Forget the Grease, leave your Mamma (Mia!) at home and get back to your roots — Hairspray is in town.
Picture the scene. It's Baltimore, 1962. The heyday of hair-dos and hair-don'ts, heart-throbs and hefty girls. There are hot dates and hip-talkers, beatniks and hair-hoppers, and one magical potion which holds everything in place... hairspray. The world may have been in a mess... but hair was perfect.
A show like no other, Hairspray opens at Dubai Community Theatre and Arts Centre (DUCTAC) on July 13 and plans to make history.
"The original West End actress who played leading lady Tracy Turnblad [Leanne Jones] will star alongside the best local talent in Dubai," says director Julian Chenery barely able to contain his excitement. "It's fantastic and it's never happened before."
Chenery, the man behind internationally renowned drama company Shakespeare 4 Kidz (S4K), was summoned by the Dubai theatre to help run summer workshops for youngsters culminating in a final stage production.
After calling in favours from friends in the business, in a bid to go one step further, Chenery raised the bar and instead offered a group of talented UAE actors and actresses the chance of a lifetime.
"This show is a clever amalgamation of some of the world's leading West End musical stars with singers, dancers and actors from the Emirates," he added. "It's an amazing opportunity for these youngsters to work alongside the best in the business. There is no better way to learn..."
Pleasantly plump Tracy Turnblad has all the right moves but knows it's only in her dreams she'll ever dance on the daily Corny Collins Show alongside her heart-throb Link Larkin. But with one spot in the show open Tracy follows her heart and all her dreams come true as she takes the role much to the dismay of evil dance queen Amber Von Tussle and her mother Velma. Tracy then decides that's not enough and fights to get her African-American friends, who are only allowed to dance once a month, integrated into the show. All this without denting her ‘do'.
Janine Bensouda Zack, over 30 (she keeps us guessing), is originally from Morocco but has lived in Dubai for most of her life.
Her character in her words: "I play Motormouth Maybelle. She's this larger than life African-American activist. She's on the Corny Collins show and stands up for the right of African-Americans to be integrated into television as opposed to only white people. She's a very interesting character, very colourful."
On the stage: "This is my first time in a professional production and it's very exciting. The audition process has been very thorough and lasted about four hours. Dance routines, singing auditions and time on stage for voice production, it was very intense."
Why Hairspray?: "I've always been very passionate about the performing arts but for the past number of years I've always been caught up in a business. So when we saw the auditions my husband said I had to do it. I was quite nervous — particularly because the age limit was 30, I wasn't sure if I'd get a call back. Building up a thirst for theatre doesn't even start to describe how I was feeling before this show came along."
Kate Hargreaves, 15, originally from the UK but has lived in Abu Dhabi all her life.
Her character in her words: "I play Penny Pinkleton who is the shy, reserved best friend of Tracy. Her mum is very religious so she's very restricted about what she can and can't do. She never rebels; she's a very good girl. But that changes when she falls in love."
On the stage: "I missed my age bracket for the auditions because I had a GCSE exam so I had to audition for the higher bracket. It was so nerve-wracking because everyone else was older. The dance was difficult, dance isn't my strong point. Singing was more comfortable for me. The biggest challenge is staying concentrated on stage during the long rehearsals."
Why Hairspray?: "I'm doing music, drama, art and French at school and I've always been into the theatrical things in life. But this show is my life now. I find myself thinking about the songs, reading my lines. My aim in life is to be on Broadway."
Julian Chenery, director, lives in south London and heads up Shakespeare 4 Kidz, providing musical theatre adaptations for young kids.
"I mentioned I had some mates from the West End's original production of Hairspray who could come over and not only help out with workshops but also be in the show as well. Everyone involved is now getting the opportunity to work with people who have been in the industry for years. Tips from the professionals are vital. You learn by doing it and this is such a unique and great experience for everyone."
Why Hairspray? "Hairspray is the best show in the world. If you like Mamma Mia! and Grease, Hairspray is better. Do not miss Leanne Jones as Tracy Turnblad in Hairspray, she is a world- class musical theatre actress. It's going to be fantastic."
Anthony Stewart Hicks, originally from Liverpool now lives in London. Having played all manner of roles in theatres up and down the country, Hicks makes an impressive transformation from slim male to larger-than-life woman in Hairspray.
His role in his words: "I play Edna Turnblad first of all she's a mother, so she's a big, hearty, wonderful loving mother. She's concerned about her daughter's wayward and straying ways — with her big hair and makeup in the 60s. She's a woman who did have dreams, who had maybe sacrificed those dreams to give her daughter and family a better life. She's a woman who is just full of humility and I think the point is she IS a woman. That is the challenge as I am quite obviously a man. Any actor who can play opposite their natural person is taking on a challenge and that's why I wanted to do it. I try my best to base my characters on people in my family, like my mother, granny or aunty because they are just so funny. They are very big, funny, motherly women. I've got some of my best gags from sitting at bus stops listening to what the old women say. It's hilarious."
On the stage: "I cannot wait to see the reaction from the other performers when they get the audience applause. Because I know what that feels like but they don't yet and that's what will make my night. That applause makes all of the blood, sweat, tears, tiredness seem worthwhile."
Why Hairspray?: "To call this my job, be part of something which has never been done makes me realise why I became an actor. It gives me that love back. Dubai is a place of unknown raw talent which needs to be shown off a bit more."
Hairspray opens on Tuesday, July 13 and runs until July 17 at Ductac, Mall of the Emirates. Tickets, priced from Dh150, are available by calling 04-3414777.
The original Broadway production of Hairspray opened at the Neil Simon Theatre on August 15, 2002, ran for 2,642 performances and won the 2003 Tony Awards for the Best Musical, Best Book and Best Score. Broadway's 19th longest running show. it was based on the 1988 movie written and directed by John waters and starring chatshow host Ricki Lake in the lead role.
A social commentary on the injustices of parts of American society in the 1960s, Hairspray also had US national tours, a London West End production starring Michael Ball and Leanne Jones before being adapted for a 2007 musical film starring John Travolta, Queen Latifah, Michelle Pfeiffer, Christopher Walken, Amanda Bynes, Nikki Blonsky and Zac Efron. The London production was nominated for a record-setting 11 Laurence Olivier Awards, winning for Best New Musical and three other categories.
