Broadway Smash Hairpsray comes to The State Theatre!
Posted by Dustin Horton // January 5, 2012 // Arts & Live Music, News
The Broadway smash hit Hairspray will run at The State Theatre of Ithaca one weekend only, January 13-15, as produced by Running to Places Theatre Company. This winner of 8 Tony Awards including Best Musical tells the story of pleasantly plump teen Tracy Turnblad as she pursues her dream of dancing on TV and breaking down barriers in racially segregated Baltimore of 1962.
Hairspray presents a high-energy, campy world in which the entire city breaks into song and dance, and the heroine’s zaftig mother is traditionally played by a male. Along the way, the show addresses prejudices and challenges the limitations imposed upon the heavy set heroine and mother as well as her new-found friends from “across the tracks.” Resident Director Joey Steinhagen says, “Hairspray brings us to a world where anything can happen – an ‘uncool’ teenage girl makes her dreams come true, gets the boy, and changes the world – all while keeping her hair looking great! Needless to say, this show has a spectacularly happy ending.”
Steinhagen, is delighted that Hairspray marks the 25th production for Running to Places (R2P) and the opening of their fifth season. Also the theatre company’s Co-Artistic Director, Steinhagen explains, “This show represents a lot of the ideals of R2P: bringing together disparate groups, breaking down barriers that divide – not to mention a joyous love of singing and dancing!”
Co-Artistic Director and Resident Producer Gail Belokur agrees with Steinhagen’s sentiment of inclusion: “Running to Places has always worked hard to make theatre accessible to any young artist who is interested, regardless of their financial situation, past involvement in R2P, or where they live in Tompkins County. For our audiences, there will be a great, solid mix of familiar performers and many new faces who’ve just joined the R2P family,” says Belokur. The show is so popular that auditions attracted dozens of young artists to the company for the first time.
R2P resident scenic & lighting designer Tyler M. Perry is joined by newcomer Sarah Bertolozzi, who was tasked with creating a costume design that will take audiences back to a fantasy version of the 1960s.
The rest of R2P’s resident artistic team consists of Todd Peterson (Choreographer) and Mike Wade (Music Director). Wade has been a fan of Hairspray since it opened. “It’s the perfect cure for the post-holiday wintertime blues.” With its mix of 60’s bubblegum pop and the Motown sound, Hairspray is sure to delight audiences of all ages. Wade believes that “Mark Shaiman [the show’s composer] did a brilliant job of paying tribute to those pioneers of rock while creating a completely fresh and original score. And this cast is rockin’ the doors off!”
The cast includes around fifty of the area’s most dynamic up-and-coming performers including Haley Evanoski as Tracy, Felix Fernandez-Penny as her plus-sized mother Edna, St. John Faulkner as Link, Keara Byron as Penny, Bretana Turkon as Amber, Wynter LaTorre as Velma, Felicia Barrett as Motormouth Maybelle, Osoeba Airewele as Seaweed, James Palmer as Wilbur, Austin Brecht as Corny, Jenna Ledet as Prudy and Jewell Payne as Little Inez.
Hairspray runs January 13-15 at The State Theatre of Ithaca (107 West State Street) with performances at 7:00pm on Friday and Saturday, 2:00pm on Sunday. The show is sponsored by CSP Management, which also is a Season Sponsor along with the Ithaca Youth Bureau and Season Media Sponsor Cayuga Radio Group. Tickets are available for $12 in advance and $15 the day of the show and may be purchased in person at the box office (105 West State St.), by calling 607-277-8283, or online at www.stateofithaca.com. For more information, visitwww.runningtoplaces.org.
Performance Dates:
- Fri, January 13 at 7:00pm
- Sat, January 14 at 7:00pm
- Sun, January 15 at 2:00pm
