By Khalida Sarwari
The Children’s Musical Theatre is staging a production next month by the cult king of camp, John Waters, that mixes song and dance with serious social issues.
Based on Waters’ 1988 film that was later adapted into a Tony Award-winning Broadway musical and a second film, “Hairspray” is a timely parable about race relations as conversations about race continue to dominate. Set in 1962 Baltimore, the story revolves around Tracy Turnblad (played by Kirsten Schmal), a self-proclaimed “plump” teenage outsider, as she pursues stardom as a dancer on a local TV show while rallying against bullies, deep-seated prejudice and other insurmountable odds.
While “Hairspray” is an upbeat and fun musical, the show doesn’t stray from exploring serious themes, said CMT’s artistic director Kevin Hauge.
“It’s a very timely piece of what people are feeling right now in terms of divisiveness,” Hauge said. “The central story is about a girl that is not considered to be the most beautiful girl finding her place, (whereas) the secondary story really in today’s world feels like the primary story: the idea of a community trying to integrate.”
Added Hauge, “Unfortunately, a lot of what is said (in the show) that is even almost off the cuff feels a little more sobering when you’re working on it, even though it’s a musical comedy.”
Still, he said he hopes audiences pick up on the show’s positive overtones, such as its commentary on acceptance, unity and finding strength within oneself.
“It’s nice to be a part of a piece that is fun and lighthearted and yet is still able to communicate a message that is really positive,” he said.
Children’s Musical Theatre board chair and alum Joy Osborne is taking on the role of Motormouth Maybelle, a character she describes as “big and boisterous.” Motormouth Maybelle is a disc jockey and record shop owner who hosts the monthly “Negro Day” on “The Corny Collins Show,” a popular local teenage dance show.
“She’s got some powerful moments where she helps the younger people stop and think about how putting in work and effort isn’t easy, but if you stick with it and keep focused on what you believe to be right, the negative things you can overcome, and you can make positive change,” she said.
Osborne, who resides in Los Gatos and helps manage university recruiting and relations for cyber-security company Palo Alto Networks, said she was “extremely overjoyed” to get the part. She said she prepared for the role by watching movies set in the 1960s, such as “Selma” and “The Butler,” and grounding herself in the history of the civil rights movement. For her audition song, she chose Nat King Cole’s “Orange Colored Sky,” which she finds “a little soulful or in the same mindset as this character.”
“I’d seen the movie and I’d seen the show, but it was much more trying to get the tone of the character,” she said. “It’s probably a character built of many people in our history who have fought so hard for equality, and so I think there is a little bit of weight (to the role). I think I have to give this part respect and to bring my very best for the audience.”
Rounding out the cast are Doug Santana and Mason Kimont. Santana is a Bay Area actor who will reprise his role of Edna Turnblad which he played when Children’s Musical Theatre first staged “Hairspray” in 2010. The company alum serves as the director of the theater department at Mitty High School in San Jose. Mary Theresa Capriles, who most recently appeared as Mrs. Wilkinson in the company’s production of “Billy Elliot,” plays Velma Von Tussle.
Rhythm and blues and bouncy pop comprise most of the musical’s catchy score, which includes such hits as “Without Love,” “You Can’t Stop the Beat” and “Good Morning, Baltimore.”
“All of us have a love for a particular vocal sound, which is a 1960s girl group sound and R&B,” Hauge said. “We’ve put a lot of energy into putting out sound that is very authentic.”
Now in its 49th year, Children’s Musical Theatre is among the oldest performing arts organizations in San Jose. “Hairspray” marks the company’s first marquee production of the year; these shows typically feature alumni performers alongside local professional actors. Osborne, who joined the company in 1978 as an 8-year-old and then returned to perform in alumni shows in 1998, is one such example.
In this particular production, 60 percent of the cast members are younger than 20, which Hauge said is unusual for a marquee production. Hauge himself has been with the company for two decades.
“To be able to produce something at a professional level that has 20 people under the age of 20 in it means we give an opportunity to young people to work with some of their favorite mentors,” he said.
“Hairspray” runs Dec. 2-11 at the Montgomery Theater, 271 Market St., San Jose. Tickets, at $30 for adults and $25 for children under 13, can be purchased online at cmtsj.org or by calling 408.288.5437.
