What a Drag! Emmy Winner Kevin Meaney Joins Pageant: The Musical Off-Broadway; Complete Cast Announced

Break out your cinchers, padding, flippers and whatever else you need to turn it out on the pageant runway! The cast is now complete for the off-Broadway return of Pageant: The Musical. Emmy winner Kevin Meaney (Hairspray) will serve as the pageant host, and also joining the group of tiara-crazed beauties is Nic Cory (Signs of Life), who takes over for Frankie J. Grande. The tuner will begin performances on June 29 at The Davenport Theatre, where it will play concurrently with Forbidden Broadway on Sunday and Monday evenings through September 1. Opening night is set for July 14.

Meaney and Cory board a cast that includes the previously announced Skivvies headliner Nick Cearley, Alex Ringler, Marty Thomas, Seth Tucker and Curtis Wiley.

Like every beauty pageant you've seen before, Pageant features contestants desperately vying for a glittering tiara. With swimsuit, talent and evening gown competitions, the show includes both the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. Unlike some (though possibly not all) beauty pageants you've seen before, the female contestants are all played by men and the audience gets to select the winner each night.

Conceived by Robert Longbottom, the show is written by two-time Tony nominee Bill Russell and Frank Kelly with music by Albert Evans. The tuner premiered off-Broadway in 1991 prior to engagements in the West End and around the world. It recently celebrated a sold-out benefit run for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS in February, which featured Cearley, Ringler, Thomas and Tucker.