First in State College to do HAIRSPRAY!

     Licensing musicals seems to be a mysterious business. Most people think we get a script and some music and then we put on a show. Oh, were it that simple! Every work for the stage is protected by copyright and only the authors may give permission for their work to be performed. Almost every author assigns the rights to license their plays to a specific licensing house and that company then becomes the "permission giver" to theatre companies, from community theatres to professionals.  There is a royalty fee, based on the ticket prices and number of seats in the auditorium and a rental fee for the rehearsal materials: scripts/vocal books, piano/conductor scores, and orchestrations.This is a lucrative business, especially with very popular titles.
     HAIRSPRAY is such a title! The amateur licensing rights to do this show were released on Wednesday, May 12. Although we had already selected a summer camp show for our July-August camp (BYE BYE BIRDIE), once we received the notification that HAIRSPRAY was available, we had to jump on it.
     On Thursday, May 13, I applied online for a license for HAIRSPRAY with the licensing company, Music Theatre International. With most shows, I receive a license agreement via email within 60 minutes. This one didn't come. By noon the next day, I emailed our representative with MTI and he informed me that four professional companies and a tour of the show had to give MTI permission to allow little us to do the show. He said it may take a few weeks to hear back. (Professional companies get first dibs at new shows and they don't want competition for tickets from anyone!) I emailed our rep to say that we were doing this with middle and high school students and doing only one performance for mostly the parents, friends, and families of the students.
     Within 10 minutes of my sending that email, I received the license for the show! Now the work begins! The plot of HAIRSPRAY takes place in the early 1960s in Baltimore, and centers around a high school girl who is determined to see a popular dance television show become integrated. That means the cast of the show must include several African American performers. THAT means we are actively looking for black students to join us. 4 years ago, Singing Onstage produced the musical DREAMGIRLS, which had a cast of 25 African Americans, so I know we can do it!
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