Burlingame Intermediate School Presents Hairspray

Get ready to tap your toes and boogie to the beats when the students from Burlingame Intermediate School (BIS) present Hairspray the musical on Friday, March 23, Saturday, March 24 and Sunday, March 25.  Excited to take on the challenge of presenting the musical set in the race charged sixties, Director Jennifer Ibos returns for her fourth consecutive year to direct Hairspray which combines social commentary and musical theater into a show destined to drive you to dance by the end of the second act.  Liz Love joins Ms. Ibos this year as musical director.  Sponsorship of this year’s show was again made possible by a financial grant donated by the Burlingame Community Education Foundation (BCE.)

The musical production takes place in Baltimore, Maryland in 1962.  Pleasantly plump and spunky Tracy Turnblad lives out her lifelong fantasy as she tries out to appear as a dancer on the “Corny Collins Show” a local TV program featuring white neighborhood teens live dancing on stage to downtown funk musical numbers.  Tracy’s talent and tenacity win her a spot on the program, but her outspoken personality and her fancy footwork earn her immediate celebrity status.  With her newfound influence, Tracy tries to integrate the colored dancers into the production as they are only allowed to dance once a month on “Color Day.”  For her efforts, Tracy gets thrown in jail, escapes and sneaks back on to the set just in time to compete in the show’s annual “Miss Teenage Hairspray” contest.  Her multiracial friends join Tracy on stage, supercharging the TV shows ratings and earning the socially conscious teen an official pardon from Maryland’s governor clearing her name and jail sentence.

 “We chose to perform Hairspray because of the hilarious characters and the rhythm and beat charged music that fill the storyline set fifty years ago in a time so different from today.” said Ibos, the director.  “Despite taking place in the early sixties many of the show’s messages including racism, self-image and bullying are modern day junior high issues our kids navigate daily.  Hairspray as a modern musical exists in a timeless decade one which should engage and involve audience members from all ages and generations.”  

All three performances will be held in the BIS auditorium located at 1715 Quesada Way in Burlingame.  Show dates and times are Friday, March 23 and Saturday, March 24 at 7 pm with a Sunday, March 25 matinee show at 1 pm.  For the first time, tickets can be purchased online at http://bi-bsd-ca.schoolloop.com/hairspray beginning March 12 for $9.  (A small surcharge will be applied.)  You can also purchase tickets at the BIS Main Office or at the door before each performance.  (All three BIS performances sold out last year.)

Hairspray the musical features music by Marc Shaiman and lyrics by Scott Wittman.  The show is based on the John Walter’s 1988 film along with the book by Mark O’Donnell and Thomas Meehan.   For additional information, or to purchase tickets please visit http://bi-bsd-ca.schoolloop.com/hairspray or email Jennifer Ibos at jibos@bsd.k12.ca.us .  Proceeds from the ticket sales sponsor this production and future theater programming at BIS.