After packed houses the weekend of May 17, Upper School English and Drama teacher Eric Severson sat down to answer a few questions about this successful production.
Q: Why did you choose Hairspray?
A: I absolutely love Hairspray. I love the original John Waters movie and I adore the musical. It has everything I look for in a show – it has great music, exciting dancing, deliciously funny and interesting characters and it has a message – a message about acceptance. What more could you ask for?
Q: What was exciting or challenging about casting Hairspray?
A: The biggest challenge with casting the show was how many people auditioned. It was overwhelming how many amazingly talented people auditioned. I hate having to cut people but we just can’t fit that many people on our stage.
Q: What has been the most difficult part of the process?
A: The most challenging part of the process has been time. The first act of Hairspray is non-stop singing and dancing. There just was not enough time to rehearse everything as much as I had hoped. We were having 3 hour rehearsals for three weeks and we still could have used more time.
Q: What did you do to make the show unique?
A: Not much, to be honest. The show really speaks for itself and I let it do just that.
Severson’s Top 4 Upper School Theater Productions in the Past 4 Years:
– Trojan Women
– Eiffel Tower Wedding Party
– Yellow Wallpaper
– Hairspray
Click on the thumbnails to expand special moments from each of the top 4:
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