Larsen Is Hairspray's Velma Through March 11

By Andrew Gans
03 Mar 2006

Liz Larsen, who received a Tony nomination for her portrayal of Cleo in the 1992 revival of The Most Happy Fella, is currently playing Velma Von Tussle in the Tony-winning musical Hairspray at the Neil Simon Theatre.

Larsen has stepped into the role while Leah Hocking is on leave to co-star in the New York City Opera's upcoming production of The Most Happy Fella. Coincidentally, Hocking will play Cleo in that production, the aforementioned role that brought Larsen her Tony nomination.

Larsen is scheduled to play Velma through March 11.

Liz Larsen received Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critic Circle Award nominations for her work in The Most Happy Fella and has also appeared on Broadway in Hairspray, The Smell of the Kill, The Rocky Horror Show, Damn Yankees, Fiddler on the Roof and Starmites.

Hairspray, based on the 1988 John Waters film of the same name, currently plays the Neil Simon Theatre. The show won 2003 Tony Awards for Best Score (Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman), Best Book (Thomas Meehan and Mark O'Donnell), Best Actress in a Musical (Marissa Jaret Winokur), Best Actor (Harvey Fierstein), Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Dick Latessa), Best Costume Design (William Ivey Long), Best Musical and Best Direction of a Musical.