"Hairspray" for Kids

With the local theatre scene being quiet, I once again turn to national news (or actually, international news) for today's post. As you can read in this article at Playbill.com, the popular musical Hairspray has spun off into a unique TV show from London.

As the story tells us:

Hairspray is currently a West End hit, but on Aug. 31 the production will face competition from a North London suburban school when the students of Kingsmead School bring their production to Shaftesbury Avenue's Lyric Theatre for one night only.

The TV series, entitled Hairspray: The School Musical, offers the London high school what publicity materials call "the challenge of a lifetime": to audition, rehearse and perform a West End-worthy performance of Hairspray in one summer holiday.

It sounds like a lot of fun! I'm not sure if the series is going to be available in the U.S. (hopefully BBC America will pick it up), but the final show of the series will air on Oct. 19.

For more details, visit http://schoolmusical.sky.com.