Ethiopian Teens Star In Jerusalem’s Version Of Baltimore’s ‘Hairspray’

When my husband and I were in high school, we were part of a group that was invited to dance on a local TV teen dance program. We have fond memories of that afternoon, memories that came flooding back when we recently attended the musical “Hairspray” in Jerusalem.

In 1988, director John Waters created “Hairspray,” a movie about race relations in Baltimore in the early 1960s. Based on a real-life Baltimore TV show, “Hairspray” went to Broadway as a musical in 2002, had 2,600 performances and won eight Tony Awards. In 2007, there was a movie remake.

For the first week of March in Jerusalem, 32 Anglo- and Ethiopian-Israelis sang, danced and acted in this musical hit.

The Jerusalem production was sponsored by the Encore! Educational Theatre Company (established in 2006 to present stage productions in English); Malkat Shva (the Ethiopian youth cultural performance group); Machol Shalem (a Jerusalem-based dance troupe); and the Abraham Hostel (a bed-and-breakfast hostel for individuals and families).

Set in Baltimore in 1962, “Hairspray” focuses on race relations and women’s empowerment. The musical features plump Tracy Turnblad, whose dream is to dance on a local TV dance program. Rachel Weisblatt, 19, whose family made aliyah from New Jersey and now lives in Bet Shemesh, played Tracy. Weisblatt was dynamic in this role; she is in her second year of Sherut Leumi, service to the country in lieu of serving in the army. Her singing and dancing were memorable, and the choreographer took special care that she not touch any of the male members of the cast because Weisblatt is religiously observant.

The musical tells the story of Tracy, who auditions for both the show and the title of Miss Hairspray. She is rejected at first, but then accepted, and she starts a campaign (with her signature hairstyle) to racially integrate the show.

Tracy befriends a group of black teenagers, who are only allowed to participate on the show once a year. The seven actors who played in this group were part of the Malkat Shva Center for Ethiopian Culture. Three others played the Dynamites, a takeoff on the wildly popular 1960s singing group, the Supremes.

Tovah Rivkah Johnson, who is Jamaican born and a recent citizen of Israel, played Motormouth Maybelle, an older member of the black community; she belted out great songs.

Seaweed, who loves to sing and dance, was played by Antoine Collins, a native of Gary, Ind., who has been in Israel for the past six months. In the musical, he becomes the boyfriend of Tracy’s girlfriend, Penny, who was played by former Baltimore native Marni Schamroth, 18, a Jerusalem high school senior.

Tracy faces a lot of conflict with Velma, the TV show’s producer, who was played by Flo Low, an American who has been living in Israel for 10 years. Low was also executive producer of the show. Velma is a racist who encourages her daughter, Amber, to mistreat Tracy. Amber, who aspires to be named Miss Hairspray, was played by Rachel Wagner, who made aliyah from Manchester, England, served in the Israeli army and plans to study theater in Israel.

Tracy’s parents are in conflict whether to support her ambition to be Miss Hairspray. Her overweight mother, Edna, was played by British actor Jonny Rosen, and her father, a goofy Wilbur, was played by Aryeh Krasman, an architect originally from Canada.

Tracy’s new-found boyfriend, Link, was played by Josh Moss, a Hebrew University medical student.

The TV dance program’s host, Corny Collins, was played by Daniel Rottner, 22, who is serving in the Israel Defense Forces.

For the Jerusalem performances, the Hebrew translations were screened on the wall above the stage.

Robert Binder, a founder of Encore!, was the producer. Eli Kaplan-Wildman, who studied design and theater directing at New York University, was the director.

Jeff Rosenschein was the pianist and conductor of the 10-member orchestra. He sang for three years in the Zamir Chorale of Boston and directed music for six summers at Camp Ramah in the Poconos. He is a professor of computer science at Hebrew University and heads its school of engineering and computer science.

The musical continues to be relevant to immigrants who face various issues as they integrate into Israel.