A SECOND York company has secured the licence to present Hairspray. Bev Jones’s Northern Musical Company will stage the Broadway musical at Tadcaster Grammar School from October 26 to 31.

Hairspray is widely available to all youth groups, but the licence stipulates it must be performed only on school premises.

“We therefore wanted to make sure we chose the largest venue possible to enable a full production to take place with full-scale orchestra and set, as opposed to small-scale with backing tapes,” says Bev, explaining his choice of location.

“I will not lower my standards and make cut-backs in any production, hence the decision to perform at Tadcaster, where the young performers can play to audiences of 450 per performance.”

Bev will hold open auditions at the school from 2.30pm onwards on Saturday, April 25 for “all keen musical theatre performers” aged 16 to 19 as of September. Anyone interested in taking part can contact secretary Lesley Jones via enquiries@northernmusicaltheatrecompany.co.uk.

“It will be a general song-and-dance audition for all, so please be patient,” says Lesley, who asks those auditioning to bring sensible footwear and wear comfortable clothing. Principal auditions will follow on another date.

* Three more Northern Musical Theatre Company productions are confirmed for 2009: Strictly Spectacular at the Alhambra Theatre, Bradford, from May 18 to 26; West Side Story, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, July 20 to August 1; and Showtime Spectacular 4, Rowntree Theatre, October 4 to 9.