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Simsbury's 'Hairspray' Aims At Deeper Issues

Simsbury High School is using the school’s musical production as a way to talk to students about issues of race and discrimination.

The musical Hairspray is set in 1962 Baltimore.

Teenager Tracy Turnblad has secured a spot on the Corny Collins Show, a local TV dance show. The dancers on the show are white, but once a month the show has “Negro Day.” Tracy, who is white, campaigns to make the show integrated.

Last year, a photo surfaced on social media of two Simsbury High students in blackface. And it’s the controversy stemming from that event that the school hopes to address, in part, with its work on Hairspray.

Stuart Younse is the school’s theater director. Speaking on Connecticut Public Radio’s Where We Live, he said the musical has been a great way to discuss issues like discrimination with the multiracial cast, as well as the school community.

“First of all, we hired Dr. DeRon Williams, who is an African American theater professor at Eastern Connecticut State University,” said Younse. “He came in and did a full week with us about segregation, about racism, and was able to really help the students react to the play itself.”

And earlier this month, the school hosted a panel discussion on racism, discrimination and the civil rights movement in the 1960s.

“You definitely get your eyes opened from that experience because you’re basically hearing someone else’s story who’s directly in front of you, so you can feel it more,” said senior Shamar Sutton, who plays Duane in the show. “I don’t think you can gain the same thing from reading a book.”

Senior Ainsley Thompson plays Penny Pingleton, Tracy’s best friend. She said the show is chock-full of lessons about racism and tolerance, like the song Run and Tell That.

“It is this jazzy, bluesy, happy song about how there is absolutely no reason why anyone should dislike someone who’s African American because of their skin,” she said.

Simsbury High School’s production of Hairspray is this weekend and next.

Ray Hardman is Connecticut Public’s Arts and Culture Reporter. He is the host of CPTV’s Emmy-nominated original series Where Art Thou? Listeners to Connecticut Public Radio may know Ray as the local voice of Morning Edition, and later of All Things Considered.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.