Crowd appeal

By Tom Gresham

Sophie Raven Shaw’s days are hectic, and she couldn’t be happier about it. It’s not the 18 credit hours that have her perpetually on her toes, though that’s keeping her busy enough. It’s her role as stage manager for the largest musical ever produced by Theatre VCU.

“Hairspray,” which opened last week and runs through Nov. 24, is the work of multitudes both behind the scenes and on stage. The production features 26 actors, 150 costumes and 192 lighting instruments. In all, 100 people work on the production, including cast, crew and musicians.

Shaw stands at the nexus of it all, tasked with ensuring that the production runs in an orderly fashion. She is responsible for keeping the intricate schedule that “Hairspray” requires locked in step; she calls between 400 and 500 cues – directions for sound, lighting and set changes, among other components – during the course of the production.

“It’s incredibly difficult and a lot of work,” said Shaw, a junior pursing a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in stage management. “But I’m thoroughly enjoying it. I really love the people who I’m working with every day.”

Preparations began for “Hairspray” in the spring and continued with 29 hours of rehearsals each week for eight weeks this fall. Shaw said it’s “an amazing feeling” watching the production grow from its modest beginnings to its lavish finished form. The play, she said, is one that she and the rest of the cast and crew are eager to share with audiences. So far, crowds have responded in kind, leading to sellouts at each of the first three performances this past weekend.

The story centers on teenager Tracy Turnblad in 1962 Baltimore. Turnblad earns a spot on a popular local television dance show and soon gains a measure of celebrity, which she uses to push for integration of the show.  

The play’s music is grand and jubilant, according to the play’s director, Patti D’Beck, assistant professor in the Department of Theatre in the School of the Arts. The staging of the production created an endless variety of challenges because of the difficulty of choreographing the large cast, but D’Beck, who has worked on the choreography of a host of Broadway productions, said the scale of the production is central to its appeal. Audiences find the combination of catchy music and thrilling dancing to be infectious.

“There are so many production numbers, and they’re huge,” D’Beck said. “It’s one after another after another. It’s leads to a very fun show.”

D’Beck said a production of such large size requires heavy lifting from everyone – elaborate sets, complex lighting and sound, expert acting and singing and dancing, sublime costumes, including hair and makeup, and more.

“Every plate is very full for this show,” D’Beck said. “There was a lot to figure out, a lot of challenges.”

D’Beck said she was proud of the resilience and patience that students and other members of the cast and crew demonstrated during preparations. The production was always changing to solve problems and seize opportunities, and she said the group proved willing to adapt without complaint.

As much hard work as bringing “Hairspray” to the Theatre VCU stage has been, D’Beck said it hasn’t always felt like work.

“I’ve had so much fun,” D’Beck said. “We laugh and have a great time together.”

Theatre VCU features upcoming showings of “Hairspray” on Nov. 14-16 and 21-23 at 7:30 p.m. and on Nov. 17 and 24 at 3 p.m. in the Singleton Center for the Performing Arts. For ticket information, visit http://www.showclix.com/events/1318, email theatretix@vcu.edu or call 804-828-6026.

 

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