'Hairspray: The Broadway Musical' Headed to Cultural Center

This just in from Kendra Langlie of Centerpieces, a newsletter for the Carrollwood Cultural Center:

The Carrollwood Cultural Center’s MAS Community Theatre will perform HAIRSPRAY The Broadway Musical, July 13-22 with an injection of new blood and a cast that takes its themes personally.

The Center’s own MAS Community Theatre’s summer musical production introduces director Domenic Bisesti and a cast of mostly newcomers bopping and crooning to the Broadway play based on the New Line Cinema film written and directed by John Waters.

Walking into a rehearsal, I was delighted by the energy and enthusiasm that this charismatic director and cast exude—it is palpable.

Bisesti comments that of the 85 or so people who came to auditions—a record turnout for MAS Community Theatre—he could’ve cast 70 of them based on the talent! The cast is about 30, which at times is still a challenge for him given the modest size of our stage and the grandiose dance scenes central to the show. Yet the smallish space is also an advantage; Bisesti points out that the coziness of the theater lends a special intimacy and opportunity.

“We can push harder on the more touching moments,” he said.

The story of Hairspray takes place in 1960s Baltimore—a turning point in the civil rights movement. Change is in the air! Loveable plus-size heroine, Tracy Turnblad, has a passion for dancing, and, thanks in part to her interracial friendships, wins a spot on the local TV dance program, "The Corny Collins Show." Overnight she finds herself transformed from outsider to teen celebrity.  The “Integration Now” movement paints the background of the show as Tracy seeks to unify the until-now segregated dance shows. 

Indeed integration and diversity, or “looking beyond what society tells you” as the director puts it, are pillars of the show…themes that are not untimely today, with public questioning of everything from gay rights to illegal immigration.

In preparing the cast for their roles, Bisesti charged them with making it personal and current, not just bringing back the civil rights movement of the 1960s, which is now somewhat distant.

He said to the cast, “What do you feel you bring to the table?  How is this meaningful to you? Bring it all together so that every step, word, note means something.”

A dancer himself, Bisesti has already directed and choreographed numerous shows in his young career, mostly in the Tampa area but also with some experiences in New York, L.A. and on cruise ships. He is focused, articulate and concerned with the depth and creative “inventiveness” of the work at hand; his intense excitement is contagious.

As director and choreographer, he has staged performances ranging from high school musicals to full-scale shows like The Rocky Horror Picture Show at American Stage in the Park and Age of Aquarius at Largo Cultural Center.

He also teaches jazz and runs the competition jazz team at Dance Evolutions in Tarpon Springs. And, he has his own production company.

Performances will be July 13-22. For ticket information and show times, click here.