Hairspray to open at Plymouth's Theatre Royal
Watch Katie Rowlett's report
Plymouth's Theatre Royal welcomes the West End hit show 'Hairspray the Musical' to the stage from 25 June, with audience members seated in a socially distanced format.
ITV's Loose woman Brenda Edwards plays the infamous Motormouth Maybelle.
Brenda described her character to ITV West Country:
"She runs a record shop, and it's a central hub where everybody comes and they get their good vibe and they get their soul food. I love that character, she's larger than life.
"One of my songs that I sings is "Big, blonde and beautiful" - I am neither big, I am neither blonde but I am beautiful!"
The show is based on the 1988 film by John Waters and starred Divine and Ricki Lake. It tells the story of Tracy Turnblad, a Baltimore schoolgirl in 1962 who is determined to follow her dreams and perform on national TV.
Brenda adds: "Tracy Turnblad notices certain discriminations between the black people and the white people and it's her dream to bring everyone together and to integrate."
ITV audiences will know Brenda Edwards as a panelist on the daytime show Loose Women. joining the team in 2019. On the show has openly talked about her body confidence issues following her battle with cancer.
When asked if she prefers stage or talk show Brenda said: "It's very very close but stage is in my DNA and if you think about it there is a little stage platform for Loose Women as well, we have our own little stage, and there's an audience.
"So stage is my first love....closely followed by Loose Women."
A spokesperson for Theatre Royal Plymouth said: “We are thrilled to be opening the UK tour of Hairspray after an incredibly difficult year. Tickets are still available to book on the TRP website for our first musical since 2020 and we cannot wait to welcome audiences back for an evening full of fun."
After Plymouth, the production is due to also visit Bristol in 2021 and Cheltenham in 2022.
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