Hairspray, Jr. & MacBeth rocked the Wellstone theater in St. Paul with three performances put on by the A1 classes. See here for a collection of academic J-Term work.
photo by Leda Zych
Soledad Atchinson shone as Tracy Turnblad, a Baltimore teenager with a passion for dancing and desegregation. Along with her best friend Penny (Shannon Sykes), Tracy achieves her dream of dancing on the Corny Collins (Henrich Michlitsch) Show, but isn't satisfied until she can dance on television with all of her friends, white and non-white alike.
Tracy befriends Motormouth Maybelle (Feneti Mohamed) and her children, Little Inez (Nafnati Mohamed) & Seaweed (Cassus Moua), through their mutual love of dancing. Together with Tracy's parents, they crash the segregated show and show that people can dance together across difference.
There were standout performances by George Galle (playing the heartthrob Link Larkin), Susannah Sisk (playing Tracy's spirited mother, Edna), and Anika Hanson (playing the cruel Amber Von Tussle). The Hairspray ensemble brought the house down with numbers like "You Can't Stop the Beat" and "Mama, I'm a Big Girl Now."
As for our second performance, Ryland Kranz played a dramatic Macbeth, a power-hungry tyrant who loses it all.
Macbeth's spouse, played by Forest Sarver, encouraged their husband's rise to power.
The student-created set was a hit (who knew cardboard boulders took so long to make?) as was the standout performance from the three witches, Ari Shapiro, Adham Bauhaddin, & Anthony Wilson-Theroff. Louisa Weston played a convincing MacDuff, the leader who eventually brings an end to Macbeth's bloody rule. The Macbeth ensemble marched and fought to victory!
Appreciation to our amazing pit band and lights crew, as well as all the faculty & parents who contributed time, energy, and emotional support. We are grateful for you!