Tony winners on their way to L.A.

Last year’s Tony-winning musicals “Urinetown” and “Thoroughly Modern Millie” and one of this year’s leading Tony contenders, “Hairspray,” are on their way to L.A. -- in 2004.

“Urinetown,” the 2002 Tony winner for score, book and direction, will play the Wilshire Theatre in Beverly Hills from May 11 to May 23, 2004. It’s a satirical love story set in a city during a water shortage.

“Thoroughly Modern Millie,” named best musical of 2002, is headed for the Ahmanson Theatre from May 18 through July 25, 2004. Based on the 1967 movie musical about a flapper in New York, it originated at San Diego’s La Jolla Playhouse in 2000.

“Hairspray,” a spoof of teenage angst with a light sprinkling of subtext about race relations in Baltimore in the ‘60s, is slated for the Pantages Theatre from July 20 through Aug. 29, 2004. Jack O’Brien, artistic director of San Diego’s Globe Theatres, is the director.

Comedy writer and TV personality Bruce Vilanch is in negotiations to play the drag role created by Harvey Fierstein on Broadway -- for which he would presumably shave his bushy beard -- but a source close to the production said no contract has been signed.

All three shows are components of the next Broadway/L.A. subscription season; “Thoroughly Modern Millie” will also be a part of the Ahmanson Theatre’s otherwise yet-to-be-announced 2003-04 season.

Four shows make up the rest of the Broadway/L.A. season. Terry Johnson’s adaptation of Charles Webb’s “The Graduate” will open a touring version at the Wilshire Theatre, July 8-27, 2003.

The same tour of “Jesus Christ, Superstar” that opened at La Mirada Theatre last November will play the Wilshire, Sept. 9-21, 2003.

A new production of the roller-skating musical “Starlight Express,” with two new songs by composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and “Full Monty” lyricist David Yazbek, is scheduled for the Pantages, Jan. 27-Feb. 4, 2004.

Another return of the ABBA musical “Mamma Mia!,” which played the Shubert Theatre in 2001 and the Ahmanson last fall, is slated for the Pantages in April and May 2004, with exact dates to be determined.

Asked why the three hottest shows are clustered together in the summer of 2004, more than a year from now, Broadway/L.A. general manager Martin Wiviott said that his group’s use of two theaters allows it to be flexible: “We can fit them in when it’s best for their schedule, and they try to avoid jumps from Boston to Los Angeles to Charlotte.”