York Stage Musicals presents Hairspray, The Broadway Musical, Grand Opera House, York, March 27 to April 4

Hairspray, The Broadway Musical, follows the plight of loveable teen-dreamer Tracy Turnblad. A big girl with big hair and an even bigger heart, she becomes the unexpected star of the local TV dance programme, The Corny Collins Show, to the frustration of villainous producer Velma Von Tussle.

The setting is 1960s Baltimore, USA, where black is black and white is white and “pleasantly plump” girls certainly don’t dance on TV, until Tracy launches a riotous campaign to integrate the dance show. As she dances her way into the nation’s hearts and helps her mother turn from Fifties frumpy housewife to Sixties swinging chick, Tracy falls for fellow TV star and teen idol Link Larkin.

York Stage Musicals will stage the Tony Award-winning musical hit this spring, as CHARLES HUTCHINSON reports.

It’s been a while since your last show, Jessica. Where have you been?

“I fell pregnant with my third son, Theo, just one month after choreographing Grease for York Stage Musicals at the Grand Opera House in 2013 so I’ve had a break from the stage until now. Hairspray is the perfect project to get me back into my dance shoes. This show is so infectious.”

This is your debut show as a director, isn’t it?

“Yes, that’s correct. Artistic director Nik Briggs approached me last year and asked if I would direct as well as choreograph the show. He felt Hairspray’s energetic style lent itself well to a choreographer who could also direct.”

Have you have choreographed Hairspray previously?

“I was lucky enough to choreograph one of the first productions of the show outside London in Robert Readman’s version for Upstage Centre Youth Theatre in 2009. It was a youth cast back then, as the rights to produce a full-scale show with an adult cast were not available, and the show played to full houses every night.”

You’ve come back for a second blast of Hairspray!

“Absolutely. There aren’t many shows I would choreograph twice, but Hairspray is one of them. Now I have the opportunity to put on a bigger production at a venue like the Grand Opera House with an age-appropriate cast, I have to take it.”

How large-scale is your production?

“It’s large, believe me. We have a cast of around 50 performers requiring more than 100 costumes for a start. We have spared no expense with this show to ensure it is as spectacular as any touring production visiting the Grand Opera House.”

How are rehearsals progressing?

“Really well. There are almost 20 musical numbers to choreograph and the cast have been working hard since the beginning of January to perfect the energetic, Sixties-inspired routines.

“The sound they produce as an ensemble singing is fantastic, thanks to musical director Adam Tomlinson. I can tell when a show is going to be special and this most definitely is.”

What do you love most about Hairspray?

“As a teenager, I watched the original John Waters film starring Ricki Lake over and over again. I found it funny, yet dark. The plot is very real as racial segregation was a genuine issue for America during the Sixties. Add in a gutsy heroine facing prejudice of her own because of how she looks, over-the-top Sixties hairdos and Debbie Harry, of Blondie fame, and you’ve got the perfect teen movie. I adored it.

“Of course the stage musical is quite different from the original 1988 film. It has purposefully shed its darker side to appeal to a more family-friendly audience. Coupled with original show tunes, such as You Can’t Stop The Beat, by composer Marc Shaiman and lyricist Scott Wittman and the end result is two hours of pure joy.”

Who are the performers the audience should look out for?

“Without promising too much, there is some amazing young talent showcased in our production. York Stage Musicals will introduce three new performers to their principal line-up: Maya Tether will play Tracy Turnblad, Conor Mellor, Link Larkin, and Maya Bartley O’Dea, Penny Pingleton.

“York stage regulars Joe Wawrzyniak and Toni Feetenby will make a change from their usual roles to play larger-than-life Edna, Tracy’s mother, and the villainous Velma Von Tussle, TV producer of The Corny Collins Show, while York blues singer Jess Gardham will make her YSM debut as ‘Motormouth’ Maybelle.

“Supporting them are professional actors Veronica Hart, from the original West End cast of Whistle Down The Wind, and Jemma Genaus, who together will play The Supremes-inspired Dynamites. Jemal Felix will appear as Seaweed J. Stubbs after understudying Seaweed in other professional productions of Hairspray.”

• York Stage Musicals presents Hairspray, The Broadway Musical, Grand Opera House, York, March 27 to April 4, 7.30pm and Saturday matinees at 2.30pm. Box office: 0844 871 3024 or atgtickets.com/york