The hit musical, which features music by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman with a book by Mark O’Donnell and Thomas Meehan, is directed and choreographed by Dan Knechtges with music direction by Charlie Alterman.
Batt has appeared on Broadway nine times, including stints in productions of Cats, Starlight Express, Beauty and the Beast, Seussical, Saturday Night Fever and La Cage aux Folles.
The cast includes Ryann Redmond (Tracy Turnblad), Christopher J. Hanke (Corny Collins), Liz Mikel (Motormouth Maybelle), Lara Teeter (Wilber Turnblad), Heather Ayers (Velma Von Tussle), Bob Amaral (Harriman F. Spritzer/Principal/Mr. Pinky/Guard), Taylor Louderman (Amber Von Tussle), Charlotte Maltby (Penny Pingleton), John Battagliese (Link Larkin), Gerald Caesar (Seaweed J. Stubbs), Jenn Harris (Prudy Pingleton/Gym Teacher/Matron) and Kennedy Holmes (Little Inez).
The ensemble comprises Niani Feelings, Lili Froehlich, Berklea Going, Wonza Johnson, Zachary Daniel Jones, Alex Larson, Jada Mayo, Kalia Medeiros, Lindsay Moore, JJ Niemann, Drew Redington, Nasia Thomas, Brinie Wallace, Brion Marquis Watson, Jerome D. Wells and Sharrod Williams.
Hairspray tells the story of lovable teen Tracy Turnblad who reaches for her dream of performing on the Corny Collins TV dance show in 1960s Baltimore, with hopes of helping to integrate the show in the process. Based on the 1988 John Waters film of the same name, Hairspray features songs such as “Good Morning Baltimore,” “It Takes Two,” “I Know Where I’ve Been” and “You Can’t Stop The Beat!” The production features scenic design by Robert Mark Morgan, costume design by Leon Dobkowski, lighting design by Rob Denton, sound design by John Shivers and Hugh Sweeney and video design by Matthew Young. Wig design is by Leah Loukas, and the production stage manager is Lynda Lavin.
With 11,000 seats the Muny (Municipal Theatre Association of St. Louis) is one of the largest legitimate theaters in the U.S. Visit muny.org.