John Waters musical ‘Hairspray’ set for BSO

Tony-Award Winning Actors Join Principal Pops Conductor Jack Everly and the BSO For a Semi-Staged Production of Baltimore’s Favorite Musical.

Narrated by John Waters.

Five Performances Only: June 2-5, 2016 at Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall and at the Music Center at Strathmore.

Baltimore, MD (May 12, 2016) — The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) announced today the full cast for its upcoming semi-staged concert production of John Waters’ Hairspray: In Concert. The production is part of the BSO’s Centennial season, a celebration of Baltimore featuring artists with deep connections to the orchestra and to the city; partnerships with peer organizations; and large-scale signature projects and productions. Hairspray will be performed Thursday, June 2 at the orchestra’s North Bethesda, MD home at The Music Center at Strathmore, and on Friday, June 3, Saturday, June 4, and Sunday, June 5 in Baltimore at Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. The timeless story follows Tracy Turnblad, a Charm City teenager who dreams of becoming one of “the nicest kids in town” on a local TV show and changes the world in the process.

“Hairspray is a perfect fit for the BSO’s 100th anniversary season, and we are proud to present this encore performance,” said BSO Principal Pops Conductor Jack Everly. “No musical says ‘Baltimore’ more than Hairspray, and local audiences loved it when we presented it the first time in 2013. Even though Hairspray, in its film form, has been around for 30 years, the story continues to appeal to new and younger audiences with its relevant themes of diversity and acceptance.”

Hairspray: In Concert is a full symphonic production of the film’s Broadway adaptation, which won eight Tony Awards in 2003, including Best Musical. Hometown icon John Waters, who wrote, produced and directed the original 1988 Hairspray film, now a beloved worldwide cult classic, serves as narrator.

BSO Principal Pops Conductor Jack Everly has assembled an all-star cast of Broadway, film and TV personalities (several of whom are back from the 2013 production) for these performances:

> Laura Marie Rondinella makes her BSO debut in the starring role of Tracy Turnblad

> Paul Vogt, who played Tracy’s mother Edna Turnblad on Broadway as well as in the BSO’s 2013 production, will reprise his role

> George Wendt, best known for his role as “Norm” on Cheers, and who also played Edna Turnblad on Broadway, will make his BSO debut in the role of Wilbur Turnblad

> Beth Leavel, who won a Tony Award in 2006 for Best Featured Actress in a Musical, is playing Velma Von Tussle

> NaTasha Yvette Williams also returns from the 2013 production to play Motormouth Maybelle

> Julie Kavanagh will return from the 2013 cast to play Tracy’s best friend, Penny Pingleton

> Jaylan Simmons, a student at the Baltimore School for the Arts, makes her BSO debut as Little Inez

> Matthew Scott, whose Broadway credits include roles in Jersey Boys and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, debuts as Link Larkin

> Ron Remke joins the cast as Corny Collins, known to BSO Pops audiences for his numerous appearances with Jack Everly

> Kirsten Scott will appear in the role of Amber VonTussle

> The Dynamites will be portrayed by N’Kenge (in her first Hairspray); Kara Tameika Watkins in her BSO debut; and Natalie Renee who returns from the 2013 production

> Stephen Scott Wormley debuts as Seaweed

> Susan Mosher, who played the Female Authority Figure on Broadway, makes her BSO debut

> The Male Authority Figure will be played by Aaron Fuksa

The On Stage Chorus will be comprised from singers from the Baltimore School for the Arts. There are also several supporting roles in the cast.

Nicest Kids, the teenagers on the Corny Collins Show, are portrayed by Cassie Cope as Shelley; Jennie Phelps as Tammy/Hooker; Katharine Ariyan as Brenda/Beatnik; Grace Atherholt as Lou Ann; Noah Israel as IQ; Joel Flynn as Brad; Mickey Rafalski as Fender; Christopher Kelley as Sketch.

Record Shop Kids, will be played by Kyshawn Lane as Gilbert; Joeseph Perkins as Duane; Xavier Brebnor as Stooie; Morgan Scott as Thad; Ui-Sheng Francois as Lorraine; Saran Oseitutu as Dee; Markia Smith as Cindy.

Additionally, there are several un-named ensemble roles, including additional Nicest Kids: Owen O’Leary, Alex DeVito, Lauren Bishop, Sophie Stromberg; Moms: Patricia Hengen, Lisa Carrier Baker, and Becky Mossing

VENUES

· Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall is located at 1212 Cathedral Street, Baltimore, Md.

· The Music Center at Strathmore is located at 5301 Tuckerman Lane, Bethesda, Md.

TICKETS

Tickets for concerts at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall and The Music Center at can be purchased through the BSO Ticket Office, 410.783.8000, 1.877.BSO.1444 or at BSOmusic.org.

Rehearsals will begin the week of May 23rd. Media interested in interviewing the cast, Conductor Jack Everly, or a BSO representative should contact Roger Mecca at Weinberg Harris & Associates as soon as possible.

About John Waters, Writer and Narrator

John Waters has written and directed sixteen movies including Pink Flamingos, Polyester, Hairspray,

Cry Baby, Serial Mom and A Dirty Shame. He is also a photographer whose work has been shown in galleries all over the world and the author of six books: Shock Value, Crackpot, Pink Flamingos and Other Trash, Hairspray, Female Trouble and Multiple Maniacs, and Art: A Sex Book (co-written with Bruce Hainley). His most recent book, Role Models, published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux in May, 2010 appeared on best-seller lists for the New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Chronicle and the Boston Globe. Waters is a member of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and is on The Wexner Center International Arts Advisory Council. Additionally, he is a past member of the boards of The Andy Warhol Foundation and Printed Matter and was selected as a juror for the 2011 Venice Biennale.

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The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is funded by operating grants from the Maryland State Arts Council, the Baltimore County Commission on the Arts and Sciences, the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore, the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County and the Maryland State Department of Education.