By ALAN HOSKINS
“Hairspray,” one of the funniest and most highly acclaimed musicals of the last decade, will be performed at Kansas City Kansas Community College Thursday through Sunday, Nov. 8-11.
Directed by Dr. Charles Leader, Director of Theatre, performances will be held at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 2:30 p.m. on Sunday in the Performing Arts Center on the KCKCC campus at 7250 State Avenue.
Opened on Broadway Aug. 15, 2002, the original musical production won eight Tony Awards out of 13 nominations and ran for more than 2,500 performances before closing on Jan. 4, 2009. It was adapted as a musical film in 2007 starring John Travolta as Edna Turnblad.
Set in Baltimore in 1962, Hairspray is a social commentary on the injustices of parts of American society in the ‘60’s.
Skye Reid and Mike Forsythe are cast in the leading roles.
Reid stars as Tracy Turnblad, a “pleasantly plump” teenager whose greatest goal is to dance on The Corny Collins Show and once she achieves that dream she fights to racially integrate the show.
A former KCKCC student where she performed in numerous productions, she now attends Xenon International Academy.
The President of the Associates, Inc., and a member of the Board of Trustees at Bishop Ward High School who has performed in more than a dozen musicals, Forsythe stars as Edna Turnblad, the role made famous by Travolta as Tracy’s kind, plus-sized mother who runs a laundry out of her home.
Also in major roles are Jacob Swaney, who is cast as Link Larkin, a teenage heartthrob of The Corny Collins Show; Breanna Danielle, who portrays Link’s one-time girl friend who is willing to do anything to win the Miss Teenage Hairspray pageant; Stormy Borsella, her scheming mother; Bransen Bliss, the cocky host of The Corny Collins Show; and Guy Gardner, Tracy’s goofy father who owns the Har-De-Har Hut joke shop.
Other cast members include Nicole Theno, a 2010 Basehor-Linwood graduate; Fred Rucker of Wyandotte; Xavier Tiller of Schlagle; Edward Pouncil, Tyler Whaley, Sharell Hall, Selene Soto, Gina Varriano, Ashley Kings, Nathan Mortensen, Chris Donte Benson, Rameka Meeks, Sparkle Jones, Gerell Stubbs, Melissa Annecchini and Ja’Ron Nichols.
Leinora Remmert directs an 11-member orchestra with choreography by Michael Joy and Paula Lang, set and costume design by Tammy Keisser, lighting by Art Kent and sound design by Ian Corbett.
Tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for seniors and students and can be purchased at the door.
PHOTO: Skye Reid (center) stars as Tracy Turnblad with Guy Gardner (left) portraying her mother and Mike Forsythe her father in the Tony-winning musical comedy “Hairspray” wich will be performed at Kansas City Kansas Community College Thursday through Sunday, Nov. 8-11. (KCKCC Photo by Dr. Charles Leader)
