Skip to content

Hairspray: Upbeat musical has important message

YES Theatre production runs at STC Aug. 12-27
hairspray
YES Theatre's “Hairspray” runs at STC Aug. 12-27. Photo by Arron Pickard.

Sudbury's April Perrin said she's thrilled to have her “dream role” in YES Theatre's Hairspray, which runs Aug. 12-27 at Sudbury Theatre Centre.

Playing Tracy Turnblad, a pleasantly plump teenager who teaches 1962 Baltimore a thing or two about integration after landing a spot on a local TV show, Perrin has the upbeat musical's leading role.

You might be familiar with the 2007 movie starring Nikki Blonsky or the original 1988 version starring Ricki Lake. The musical's original Broadway production opened in 2002.

Perrin even auditioned for the role of Tracy Turnblad in the NBC production of Hairspray Live!  this past spring in New York City.

“It's a part that was honestly made for me,” she said. “It's my voice type, it's my dance ability, it's who I am as a person. I'm very similar to Tracy. It's definitely a dream come true, playing this part.”

Perrin said she loves everything about the musical, including its messages about body acceptance and fighting racism.

“I think with everything that's going on in the media these days, we're being pushed to a certain image that girls and boys need to live up to,” Perrin said.

“I think musicals like this are breaking that boundary, saying we can have a curvy leading lady, who owns who she is, is confident in who she is, and is not sad about the way she looks.”

YES Theatre founder and artistic director Alessandro Costantini — who plays TV show host Corny Collins in the production — said he's always wanted to bring “Hairspray” to the city.

“For years, people have been saying to me Hairspray can never happen in Sudbury, with its diverse cast,” said the Sudbury native.

“Whenever somebody tells me something can't happen, I just want to do it, and we did. We brought together 30 artists, with 10 artists of colour, which is historical for our community. 

“There has never been a story that featured so many artists of colour, ever, in Sudbury.”

Although set in the 1960s, the play's themes are very contemporary, given the current racially-charged atmosphere in the United States, Costantini said. 

“Theatre is a way to put a mirror up to society and remind us of our struggles and our triumphs and our humility,” he said.

Toronto's Malindi Ayienga plays Little Inez, one of the production's artists of colour. 

“I think that's really important for people to see people of all shapes and sizes and ethnicities on stage, so that people in the audience can have people to relate to,” the 20-year-old Sheridan College musical theatre student said.

“Normally there's only one or two artists of colour in a musical or a play, so to have 10 is absolutely the most exciting thing.”

Sudbury native Jake Deeth plays Tracy Turnblad's larger-than-life mother, Edna Turnblad

The role has traditionally been played by a man in drag — John Travolta in the 2007 movie, the late drag queen actor Divine in the 1988 movie and Harvey Fierstein in the Broadway production.

Deeth said he's never performed in drag before, and it's taken some getting used to, especially dealing with the discomfort of a wig, bra and padding in the middle of a heat wave. 

But it's worth it for the recent George Brown theatre school graduate.

“Edna is so much fun,” she said. 

“Rarely does a man get a chance to play a mother, and there's so many stereotypical roles for men to play for musical theatre. It's great to play a character that loves her daughter so much and lets her take her on this beautiful journey through Hairspray.”

The musical runs Aug. 12-13, 16-20, 23-27 at 8 p.m., and Aug. 14 and 21 at 2 p.m. Tickets cost $40 for adults, $35 for seniors and $30 for students. For more information, visit yestheatre.com.


Comments

Verified reader

If you would like to apply to become a verified commenter, please fill out this form.




Heidi Ulrichsen

About the Author: Heidi Ulrichsen

Read more