EastEnders star Rita Simons prepares for Hairspray reprise
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EastEnders star Rita Simons prepares for Hairspray reprise

Actress ill tread the boards as Velma Von Tussle when the show returns for a limited season at the London Coliseum next month. 

Don’t hold back the lacquer! EastEnders actress Rita Simons is getting her updo ready as she prepares to reprise her role in Hairspray, which returns for a limited season at the London Coliseum next month. 

Simons – who is the niece of business guru Lord Alan Sugar – will tread the boards as Velma Von Tussle, alongside the recently-announced Les Dennis as Wilbur Turnblad, West End star Michael Ball as Edna Turnblad and Sex Education’s Jonny Amies as Link Larkin.

Lizzie Bea will star as Tracy Turnblad, while Marisha Wallace takes on the role of Motormouth. 

It’s 1962 and Baltimore teenager Tracy Turnblad dreams of dancing on The Corny Collins Show. When she wins a role on the show, she become a celebrity overnight – but will her newfound legion of fans still follow her as she campaigns for the show to become more inclusive – whatever a person’s colour, size or hairdo?

The Olivier Award-winning show, produced by Adam Spiegel Productions and Fiery Angel, features a punchy soundtrack including Good Morning Baltimore, Big, Blonde and Beautiful and You Can’t Stop the Beat.

Hairspray opens at London Coliseum from 21 June,
www.hairspraythemusical.co.uk

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