Today@Sam Article

Broadway Choreographer To Direct "Hairspray"

April 12, 2017
SHSU Media Contact: Emily Binetti

GregGrahamHairspray
SHSU musical theatre alum and Broadway choreographer Greg Graham is back on campus this semester to direct students in the upcoming hit "Hairspray."

Sam Houston State University’s Department of Theatre and Musical Theatre is bringing the Tony Award winning, hit musical, Hairspray to the Erica Starr Theatre, April 26-29, with evening performances at 8 p.m. and a matinee performance at 2 p.m. The show directed and choreographed by Sam Houston Musical Theatre alumnus (1999) and Broadway choreographer, Greg Graham.

Hairspray is set in Baltimore, Maryland, during the integration movement in the1960s. A teenager becomes a celebrity overnight after winning a dream role to dance on the local television dance program, The Corny Collins Show. As she overcomes adversity, meeting many new friends along the way, she initiates a campaign to integrate the show.

The high energy songs include 1960s-style doo-wop dance music and "downtown" rhythm and blues. Smash hits from the show include Good Morning Baltimore, The Nicest Kids in Town, Welcome to the ‘60s, Run and Tell That!, Without Love, I Know Where I've Been, and  You Can't Stop the Beat.

"We are extremely fortunate to have Greg Graham with us hot off the heels of NBC’s Hairspray Live! where he worked as associate choreographer alongside the incredible Jerry Mitchell,” said Laura Avery, head of musical theater at SHSU and the show’s music director. “It’s a show Greg is passionate about, and we’re excited to share it with you."

For ticket information, contact the University Theatre Center Box Office at 936.294.1339 or visit shsu.edu/boxoffice to purchase tickets online. General admission tickets are $15 and discounted tickets are priced at $12 with a Bearkat One Card.

The Erica Starr Theater is located in the University Theatre Center between the Newton Gresham Library and the James and Nancy Gaertner Performing Arts Center on the campus of Sam Houston State University.

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