Nearly two decades have passed since “Hairspray” last had a professional staging in South Africa, back in 2007. “Scenario Productions” is closing that gap this October, bringing the musical to Die Centurion Teater from 22 October to 7 November 2026.
The cast was assembled after an extended open audition process and months of anticipation, according to the production team.
“Hairspray” follows a Baltimore teenager, Tracy Turnblad, whose only real goal at the outset is landing a spot on a local teen dance programme, “The Corny Collins Show”. Getting there turns out to be the easy part.
Once she’s on screen, her presence starts exposing and challenging the segregation running through the show, her school and the wider community around her, turning a personal ambition into something far bigger.
Directors and executive producers Tiaan Kirsten-Lubbe and Lian Sachse said that underlying message is a large part of why they wanted to stage it now.
“While the show is bursting with colour, comedy, incredible music and spectacular dancing, at its heart is a very important message about equality, inclusion and acceptance,” they said.
“Tracy’s journey is a reminder that nobody should be excluded because of who they are, what they look like or where they come from. She refuses to accept the barriers placed in front of her and through her joy and determination, inspires others to stand up and make a difference.”
They see Centurion, they added, as a fitting home for a production built around the idea that everyone belongs on the dance floor.
Meet the cast
Leading the company as Tracy is musician Carley Janse Van Vuuren, stepping into her first professional musical theatre role.
She’s an Afrikaans acoustic folk artist and singer-songwriter who first reached national audiences through “Die Kontrak”, has put out original songs including “Baadjie”, “Red Light” and “Wag vir Jou”.
Playing opposite her as Edna Turnblad is Thiart Li, also known by drag persona Shenay O’Brien. Li’s credits run across “Ons vir Jou”, “Calling Us Home”, “Semi-Soet die Musiekblyspel” and “Geagte Kampeerders”, to list a few.
Nadia Beukes takes on Velma Von Tussle, the show’s chief antagonist and the producer working hardest to protect the status quo Tracy threatens.
Beukes has hosted two seasons of “Boer Soek ‘n Vrou” on “kykNET”, appeared on “Binnelanders”, and picked up “Naledi” and “Fleur du Cap” nominations for her role in “The Sound of Music”.
Gugu Dhlamini plays Motormouth Maybelle, a character built on refusing to stay silent in the face of injustice. Her stage history includes Janice Honeyman’s “Jack and the Beanstalk”, “Peter Pan”, “Alice in Wonderland”, Disney’s “The Magic Box”, and “Pretty Woman”, where she worked as vocal swing and understudy.
Rounding out the Turnblad household is Carl Trautman as Wilbur, drawing on a career spanning theatre, film, television, radio drama and voice work, including “Die Gelofte”, “Die Kaplyn”, “Die Afrikaner Maak So”, and “Ons Vir Jou” to mention a few.
Kyle Cronje plays Link Larkin, the show’s resident heartthrob, with a background that stretches from musical theatre to children’s theatre, film, puppetry and stage combat, including past roles in “Sweeney Todd”, “Cabaret” and “Rooi”.
Klaus-Louis Jansen Van Vuuren hosts the fictional dance show as Corny Collins, bringing experience from “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”, “My Fair Lady”, “Fiddler on the Roof” and “The Fatherland”, along with producing work on classical projects like “Die Karoo Kunslied”.
Caitlyn Hunkin plays Penny Pingleton, whose arc sees her fall for Seaweed and break away from her overprotective mother, with credits including “Hooked on Books” and National Children’s Theatre productions of “The Wonderful World of Beatrix Potter” and “The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark”.
TeeKay Baloyi takes on Seaweed J. Stubbs, whose relationship with Penny puts him at the centre of the show’s push against segregation.
Baloyi has worked across Joburg Theatre pantomimes, the National Children’s Theatre, the State Theatre and the Breytenbach Theatre, and also directs and choreographs, while completing a PhD focused on contemporary South African musical theatre.
Mbali Hlomela plays Little Inez, Motormouth’s daughter, a character defined by refusing to accept limits placed on her because of her age or race, with past credits including “Cabaret”, “Sweeney Todd” and “Hansel and Gretel”.
Abby De Villiers plays Amber Von Tussle, Tracy’s rival for the “Miss Hairspray” title, alongside ongoing studies toward an LLB at Akademia, with stage credits including “Die Gelofte”, “Die Kaplyn” and “Ons Vir Jou”.
Phillipa Higgins plays Prudy Pingleton, Penny’s strict, closed off mother, marking her own professional theatre debut after nearly five years based in the Netherlands and touring New Zealand and Australia as lead vocalist in ABBA tribute show “The Dancing Queen Show”.
The Dynamites are played by Yaounde Mabaso, Lumka Dumezweni and Sindisiwe Mjali, with the wider company completed by Boris Petrenko, Christian Beyra Martinez, Jess Van Der Merwe, Kristoan Hattingh-Van Wyk, Nicole Brown, Rainy Van Zyl, Thuso Lobeko, Vivienne Dirkse Van Schalkwyk and Wilf Mahne.
Kirsten-Lubbe and Sachse said they are confident in what this particular group brings to the production.
“We have brought together an incredibly talented group of performers who possess everything this show demands, outstanding vocal ability, exceptional dancers, brilliant comic timing and, most importantly, enormous heart.
“We believe this cast is going to make this production something truly special and give South African audiences a Hairspray they will remember for a very long time,” they said.
Behind the scenes, Kirsten-Lubbe and Sachse direct and executive produce, with Luigia Casaleggio as musical director, Pinto Ferreira choreographing, Ashleigh Hilton designing sets and costumes, Kirsten-Lubbe also handling lighting design, and Kieran Pritchard on sound.
nomathamsanqa.sithathu@national.mg