A few weeks ago, Danbury High School’s production of Hairspray finally came to an end. The first performance happened during the school day for the kids’ show on April 3rd. Cast, crew, and pit alike were marked SRA for class to sing and dance for just under 1,000 middle schoolers and elementary kids from the surrounding schools. Thursday night was opening night, Friday’s show started at 7 pm, and on Saturday there was a morning and closing night show. In the days leading up to the show, the three groups begin to work together and prepare.
Wednesday, March 26th, was the Sitzprobe, a term referring to a sit-down rehearsal where the 13 pit members and the 43 cast members play through the music from start to finish. For Hairspray, it was used for working on cues to start the songs, turning the stage radio music up or down, and figuring out all of the underscore music, meaning music that happens in the background of on-stage talking. Next week, they start doing dress rehearsals, where the show runs all the way through and incorporates crew kids working with props, costumes, lighting, sound, curtains, and set changes. Hundreds of hours have gone into getting the musical where it is, and as the curtains open, here’s a closer look at the process.
Third-year crew member Megan Siecienski describes her experience as overall “positive.” There are many different jobs to choose from in the crew, and Siecienski has “been all over the place the last three years. I was solely running scene changes my first year, my second year I was on headset to guide people on stage left, and this year I’m working on mics for the actors and running (set pieces) when I have to.” The crew has a tight schedule to run the show now that the set and props have come in. This year and last year, director Dan Sclifani made the decision to rent the sets and props. Though it is fun to build and paint the sets, there are concerns for supervision, safety, budget, as well as timing. The cost of materials like wood, power tools, paint, brushes, and dozens of other items is high. Due to the old metal tank where materials are reused year-to-year, which was humid and infested with ants and mold last year, these conditions have rendered much of the old materials unsafe and unusable. Renting the set means a reliable and beautiful product without using power tools to build. The only downside is the limit it puts on the crew to practice moving the sets, finding places for them offstage, and working with the actors for props and scene changes.
The show was successful, with hundreds of people of all age groups coming to support their teens and enjoy the entertainment of live theater. Though not every scene change or costume change went according to plan, their ability to recover and put on a consistent show five times in a row is a testament to the hundreds of hours everyone had put into making the production a memorable one from November to closing night.
