The actor Tiago Abravanel 36, was moved when talking about the Brazilian production of “Hairspray” which premieres at the Renault Theater, in São Paulo, this Thursday (5). In addition to directing the musical, he also plays the character Edna Turnbald, who mentioned being “the role of your dreams” .
At a press conference held this Wednesday (4), Abravanel mentioned that Edna is “a very old dream of mine”. “I think since when I studied “Hairspray” at Teen Broadway [uma escola de teatro musical] in 2004. The first video I saw of “Hairspray”, I fell in love with that color, with seeing representation on stage, with knowing about that story and I went to research more about it”.
In addition to sharing that he saw the two films of the same name, released in 1988 and 2007, the actor mentions that he participated in a cover of “Hairspray” in 2009, but ended up not appearing on stage. “There was a place that Edna occupied inside me that already lived in me even before I realized this dream”, he shares.
With a choked voice, he also mentions that “playing this character speaks more about being able to achieve everything we believe in. It is possible for us to be close to what we dream of and what we want to do.”
In his speech, Tiago said that he is considered a famous person, a media personality, but before that, he is a person from musical theater. “I continue to be from Musical Theater, I am here because I am a man of Musical Theater and not because I am famous”, he says.
Abravanel also says that it seems like his character came “out of the middle of the street and came in here [no teatro]” and justifies this because she is very close to who he is. “Despite being a woman, even though I play a woman, I think she is more in me than distant from me.”
Set in the 1960s in Baltimore, USA, the plot tells the story of Tracy, an optimistic teenager who dreams of dancing on a local TV show. To do so, the young woman challenges social prejudices and beauty standards, fighting for equality and racial integration, while pursuing her own dreams.
In São Paulo, the play opens on September 5th at Teatro Renault and runs until October 13th. Tickets are still available on the Tickets For Fun (T4F) website. Before heading to the capital of São Paulo, the play passed through Rio de Janeiro, in a short season, which lasted from the beginning of July until August 18, at the Teatro Riachuelo.
See photos of the show in the gallery above.
This content was originally published in Tiago Abravanel gets emotional when talking about “Hairspray”: “Role of my dreams” on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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