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- Chorus helps Kaylin Cintron sing the final number.
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- Chorus singing as town members.
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- Part of the Corny Collins television set, made possible by the PHS Art Club, advised by Mr. Schmitt.
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- Kaylin Cintron, Catherine Sposato, playing Penny Pringleton, and Seaweed J. Stubs, played by Qadir MIller.
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- Motormouth Maybelle, played by Ashley Candelaria, justifies her stagename to Tracy Turnblad, played by Kaylin Cintron, and Edna Turnblad, played by Bryan Calixto.
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- Tracy Turnblad (Kaylin Cintron), gets some respect from Link Larnkin, played by Leo Bedran.
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- Hardy Har Hut set pieces designed and created by the art club.
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- Antonio Bello plays Corny Collins.
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- Tracy Turnblad (Kaylin Cintron), convinces her parents Wilbur (Anthony Gonzalez), and Edna (Bryan Calixto), to let her compete in the big dance competition.
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- Kaylin Cintron, as Edna Turnblad, gets fatherly advice from Wilbur Turnblad, played by Anthony Gonzalez.
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- Staged race riot is the climax of the first act. Notice the protest sign that says “words.”
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- The Turnblads, Wilbur, (Anthony Gonzalez), Edna (Bryan Calixto), and Tracy (Kaylin Cintron).
The school musical, performed by the students of PHS is an annual treat. While some years are better than others, this year’s production of Hairspray, did not disappoint. The incredible amount of dedication and hard work that went into this production was evident from the details on the sets, to the amount and detail of props and costumes, to the actors themselves who were prepared and seemed very comfortable with their parts.
The lead character, Tracy Turnblad, played by Kaylin Cintron, was very smooth and convincing. Kaylin seemed to embody the optimistic and naïve ideals of this play. She not only acted the part well, but sang the songs with power.
Speaking of naivety, Penny Pringleton was played perfectly by Catherine Sposato. Following her best friend, Penny is always supportive of Tracy. Lucky for Catherine, Penny has some of the funniest lines of the show. One staged laugh was when she states that they can put “words” on their protest signs. When the protest is started, sure enough, there was “words” written on a sign.
The most difficult part of the production is always Edna Turnblad. She was played by Bryan Calixto. If this is not one of the greatest funny moments of his career at PHS, it certainly will be for his audience. He carries the role of a large woman so convincingly that members of the audience actually had to ask whether that was actually Bryan.
Other convincing characters were Motormouth Maybelle, played by Ashley Candelaria, and Velma Von Tussle, played by Kelly Barreto. The cast and crew did a great job making the mother/daughter teams look similar to make their relationships believable.
Quadir Miller, who played Seaweed J. Stubs did a great job performing his musical number with energy and vitality. Another notable musical performance was by Antonio Bello, who played Corny Collins, and Leo Bedran who played Link Larkin.
The whole feeling of the sixties, with both, its good optimism for the future, and the bad breaking free from the racism of the past, was presented in a mature and believable way. Most of all this was a fun presentation.
This was a great performance and a great time for anyone who saw Hairspray.
By Henry Hernandez
