Four Fun Facts: Hairspray on the Hillside

Going behind the scenes with Zilker Theatre Productions’ 2015 summer musical and the cast members who make it possible.

By Daryl Mogilewsky

Web Exclusive

The Zilker Summer Musical epitomizes Austin summer nights. Set at the Hillside Theater in Zilker Park a few yards from a pre-show dip in Barton Springs, the musical runs from July 10 to Aug. 15, Thursday through Sunday evenings, and is free of charge. This year’s production brings us back to Baltimore in 1962, with Hairspray, a Tony Award-winning, high-energy musical comedy. AW had the opportunity to learn inside information from two cast members who play mother and daughter in the show.

Kristin Hall, who plays Penny Pingleton, and Holly Greenberg, the show’s Female Authority Figure, aka, Penny’s mother, Prudy Pingleton, immediately began to jest about their roles as we sat down at Arturo’s Bakery & Café.

“You tie me to a bed!” Hall laughs.

“Then I squeeze your boyfriend’s butt,” Greenberg adds.

Speaking to these two ladies was both hysterical and captivating. Their passion and excitement for the show is obvious. The following four fun facts they shared prove such qualities are necessary for Zilker Musical cast members.

1. The majority of the cast members are full-time working professionals.

Hall is the communications and fundraising content creator at a local nonprofit, and Greenberg works as an administrative assistant at a private equity firm. These two ladies represent the majority of the cast, which is made up of people with day jobs who have an unequivocal love for performing.

“When I moved down here [from New York] and theater was no longer a part of my life, the itch to perform came back. I wasn’t really introduced to the Austin community as a performer, so a lot of my friends are intrigued to come and see me perform,” Greenberg says.

2. The cast rehearses six days a week.

Once rehearsals started in May, each Friday is the cast’s only day off every week. Greenberg and Hall describe their nightly rituals post-rehearsal

“I run home to my bed,” Greenberg says.

“I go home to make my lunch for tomorrow, to go to bed, to go to my job, to go to rehearsal,” Hall says.

Enough said.

3. They rehearse outside—rain, heat, bugs and all.

“When we started rehearsing in late May, we were in a beautifully air conditioned yoga studio,” Hall says, “but the physical demands are very different with an outdoor musical.”

Rehearsals then moved to the site of the show, Zilker Hillside Theatre.

“We are bathing in bug spray [at rehearsal]. Everywhere you turn, you hear, ‘Tsssssss,’ which, ironically enough, sounds like hairspray cans,” Greenberg jokes.

4. Motormouth Maybelle will stop the show.

“We have some really talented cast members. We have a lot of people who do shows at the big professional houses in town, so it’s fun to share the stage with so much talent,” Hall says.

When asked about the standouts of the show, both Greenberg and Hall agree upon Motormouth, a character played by actress Jacqui Cross.

“She’s going to stop the show,” Hall says. “When she sings I Know Where I’ve Been, it’s going to stop the show. The cast has been in tears multiple times when we’ve just been rehearsing the song.”

With an idyllic setting, a cast oozing with talent and toe-tapping music, the show is sure to be a hit. Greenberg also makes an excellent point when she expresses her interest in the show’s themes.

“It’s interesting,” she says, “that this show takes place in the early ’60s and we are still so strongly dealing with these issues. They’re still so important to reiterate.”

Hall agrees, adding, “It’s a very hopeful play, though. It is a Broadway musical, after all.”

There’s no need to buy tickets; just show up early with a blanket and some snacks. Click here to learn more about Zilker Theatre Productions, and we’ll see you at the show!

Head shots courtesy of Kristin Hall and Holly Greenberg; Hairspray poster and rehearsal photo courtesy of Zilker Theatre Productions/Facebook.