Las Vegas Hairspray closes today

By Amy Somensky Jun 11, 2006, 1:14 GMT

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 trendsetter in dance and fashion vanquish the program\'s reigning ...more

Las Vegas: The Luxor Hotel and Casino's production of Hairspray plays its final performance today. The musical will have played 148 performances since opening on February 15th.

"We make this decision with regret and disappointment, but with the reality that the show did not find the audience it needed for us to continue," producer Michael Gill previously said in a statement.

At the time of closing the cast of Hairspray includes Paul Vogt as Edna Turnblad, Eddie Mekka as Wilbur Turnblad, Katrina Dideriksen as Tracy Turnblad, Austin Miller as Link Larkin, Kevin Spirtas as Corny Collins, Terry Lavell as Seaweed, Fran Jaye as Motormouth Maybelle, and Chandra Lee Schwartz as Penny Pingleton.

The musical has been reinvented for Vegas by the same team that brought it to Broadway: Jack O'Brien (director), Jerry Mitchell (choreography), Marc Shaiman (music and lyrics), Scott Wittman (lyrics), and Thomas Meehan and Mark O'Donnell (book). It is now a streamlined 90 minute intermissionless version.

Broadway's creative team has also returned. It includes lighting design by Kenneth Posner, costume design by Ivey Long, and scenic design by David Rockwell.

The musical won 8 2003 Tonys including Best Musical, Best Book, Best Score, Best Director, and Best Actor and Actress in a Musical.

In Hairspray, 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.