Harry Shearer pens a J Edgar Hoover musical | Premiering in London next summer

Harry Shearer pens a J Edgar Hoover musical

Premiering in London next summer

Simpsons and Spinal Tap star Harry Shearer has written a comedy musical about FBI founder J Edgar Hoover.

Here Comes J. Edgar! will premiere at London’s Kings Head Theatre next summer.

The show is described as ‘an irrepressible musical comedy about the love of power and the power of love, and what a simple black dress and a single strand of pearls can do for a guy’.

Rumours that Hoover was secretly gay were widespread when he was alive, and it’s largely believed that he was a cross-dresser, even though many historians believe this to be an urban myth.

Shearer, who voices the likes of Principle Skinner and Mr Burns on The Simpsons. has collaborated on the Hoover project with   Tom Leopold – a comedy writer who has worked on Cheers and  Seinfeld – and composer Peter Matz.

Last week Shearer issued a statement as his Spinal Tap alter-ego Derek Smalls saying that he had quit the band following the ‘hatchet job’ that was the newly released movie sequel 

Directed by Josh Seymour, Here Comes J. Edgar! will run at the fringe theatre in Islington from July 10 to August 16 next year. 

Published: 2 Oct 2025

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