The Cocktail Hour, Love Letters, Marvin's Room, The Mystery of Irma Vep, The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told, Forever Tango, Damn Yankees, Jeffrey, Song of Singapore, Later Life and others. Their shows have been awarded 31 Tonys, 27 Drama Desk Awards, 20 Outer Critics Awards, 4 Grammys and 2 Pulitzers. They are the operators of the Arts Theatre in London's West End. Back to Top of Page |
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NEW LINE CINEMA (Producer) is one of the entertainment industry's leading independent producers and distributors of theatrical motion pictures. Among New Line's most beloved and recognized films are the Austin Powers series, Rush Hour 1 & 2, Boogie Nights, Seven, Dumb and Dumber, as well as last year's Academy Award-winning The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Over the years, New Line Cinema, through its Co-Chairmen Robert Shaye and Michael Lynne, has shared a special relationship with filmmaker John Waters, producing and distributing films such as Pink Flamingos, Polyester, Pecker, Female Trouble, Multiple Maniacs, and of course the acclaimed cult classic Hairspray. The Broadway version of Hairspray is New Line Cinema's first foray into theatre production. New Line Cinema is a subsidiary of AOL Time Warner, Inc. Back to Top of Page |
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CYNTHIA STROUM (Producer) Cynthia made her Broadway producing debut and earned a Tony nomination for A Raisin in the Sun, starring Sean Combs. Current Broadway theatre credits garnering 18 Tony nominations include Legally Blonde and The Color Purple. Previous productions include Barefoot in the Park, 'night, Mother and the West End's Guys and Dolls (winner of the Olivier for Best Musical Production and Best Actress). After many years working in the film industry, she also produced national television commercials. In addition to a love of theatre, Cynthia continues to focus on personal investments, politics and philanthropy. She is the founding national U.S. Chair of the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. Back to Top of Page |
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DOUGLAS MEYER (Producer) Douglas L Meyer (Producer) fulfilled a dream by winning a Tony as co-producer of The Producers and Hairspray. Other credits: Little Shop of Horrors; The Wedding Singer; Swing!; Proudest production: his son, David. Mr. Meyer is a Senior Vice-President and Certified Financial Planner with Wachovia Securities in Deerfield, Illinois. Doug can still hear the bells when looking at his wife, Stacey. Unfortunately, Doug has not needed Hairspray since the late '80s. Back to Top of Page |
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ELIZABETH WILLIAMS (Producer) Elizabeth has received three Tony Awards for her work on Broadway, which includes Bombay Dreams, Gypsy, Flower Drum Song, the Pulitzer Prize winning Topdog/Underdog, the revivals of Noises Off, The Elephant Man, One Flew Over The Cuckoo?s Nest (Tony Award), The Real Thing (Tony Award), and The Music Man, The Wild Party, A Moon For The Misbegotten, Electra, It Ain?t Nothin? But The Blues, Crazy for You (Tony Award) and The Secret Garden. In London, she has produced the West End productions of Ragtime, Hitchcock Blonde, Boston Marriage, Lobby Hero, The Real Thing and Crazy for You (Olivier Award). She also co-produced the Australian production Crazy for You. Through her involvement with Mutual Benefit Productions and Fifth Avenue Productions, she served as the American financier for the West End, Broadway, and international companies of Les Miserables, The Phantom of The Opera and Miss Saigon. Back to Top of Page |
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JAMES STERN (Producer) James D. Stern is the CEO of Endgame Entertainment. Over his career he has produced, and in some instances directed, over fifty plays and movies. Since Endgame’s inception in 2003, Stern has produced a number of films including Harold and Kumar go to White Castle (New Line); Hotel Rwanda (United Artist); Proof (Miramax); and Stay Alive (Disney). Upcoming projects include Todd Haynes’ Bob Dylan biopic I’m Not There starring Richard Gere, Cate Blanchett and Heath Ledger, and Rian Johnson’s (Brick) con artist film The Brothers Bloom starring Adrien Brody, Rachel Weisz and Mark Ruffalo. |
