With just one day to go until the curtain is raised on the much loved musical, Hairspray – the stage is set for what promises to be the entertainment highlight of the year in Boyle!
By Brendan McGee, Picture Credit: Benny Morgan
In the eleven weeks since rehearsals began, the Boyle Musical Society cast, committee, crew and production team have spent almost every spare moment ensuring that this will be an unforgettable show! So, with the lights set, the paint dry, the soundcheck completed and copious amounts of hairspray in stock, the cast are ready to unveil what promises to be Boyle Musical Society’s best show ever!
Boyle Musical Society is fortunate to have two very talented ladies making up the production team. Turning in her fifth year as Director is Vivienne Moran. A former cast member of the society, Vivienne is continuously directing shows for variety groups and schools, running workshops and if all of that isn’t enough she is also taking on her usual role as choreographer for Boyle Musical Society! Her warm personality, creative flair and mentoring strengths have allowed both cast and crew to flourish in their roles again this year.
We are always delighted to have Anne Kielty as our Musical Director and once again, she has once again lent us her energy, enthusiasm and experience to our production. She works tirelessly with soloists and chorus to produce the best vocals and harmonies for the stage, while ensuring that the nine piece orchestra and pit chorus will reproduce the score to perfection! Along with being Musical Director and orchestra pianist, Anne is also rehearsal pianist and chorus mistress!
The story
Hairspray is an American musical based on the 1988 John Waters film, with music and lyrics by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman and a book by Mark O’Donnell and Thomas Meehan. The songs include 1960s-style dance music and downtown Rhythm & Blues. Set in 1962, the story concerns teenager Tracy Turnblad, (played by Karen Gordon) a big girl with big hair and an even bigger heart. She has only one passion – dancing. Her dream is to appear on The Corny Collins Show, Baltimore’s hippest dance party on TV. Tracy seems a natural fit for the show except for one not-so-little problem – she doesn’t fit in. Her plus-sized figure has always set her apart from the cool crowd, which she is reminded of by her loving but overly protective plus-sized mother, Edna (played by Stephen Tighe). That doesn’t stop Tracy because if there is one thing that this girl knows, it’s that she was born to dance.
After wowing Corny Collins (Ronan Smith) at her high school dance, Tracy wins a spot on his show and becomes an instant on-air sensation, much to the chagrin of the show’s reigning princess, Amber Von Tussle, (Cliona Dowd) and her scheming mother, Velma, (Niamh Noonan) who runs television station WYZT. Amber’s sweetheart, Link Larkin, (Darragh Beirne) seems to be smitten with Tracy’s charms as well. The dance party gets personal as a bitter feud erupts between the girls as they compete for the coveted Miss Teenage Hairspray crown.
At school, however, a short stint in detention and raised eyebrows caused by the budding relationship between her best friend Penny Pingleton (Colette Noone) and Seaweed J. Stubbs (Marc Egan) opens Tracy’s eyes to a bigger issue than the latest dance craze or the coolest hairdo – racial inequality. Throwing caution to the wind, she leads a march with local record shop owner, Motormouth Maybelle (Catherine Bolger) to fight for integration and winds up with an arrest warrant instead. Tracy is on the run now and goes underground, literally, to her best friend Penny’s basement.
Has Tracy’s luck finally run out? Will she miss the final dance-off against Amber and forfeit the title of Miss Hairspray or will she sing and dance her way out of trouble again?
The answer to these questions and much, much more will be revealed when Hairspray opens on Wednesday November 16th in St. Joseph’s Hall, Boyle.
The Cast
A brilliant cast of 36, including many familiar faces, have been working on this show since September. BMS are delighted to welcome back on stage Eugene Beirne, who will play the Spritzer, Tomás Smyth, who will take on the role of the School Principal, Diarmuid Beirne who will play Tracy’s Dad, Wilbur and Gavin Ward, who will play Mr. Pinky. Making their stage debut with BMS are Niamh Grehan who will take on the role of Little Inez, Edel Noonan, who will play Prudy Pingleton while the part of the Matron will be played by Aisling Logan. Also making their stage debut with the Society this year are Jack Gaughan, Elizabeth Keigher, Seán McInerney, Conor White, Conor P. White, Tegan Egan, Ruth O’Dowd, Sarah Reynolds, Anna Robertson and Ann Marie Toman. The Dynamites will be played by Rhona McGrath, Daniella Beadnall and Nessa O’Brolchain.
They will all be joined on stage by Ellie Carter, Tatum McPadden, Laurina Brennan, Fiona Keenan, Alison Carter, Micheala Beirne and Devon Cleary.
‘Hairspray’ is a wonderful light-hearted modern musical for all the family. The 2007 film version featured John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer and Christopher Walken. It promises to be a spectacular show, full of vibrant colour, great acting and well knows songs such as ‘Good Morning Baltimore’, ’Mama, I’m A Big Girl Now’, ‘It Takes Two’ and ‘You Can’t Stop The Beat’.
Tickets
Hairspray will open on this Wednesday November 16th and continue until Sunday November 20th in St. Joseph’s Hall, Boyle. Tickets are €10 for the Wednesday performance and €12 for Thursday. Tickets for all other performances are €15.
Tickets will be available at the door on all nights but booking is strongly recommended. The Boyle Musical Society booking office is located next door to Marian’s on Bridge Street and it will be open every day this week until Saturday, from 12pm to 2:30pm. Tickets can also be reserved on the Boyle Musical Society Ticketline 085 2756426 during booking office hours only. We also accept credit cards and there is no booking fee. Booking is not available for the Wednesday & Thursday shows. Please note that all performances are at 8pm.
For further information and a detailed view of the seating plan please go to www.boylemusicalsociety.com You can also follow Boyle Musical Society on Facebook.