Leah Hocking Steps into the Role of Velma Von Tussle in Hairspray

Leah Hocking will be Hairspray's next Velma Von Tussle. She will begin performances tonight for a limited engagement through November 13--appearing while current star Barbara Walsh is on leave. Walsh will then return to Hairspray for performances from November 15 through December 4, with Hocking taking over the role officially on December 6.

Hocking recently appeared on the Great White Way as Miss Sandra in All Shook Up, a musical she had been with since its developmental stage. Her other Broadway credits include The Wild Party, Dance of the Vampires, Jekyll & Hyde, Grease and Guys and Dolls. Her off-Broadway credits include The Thing About Men, Forbidden Broadway and Inside Out.

Hocking will join a cast that currently includes Shannon Durig, John Pinette, Stephen DeRosa, Richard H. Blake, Chester Gregory II, Becky Gulsvig, Tracey Miller and Darlene Love.

Walsh is on leave from Hairspray, so that she may appear in the Transport Group production of the musical Nor'mal at the Connelly Theatre. That show, directed by Walsh's husband Jack Cummings III, is scheduled to run from October 20 through November 12.