‘Hairspray’ Mixes Music And Dance With A Timely Message

Ariel Spires is the Assistant Director and Choreographer for the Beverly Art Center’s production of “Hairspray.” Photo provided by Agency Abron.
Ariel Spires is the Assistant Director and Choreographer for the Beverly Art Center’s production of “Hairspray.” Photo provided by Agency Abron.

‘Hairspray’ Mixes Music And Dance With A Timely Message

By Tia Carol Jones

The Beverly Arts Center’s production of “Hairspray” will take place from Thursday through Sunday, June 12th through Sunday, June 22nd, in the Baffes Theatre.

“Hairspray” is a musical based on the 1988 John Waters screenplay about Tracy Turnblad, a plus-sized teenager living in Baltimore in the 1960s. She is thrust into the spotlight when she gets a spot on the Corny Collins Show and decides to use her notoriety to advocate for integration.

Ariel Spires has been dancing since she was young, competing in dance competitions and cheerleading competitions. Around 2022, she had the opportunity to choreograph a local production of “Beauty and the Beast. That opportunity started her foray into musical theatre choreography.

Now, as the assistant director and choreographer of the Beverly Arts Center’s production of “Hairspray,” she is ensuring that she nurtures the cast and grounds them. It is something that she feels is just as important as the performers hitting their marks, reciting their lines and doing their dance steps.

“What has made our version of Hairspray so unique and how it will make it come out as so unique, during our runs, is the way I have approached my roles as assistant director and choreographer and it is more about making sure I nurture the cast as a whole,” she said. She added that she wants the performers to not focus on being perfect or cookie cutter, but she wants them to be OK with whatever it looks like and add their quirkiness to their character.

Spires said that in her choreography and directing she has been ensuring that the performers are attuned with their characters, and they are really getting into it. She wants them to embody the role they are playing, through their lines and their interactions. She said having those connecting pieces, it will set their production apart and she hopes the audience will take notice of those nuances.

Spires said the rehearsal process seems to have gone by really quickly. They began auditions at the end of March and have been in rehearsals since mid-April. She said that she was intentional about finding out the director’s leadership style, so she could be in tune to the way he operates.

She said because of the subject matter of the musical, she made sure to create balance between moments of tension in the production and moments of joy and dancing. She said the result is that the performers are genuine in their portrayals and are able to channel the segregation and the unity that is present in the musical.

Spires said while she wants the audience to enjoy the show, she hopes they understand that although the musical is set in the 1960s, those themes are still present today. She wants the audience to acknowledge that the story is not something they can be detached from and how close the story is to them.

The Beverly Arts Center is located at 2407 W. 111th St. Tickets for “Hairspray” are $40 for non-members, $36 for Beverly Arts Center members and $20 for the School of Fine Arts (SoFA) students. To purchase tickets, visit  https://thebeverlyartscenter.com/event/hairspray/ or call the Beverly Arts Center Box Office at 773-445-3838.

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