With a rousing production of the classic musical Oklahoma! back in January, students in Monsignor Edward Pace High School’s drama program were looking forward to putting on a modern musical classic: Hairspray.
“It was their dream show for a lot of them,” said Christina Pla-Guzman, Lead Teacher of Pace’s Academy for Visual and Performing Arts Theatre Program. “Them wanting to do it so much made me want to do it even more.”
While preparing to compete at the 2015 Florida State Thespian Festival, where they won multiple awards, accolades, and scholarships, nearly 100 Pace Drama students worked four months on rehearsals and over 100 hours building sets. On April 21, Hairspray finally opened for a three-night run with a packed and raucous crowd inside Pace’s Spartan Center.
“Director Pla-Guzman does a great job with the kids,” said Pat Kunkel, who attended the opening night performance. “As someone who has seen many of her productions, I’m amazed at how the kids always give 150%.”
As part of Pace Drama’s community outreach, Pla-Guzman arranged a special performance on the morning of April 23 for a very enthusiastic crowd of over 300 middle school students from Our Lady of the Lakes, St. John the Apostle, and Annunciation Catholic Schools. The audience was even more excited to see several cast members who had graduated from their middle schools.
Hairspray has also been bitter-sweet for Pla-Guzman and the Pace Drama program, as it is the final production for 30 seniors on both the cast and crew, the biggest graduating class in the program’s history. “It’s a chapter that’s ending. It’s scary and sad and I’m going to miss them a lot,” said Pla-Guzman.
This year also saw the biggest ever group of freshman entering the program, which ensures that Pace Drama will continue to entertain and inspire for years to come.