Mentorn Media has been commissioned by Sky One, to produce, HAIRSPRAY THE SCHOOL MUSICAL, it was announced today.
The eight, hour-long programmes broadcast in the autumn on Sky One and Sky One HD. The series was commissioned by Donna Taberer, Commissioning Editor, Entertainment, Sky One, Two and Three and will be exec produced by Taberer, Dan Barraclough and Dagmar Carlton from Mentorn Media.
HAIRSPRAY THE SCHOOL MUSICAL is an ambitious and channel-defining event for Sky One that sets an extraordinary challenge for one ordinary high school - bring some West End sparkle to a school musical. Forcing kids to throw caution and cliques to the wind, they must put on a musical of West End quality using only children from their school.
Director of Programmes for Sky One, Two and Three, Richard Woolfe commented: “Over the past few years Hairspray and High School Musical have brought musical theatre to new audiences worldwide. HAIRSPRAY THE SCHOOL MUSICAL will show all of the emotions of the theatre - stage-fright, crises in confidence, life-changing accomplishments and tears of joy – within a fantastic new TV format and we’re thrilled that Denise Van Outen is set to join us for this summer spectacle.”
Dan Barraclough, Head of Factual Entertainment and Features, Mentorn Media commented: “Great musicals are often about ordinary people achieving impossible dreams. So we thought, let’s try it for real. It will be a rollercoaster ride for the school, the kids and the production team and we’re really excited about it.”
HAIRSPRAY THE SCHOOL MUSICAL promises drama and dropouts, crushes and competition as Sky One follows the chosen school at the end of the summer term throughout the audition process. Then at the end of the summer holidays, the whole cast will come together for an intensive rehearsal week. The assembled cast have only got one week to rehearse together and polish their performance to a West End standard. It’s a massive task, packed with the real jeopardy of whether our cast can pull it off.
In addition to enlisting the help of the actual team who are putting on the award winning West End version of Hairspray, HAIRSPRAY THE SCHOOL MUSICAL will feature a host of celebrities all lending their expertise to teach masterclasses in acting, singing and dancing.
The rehearsal week will build to a finale spectacular capping an exhaustive and emotional personal journey for everyone involved.
HAIRSPRAY THE SCHOOL MUSICAL is a Mentorn Media production for Sky One. The series was commissioned by Donna Taberer, Commissioning Editor, Entertainment, Sky One, Two and Three and will be exec produced by Taberer, Dan Barraclough and Dagmar Carlton from Mentorn. The format was developed by Dan Goldsack.
Notes to Editors:
Sky One is the most watched non-terrestrial channel in the UK, attracting more than 19m unique viewers every month and distinguishes itself from rival networks with award-winning, exclusive US and homegrown drama, talked-about entertainment formats and distinctive factual entertainment series.
Hairspray The Show is based on the New Line Cinema Film written and directed by John Waters, featuring music by Marc Shaiman and lyrics by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman. The West End production has won numerous accolades since its debut including Best New Musical at the Olivier Awards 2008, The Critics Circle Awards 2008 and The Evening Standard Theatre Awards 2008.
Mentorn Media
Mentorn Media are producers of factual entertainment programming both in the UK and the US. In the UK Mentorn Media are producing Celebrity Meltdowns and At Home with the Hattons for Sky One; an eight-part series, Diet on the Dance Floor for Living and in America the second series of the highly popular Paradise Hotel is transmitting on Fox Reality and My Network, while award-winning series, Work Out, is on its third series on Bravo US. Mentorn Media is also well known for its factual programming including Question Time and the Big Questions for BBC ONE, Dispatches for Channel 4 and most recently Madeleine, One Year On: Climate for Change the documentary for ITV 1 marking the first anniversary of the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.