![\"From](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/BRN-L-CC-COL-0703-2.jpg\")
From left, Jordan Covington, Trevor March, Mackenzie Macdonald, Ella Ruth Francis, Jeannine Anderson and Jeffrey Brian Adams in SF Playhouse\u2019s \u201cHairspray,\u201d performing July 10 through Sept. 12.\u00a0Photo courtesy of Jessica Palopoli<\/p>\n
S.F.: Good music, energetic dancing, a little romance and a whole lot of hair marks SF Playhouse\u2019s season finale \u201cHairspray.\u201d The multi-award-winning musical brings its plethora of humor and heart to the Playhouse from July 10 through Sept. 12.<\/p>\n
Set in 1962 in Baltimore, \u201cHairspray\u201d follows plus-size teen Tracy Turnblad as she follows her dream to dance on her favorite TV show. When she accomplishes that dream, she uses her platform to confront racial segregation and to show by example, how winners come in all sizes and shapes.<\/p>\n
San Francisco native and now New York resident Ella Ruth Francis stars as Tracy in SF Playhouse\u2019s production.<\/p>\n
\u201cThanks to my four gay parents, I was introduced to John Waters\u2019 1988 film at a young age and then saw the musical \u2018Hairspray,\u2019\u201d Francis said. \u201cWhen I auditioned for the show in my early 20s, I was told I wasn\u2019t fat enough to play Tracy and too fat to play Penny. Not a great experience, so I avoided the show for a couple of years.\u201d<\/p>\n
But when a friend from San Francisco visited Francis in New York, he strongly suggested she audition for the upcoming Playhouse production and recommended her to the casting director. After doing a video audition and flying out for the callback audition, Tracy is thrilled to be back in San Francisco working at the theater where she often came growing up to watch productions.<\/p>\n
\u201cComing back to the show now, it just feels that much sweeter. I\u2019m really getting to revel in the joy and positivity that Tracy is. She is a little bit na\u00efve, but she\u2019s also really sure of herself and has the strength to stand up for others,\u201d Francis said.<\/p>\n
Francis has another reason to revel in this production of \u201cHairspray.\u201d She\u2019s doing it opposite her best friend Trevor March.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe met in 2015 in college and became platonic soulmates,\u201d she said. \u201cEven though I\u2019m in New York now, we stay in touch, and when I get married next year, Trevor will be my Man of Honor at the wedding.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to SF Playhouse Artistic Director Bill English, who also directs the production, the SF Playhouse production of \u201cHairspray\u201d will have a sharper edge.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis production leans into the story\u2019s racial politics and cultural satire, examining Baltimore\u2019s fight for integration through our contemporary lens,\u201d said English.<\/p>\n
Francis couldn\u2019t agree more: \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of humanity under the bright sheen of \u2018Hairspray.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
For tickets to \u201cHairspray,\u201d call 415-677-9596 or go to sfplayhouse.org<\/a>. SF Playhouse is located at 450 Post St. in San Francisco.<\/p>\n Walnut Creek: Festival Opera announced the launch of its first Resident Artist Program, a comprehensive, season-long professional development designed to support emerging opera singers at a pivotal stage in their careers.<\/p>\n For its inaugural program, Festival Opera welcomes sopranos Marielle Leiboff and Rachel Nelson, mezzo-soprano Phoebe Dinga, tenor Spencer Greene and baritone Liam Daley.<\/p>\n The company\u2019s 35th anniversary season continues with Donizetti\u2019s \u201cThe Elixir of Love,\u201d July 23 and 26, as well as a trio of salon concerts Sept. 27, Oct. 25 and Nov. 22.<\/p>\n For tickets, go to festivalopera.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n El Cerrito: Contra Costa Civic Theatre\u2019s 2026-27 season features lots of variety beginning with Bay Area playwright Jonathan Spector\u2019s timely comedy about immunizations \u201cEureka Day\u201d (Sept. 11-27) followed by Robert Reale and Willie Reale\u2019s warm, whimsical musical \u201cA Year with Frog and Toad\u201d (Dec. 12-27). The new year begins with Peter Morgan\u2019s dramatization of televised political interviews in \u201cFrost\/Nixon\u201d (Feb. 12-28) and concludes with Michael Bennett and Marvin Hamlisch\u2019s celebration of performers in \u201cA Chorus Line\u201d (May 28 through June 27).<\/p>\n For more information and tickets, go to ccct.org\/season<\/a>.<\/p>\n Reach Sally Hogarty at sallyhogarty@gmail.com<\/a>, and read more of her reviews online at eastbaytimes.com\/author\/sally-hogarty<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Oakland Theater Project highlighted its acting fellowship program with a two-week run of \u201cThe Land of the Fre\u201d…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":379411,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[2245,153461,2248,2241,153462,1472,2246,2242,153460,967,153458,109653,153459,2240,2562,2244,2239,101,103,102,2247,104,106,105,52436,2243,1058],"class_list":["post-379410","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-francisco","tag-acting","tag-artistic-director-bill-english","tag-choreography","tag-comedy","tag-contra-costa-civic-theatre","tag-dance","tag-directing","tag-drama","tag-ella-ruth-francis","tag-entertainment","tag-executive-artistic-director-michael-socrates-moran","tag-festival-opera","tag-hairspray","tag-musicals","tag-oakland-theater-project","tag-on-stage","tag-performing-arts","tag-san-francisco","tag-san-francisco-headlines","tag-san-francisco-news","tag-screenwriting","tag-sf","tag-sf-headlines","tag-sf-news","tag-sf-playhouse","tag-singing","tag-theater"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379410","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=379410"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379410\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/379411"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=379410"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=379410"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=379410"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}