Atlantis Productions brings to the Philippines the stage
adaptation of the Tony award-winning musical Hairspray. It will run
from November 14 to December 7 at the Star Theatre, CCP complex. Hairspray was
brought to life on the big screen last year by John Travolta, Michelle
Pfeiffer, Queen Latifah, and Zac Efron.
This time, audiences will be treated to a two-hour play featuring "wall-to-wall dancing" with a star-studded cast led by Michael de Mesa, Dulce, Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo, and Nyoy Volante. Hairspray is about Tracy Turnblad, a young girl who wins a spot on the local TV dance program The Corny Collins Show. The "pleasantly plump" girl becomes a teen celebrity overnight in her hometown Baltimore, Maryland. Soon, Tracy finds herself pitted against the show's reigning princess for the title Miss Teenage Hairspray 1962.
Can Tracy take home the crown and win the affections of
heartthrob Link Larkin, who happens to be the boyfriend of her closest rival?
Find out on the local version of Hairspray, which will run for four
weekends.
Michael de Mesa will play a woman on stage for the first
time as Edna Turnblad, the mother of Tracy. He will be wearing dresses, heels,
and a fat suit for this role, portrayed by John Travolta in the recent movie
musical.
During the rehearsals of the cast members for the benefit of the press, PEP (Philippine Entertainment Portal) asked the veteran actor if he had any hesitations about playing the role of a woman in this musical.
"None. In fact, after I saw the movie, I enjoyed it so much...after watching John Travolta. I remember, Bobby and I were discussing about it two years ago, let's do Hairspray. When he was able to get the rights, he texted me while we were doing Dogeaters. Then he said, ‘Mike, we're doing ‘Hairspray' and I want you to play Edna.' So I said yes right away."
Did he find it difficult to portray a feminine character in this play?
"Edna's not a cross-dresser," he points out. "She's a woman. It's a bit hard because there's a thin line [between] men playing gay roles and real female roles. My foremost concern was, I did not want her to come out gay, because she's a real woman, so you have that suspension of disbelief and the acceptance that the character is really played by a man. I'm really working hard on that thin line of not making Edna look bakla, but babae and motherly."
Multi-awarded singer Dulce plays Motor Mouth Maybelle, a role that Queen Latifah made famous in last year's remake. This production marks her 30th year in the entertainment scene. Audiences should look forward to her power ballad "I Know Where I've Been," which she will perform during the second act of the play.
THE NEWBIES. Making their professional stage debut in Hairspray are lead characters Madel Ching and Tim Espinosa, who is part of ABS-CBN's Star Magic Batch 15.
"I feel like the modern-day Filipina version of Tracy," says Madel. "It's a little scary to take on a role this big, but I'm really looking forward to the challenge of playing a character with this much spirit and energy!"
Michael thinks the role of Tracy is perfect for Madel because of her infectious energy. "She's very jolly, very cheerful, very sweet, and very talented. She's so light in her feet. The way she dances, the way she moves, it's unbelievable."
Twenty-year-old Madel is currently a junior at Ateneo de Manila majoring in AB Political Science. Although she has performed in the past for Ateneo Blue Repertory's High School Musical, she admits that she was intimated by the fact that she would be working with some of the country's top thespians.
"Nung first day ko, hindi ako makalapit kina Tito Michael, Tita Menchu, pero naging okay na rin kasi they're super helpful. Tita Menchu would help me with my singing and my acting at mino-motivate ako ni Tito Michael," she narrates.
What attracted her to the role of Tracy and Hairspray in general? Madel says: "Sobrang bilib ako sa material, aside from the fact that I can totally relate to Tracy at sa nafi-feel niya. It has a big cast and yung numbers, sobrang energetic and it's very colorful. It's a feel-good musical and you're going to walk out [of the theater] to the tune of ‘You Can't Stop the Beat.' Ang ganda rin ng message niya, hindi lang discrimination against chubby girls, it's about racial discrimination rin. It's also set during the ‘60s, a time for revolution."
Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo returns to stage acting after her stint as a director for the local version of West Side Story. She is cast as the villainous Velma Von Tussle. After five years, singer-songwriter Nyoy Volante returns to his theater roots by playing the role of Seaweed J. Stubbs. During the rehearsals, Nyoy impressed the crowd with his fluid dance moves and his clear singing voice. He was last seen onstage alternating with Jett Pangan for the role of James Thunder Early in Atlantis' Dreamgirls.
Hairspray is directed by Bobby Garcia, with choreography by Cecille Martinez, sets and costumes by Gino Gonzales, and lighting design by Shoko Matsumoto. Musical director Archie Castillo conducts FILharmoniKA. It runs from November 14 to December 7 at the Star Theatre, CCP Complex. Tickets can be purchased from Atlantis Productions (Tel. No. 892-7078, 840-1187) or Ticketworld at 891-9999.
