Last week, Ms. Lindberg sent out a school-wide email announcing that Hairspray is no longer the winter musical. Hairspray is known as one of the most well-known and acclaimed musicals in popular culture. However, the musical, which captures racial tensions of the ‘60s, was met with mixed feelings from students when it was first chosen.
Julia G. ‘18 says, “At first I was really excited because I love that show and the whole score so much. But then I thought, ‘How is Hewitt going to do this show?’ It’s going to cause controversy, plus we don’t have a cast that fits the show.”
Finding a way to depict the racial struggles in the musical would be a challenge for Hewitt. Piecing together a cast to properly depict the fight to end segregation would not be easy. Students were vocal about their disapproval for the choice of musical, and the school was receptive.
The decision to make Hairspray the winter musical was not a hasty one; the musicals are carefully picked each year and must fulfill certain requirements. Such requirements include being an appropriate musical for all of the Hewitt community to enjoy, being able to work with an all-girls cast, and being a musical that won’t offend anyone in the community.
Ms. Lindberg, the director of the winter musical, explains, “Choosing to do Hairspray and then choosing to do Bye Bye Birdie instead were decisions made with care. The administration and I had discussions with many different members of the Hewitt community- students, parents, and faculty/staff- in order to find out what was best for Hewitt at this time, and we feel confident that switching the show was the correct choice.”
Just as the process for picking the musical, the decision to change the musical was carefully done. The importance of having everyone heard greatly impacted the decision. It’s unusual for students to have such a big role in deciding the musical, but given the circumstances, their opinions were taken into consideration.
The official 2017 winter musical is Bye Bye Birdie. The show centers around Conrad Birdie, a famous pop star who gets drafted, and the hype around being able to kiss him before he gets sent off. The musical delves into the role of women during the ‘50s. Although the show does not portray women as particularly strong and independent, it explores how women stopped identifying themselves through men.
Nicolette V.K. ‘19 thinks “Most of the songs and scenes with [Conrad] contain ditzy girls who are screaming and fainting at the sight of him. Despite, this the show is very sweet and heartwarming with great music and clever love story.”
Auditions for Bye Bye Birdie will be held from November 9th-11th. The show will be performed from February 9th-11th.