In the darkened auditorium of Hoboken High School, Paula Ohaus, director of the school’s theater program, sits on a table cross legged, talking to the cast and crew of “Hairspray,” the group’s upcoming production (March 25-27).
The kids call her Miss O, and the first thing you notice about the teacher with the cool nickname is that the kids love her and she commands their respect and attention.
“Put everything away,” she instructs in a slight Irish lilt. “Turn off all electrical appliances.” At first, you think the kids may have brought their toasters to rehearsal, but you get the point. Away go the iPods and iPhones.
Still, one of the kids calls out, “Preverts! Put your phones away!”
“Sit up,” Miss O says to a kid with a red stripe in his hair. “All the way up.”
Now she’s ready for her announcement:
“ ‘Good Day New York’ will be coming to film us.”
One kid stands up with his own announcement: “I will be famous!”
“Opening night is definitely scary … but it’s also exhilarating.” – Samuel Olmedo
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“Costumes and lighting this weekend and wigs arriving on Friday,” Miss O says, as she sends them off to the stage for their warm-ups.
“Hairspray” takes place in Baltimore in 1962. When the main character, plump teenager Tracy, lands a spot on a local dance program, she launches a campaign to integrate the program, and things get interesting.
Stars in their eyes
High school musicals have gotten a boost with the TV sit-com “Glee,” but Hoboken High has boasted a successful theater program long before the TV show premiered.
The “Hairspray” cast is primed for their parts. Some are headed for professional acting careers. You can tell, just the way you know a March Madness star is headed for the NBA. Take Samuel Olmedo, who plays the part of Seaweed.
He’s a compact, enthusiastic kid with a fabulous smile that accentuates his dimples. A 17-year-old senior, he’s already been accepted at NJCU but also has an eye on Montclair State.
“I want to be a musical theater major and get a degree in theater.” He says. He’s been in all the school plays since eighth grade. Though he has the trifecta – acting, singing, and dancing – he likes singing best.
He doesn’t have a favorite actor. He tries to learn from them all. “I watch to see how they enhance every character,” he says, “what works for evil in this character. I take it in and apply it to myself when I act.”
Is he nervous about performing in “Hairspray”?
“Opening night is definitely scary,” he says. “It makes me nervous. Will I hit my cues on time? But it’s exhilarating, too.”
His family is supportive.
“They’re excited to see me go on stage,” he says. “I am the only person in my family to step out of the medical field.”
His mother and aunt work in area hospitals in various capacities and his sister is in psychology.
“My parents went right from high school to work,” he says.
Samuel wants to go from the high school stage to the college stage to the professional stage.
“I also might want to direct plays like Miss O,” he says. “Miss O is great. She was an actress. Miss O gave me the tools to become the person I am today. I couldn’t do it without her.”
Growth market
The Hoboken High theater program is geared toward personal growth and enrichment, no matter where the experience might lead the students.
Krystin Santiago plays the part of Tracy in “Hairspray.” She’s a 17-year-old senior and this is the third school play she’s been in.
“It’s a hobby,” she says. “I want to go to Montclair State but I’m undecided what I will major in.”
She sings, dances, and acts. She says she has a “natural inclination” for the stage. “I have a good voice, I have rhythm, I’m observant.” The last, she agrees, is important for an actor.
She says she joined the theater program to help make her a better person.
“I love it because it keeps me grounded,” she says. “It helps me manage time, [Rehearsals are from 3-6 p.m. every school day and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends], and you meet good people who want to do good and not party.”
She admits that before she joined the “Hairspray” cast, she was veering off track a bit, doing “bad things and making bad decisions.”
Her character, Tracy, “is a real go-getter,” Krystin says. “She makes it happen, and that’s how I want to be.”
Mentor extraordinaire
And that’s how Miss O wants them to be. An alum from the Hoboken High theater program is leading the cast in physical exercises on stage and after that the pianist will drill them on their vocals.
It’s a perfect time for Miss O to kick back with a cup of coffee. But she’s constantly interrupted, not by cast members or by her very able stage manager, Marleny Alonzo, but by alums who have graduated and come back to take a nostalgic look at their high school stage and maybe even impress their former teacher with whatever successes they are most certainly enjoying.
She rattles off their colleges – Princeton, Berkeley, Centenary, Rutgers. “Hairspray” choreographer Derrick Ladson is a Hoboken High alum.
Miss O introduces them and proudly points out some “footballers” whom she’s lured to the stage.
To get jocks off the courts and the playing fields and onto the stage is indeed something to be proud of.
For her, the theater program is one big, inclusive catch-all for life-enhancing experiences.
“It’s more than just theater,” she says. “It gives all kids a work ethic, an opportunity to improve, collaborate, and celebrate friends, family, and community.”
More than anything else, she says, “It gives them confidence to pursue their dreams.”
To find out more about the upcoming show, go to www.hobokenbackstage.com.
Kate Rounds can be reached at krounds@hudsonreporter.com..