Photo Coverage: Inside Broadway's Creating the Magic at Hairspray

Inside Broadway, which recently celebrated its 25th anniversary, and has introduced over 750 thousand New York City children to musical theatre, presented Creating The Magic, its unique annual free public Broadway educational event, on Thursday May 29. The event demonstrated the process of creating a Broadway production, with the cast and company of the Tony Award-winning musical Hairspray at the Neil Simon Theatre, 250 West 52nd Street (between 7th-8th Avenue), New York, NY.
 
Open to the public (as well as school and senior groups), Creating the Magic featured performances by and interviews with cast members and a display of technical stage effects.  Last season's Creating the Magic, at the Winter Garden Theatre, featured the casts of The Lion King, Mamma Mia and Wicked.

Inside Broadway, which created the first Broadway student theatre ticket program in New York, in 1982 for Cats, presents professional 50-minute versions of Broadway musicals, directed for children. Its Richard Rodgers' Broadway caused the New York Times to say "Rodgers continues to enchant and entertain, and he couldn't ask for better cheerleaders, in all senses of the word". Other productions of Inside Broadway have included the 50th anniversary production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella, Bye Bye Birdie, On the Town, The Pirates of Penzance, Kiss Me, Kate, Smokey Joe's Cafe, Sophisticated Ladies, Irving Berlin's Land That I Love and Free to Be You and Me.  All shows provide student study guides and teacher lesson plans. For more information please visit http://www.insidebroadway.org/
 
Photos by Peter James Zielinski

'Hairspray' at the Neil Simon Theatre

Michael Presser (Executive Director, Inside Broadway)

Marissa Perry sings 'Good Morning Baltimore'

Marissa Perry (Tracy)

Marissa Perry

Michael Presser interviews Niki Scalera and Ashley Spencer

Ashley Parker Angel,Niki Scalera, and Marissa Perry

Niki Scalera (Penny)

Ashley Parker Angel and Marissa Perry

Ashley Parker Angel, Marissa Perry, and Niki Scalera

Brian Munroe demos the set

Carpenter Brian Munroe hands off a hydrolic control to an audience member

Tevin Campbell (Seaweed)

Tevin Campbell

Tevin Campbell

Propman Michael Pilipski and Michael Presser

Michael Pilipski demos a sparking hairspray can

Ashley Parker Angel (Link)

Ashley Parker Angel

Ashley Parker Angel

Ashley Parker Angel

Electrician Jessica Morton demos the lights

Jessica Morton and Michael Presser

Michael Presser interviews Karen Mason and Susan Mosher

Michael Presser,Karen Mason, and Susan Mosher

Michael Presser,Karen Mason, and Susan Mosher

Kevin Meany (Edna)

Kevin Meany

Kevin Meany

Ashley Parker Angel surveys the crowd

Niki Scalera, Ashley Parker Angel, and Tevin Campbell

Ashley Spencer,Karen Mason, and Kevin Meany

Karen Mason and Ashley Spencer

Marissa Perry and Kevin Meany

'Momma I'm a Big Girl Now'

'Momma I'm a Big Girl Now'

'Momma I'm a Big Girl Now'

Karen Mason, Kevin Meany, Susan Mosher, Michael Presser,Ashley Parker Angel, Lon Hoyt, Marissa Perry, Niki Scalera,

Niki Scalera

Susan Mosher, Marissa Perry, Niki Scalera, and Ashley Spencer

Karen Mason and Michael Presser

Kevin Meany and Michael Presser