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Arts & Entertainment

Red Bank Theater Watch: Rock and Roll with Pat Benatar and Hairspray

Check out what's happening at Count Basie this week

If you missed the Phoenix Productions opening weekend for the beloved Broadway musical Hairspray, make sure you get your tickets this week, as the show heads into its second and final week at Count Basie.

Hairspray transports us back to the summer of 1962 in Baltimore, Maryland, where a plump teenager named Tracy Turnblad dreams of dancing on The Corny Collins Show, a popular TV dance show. 

After landing a part on the show, Tracy becomes an instant celebrity, a status she eventually uses to try and do her part to try and change the social injustices she witness first hand.

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The original production of Hairspray has been performed over 2500 times on Broadway and has won eight Tony Awards. It also had tours throughout the United States and the United Kingdom. The London production was nominated for eleven Laurence Olivier Awards and one for Best New Musical.

The Phoenix Productions revival has a cast of 45 performers from local areas. Howell’s Mary DiGangi plays Tracy and Gian Carlo Durland plays Edna. Phoenix productions are extremely professional, featuring full sets, costumes and a live orchestra. 

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Phoenix Productions is a non-profit community theater based in Red Bank that puts on high quality performances with extraordinary actors from the surrounding communities. They have produced more than 100 revivals of Broadway musical over the past two decades.

This week also brings the legendary Pat Benatar and Neil Girado to the stage on Wednesday, July 20th on their Elements of Five tour. Benatar, who rose to fame belting out rock and roll songs during the 1980’s, is a certified superstar and legend in the rock world.

Benatar is best known for the classics I Need a Lover, Hit Me with Your Best Shot, and Love Is a Battlefield. Benatar had 19 Top 40 singles throughout her career, with two multi platinum albums, and five platinum albums.

Throughout her career, she was nominated for nine Grammy Awards, and from 1980-1983, she won four consecutive Grammy Awards. To this day, she is considered among the most influential female rock stars of our time.

Schedule:

  • Wednesday, July 20th, 2011: Pat Benatar and Neil Girado, 8 p.m.
  • Friday, July 22nd, 2011: Hairspray, 8 p.m.
  • Saturday, July 23rd, 2011: Hairspray, 8 p.m.
  • Sunday, July 24th, 2011: Hairspray, 3 p.m.
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