By Elaine Bonilla/se news editor
SE Campus brings the 1960s dance and music to the stage in the Broadway musical Hairspray beginning April 24 in the C.A. Roberson Theatre.
SE drama associate professor Pert Durapau will direct the production as it was meant to be except one female will play a male role.
Hairspray tells the story of teenager Tracy Turnblad, who achieves her dream of performing on a 1960s TV dance show in Baltimore.
SE student Diana Reyes is cast as the passionate, loud, self-confident Tracy.
“After playing this role, I feel I am more self-confident,” she said.
Reyes prepared for her role by watching the 1988 Ricki Lake version and the Broadway version of the show.
“I even have the Broadway score on repeat in my car,” she said.
In the movie, Tracy’s mother Edna Turnblad is played by a man. In the 2007 version, John Travolta was cast as Edna. Since Durapau wanted to keep the role as male, she asked liberal arts divisional dean Jerry Coats if he was interested, and he agreed.
The villain of the show is Velma Von Tussle, played by SE student Taylor Ann. This is her first time cast as the villain.
“It’s very refreshing to play the villain,” Ann said. “I don’t think of myself as the villain or the bad guy. She’s only doing what she was taught, and at the end of the day, the thing that matters the most is her and her daughter.”
Ann said she was impressed by the role of Von Tussle because she’s a female TV producer in the ’60s, and there aren’t many women who could do that. To fit the role better, Ann studied the history of women in the ’60s, works in form-fitting costumes while wearing heels and builds her stamina by singing and jogging.
“This is one of the hardest musicals I’ve done,” she said.
Cast as Motormouth Maybelle, SE student Taylor Smith said she’s the opposite of her outspoken, outgoing, leader-type character.
“It’s a fictional play that tells the story of someone who might have been too scared to tell their own story,” Smith said. “It has a big level of importance.”
Seaweed J. Stubbs is performed by SE student Nate Davis, who is taking part in his first musical.
“Pert is a great director who shares wisdom and direction and gives more insight than we see,” he said. “She helps add depth to the character.”
Davis said he wanted the role of Seaweed and wasn’t going to settle for less.
“You shouldn’t base yourself off someone else,” Davis said about his performance as Seaweed.
“You embrace who you are and what you can do, and you just try to be the best you can be.”
In her third musical, SE student Tiana Rahman takes on two roles: Little Inez and Shayna from the group The Dynamites.
She said she jumped at the opportunity and thinks Hairspray has a good message about accepting diversity, getting rid of traditions and going after one’s dream.
“It [the role] helped me to gain a lot of confidence in singing,” Rahman said.
Penny Pingleton, Tracy Turnblad’s best friend, is performed by SE student Morgan Hill.
Hill said the role comes easy to her since she thinks she and her character have the same comic relief.
“It’s kind of like having a bunch of blonde moments,” Hill said.
Performances begin at 7:30 p.m. April 24-27 with a matinee show at 1:30 p.m. April 26. Admission is free for TCC students, faculty and staff, $3 for seniors and other students and $6 for general admission.
For more information or to make reservations, call the box office at 817-515-3599.
