This Friday evening, the Broadway musical hit “Hairspray” comes to Hammond after dazzling audiences in Metairie at the Jefferson Performing Arts Center. The performance will take place at the Columbia Theatre in Hammond on Feb. 10 at 7:30 p.m.This tour of “Hairspray” is produced and performed by the Jefferson Performing Arts Society (JPAS) and casts not only local talent, but performers from across the nation.
“The majority of the ensemble, except Michelle, who is from New York, is from the Metairie/New Orleans area,” said Anna Rosenberg, the director of marketing for JPAS. “Spud McConnell, who plays Edna Turnblad, I think most people around here know from his radio show on WWL.”
John “Spud” McConnell has appeared in more than 50 films and has appeared on several TV shows including “Roseanne.” McConnell is known for his call-in radio talk show, “Talk Gumbo” on WWL 870 AM. He plays the role of Edna Turnblad, the mother of Hairspray’s leading role Tracy Turnblad.
Tracy is a young girl living in 1960s Baltimore, Md., who loves to dance and finds herself transformed from an outsider to a celebrity after making an appearance on the popular TV program “The Corny Collins Show.” Following her rise to fame, Tracy then finds herself protesting for racial equality and finding her true love.
“Michelle Dowdy is Tracy,” said Rosenberg. “She was the stand-by for Tracy in the original Broadway production, so she’s a pro at this.”
Dowdy is a native of St. Petersburg, Fla., and has performed in a variety of shows. She recently completed a one-month run with her cabaret “Canteen!” at the Laurie Beechman Theatre in New York.
“Our director is Brandt Blocker,” said Rosenberg. “He used to be a New Orleans resident.”
Blocker had been the Producing Director of Brandt Blocker Presents, LLC, his production company that presented many award-winning theatrical performances in south Louisiana. Then, Blocker went to Atlanta, Ga., to be the Artistic Director and General Manager at the Atlanta Lyric Theatre.
“He came back to New Orleans to direct with us and is known for putting on great performances, and we’re very lucky to have him,” said Rosenberg.
The opening weekend of “Hairspray” was Jan. 28 and 29 in Metairie at the Jefferson Performing Arts Center. On the following weekend, Feb. 4 and 5, there were two more scheduled performances. Because each of the shows was nearly sold out, JPAS added an extra performance on Friday, Feb. 3.
“We’ve been having an overwhelmingly positive response,” said Rosenberg. “We had to add a performance. It’s just a joy to watch, and everyone loves coming to see the performances.”
“Hairspray” will be coming to Hammond to delight local audiences. The show runs for approximately two hours with one fifteen-minute intercession between the two acts.
According to the Columbia Theatre, there are no more tickets available for this performance. For information on future shows at Columbia, go to www.columbiatheatre.org or call the Columbia Theatre box office at 985-543-4371.