Secondary Dept. performance "Hairspray" a huge success!

The HIS Secondary Dept. brought the 1960's alive for a clapping, cheering audience at the Hsinchu Science Based Industry Park Auditorium on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings  this week with their very spirited production of the hit musical, Hairspray.


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The entire Hsinchu International School secondary community was involved in this week’s production of the Broadway musical hit. Some students worked backstage, lugging around heavy set pieces, while others spent weeks learning dialogue, songs and some fairly complex dance moves. Meanwhile, the school’s staff worked on painting sets, organizing costumes and props, running a fundraising raffle, and generally supporting the kids in any way possible.



“Hairspray” tells the story of a young girl living in racially segregated Baltimore, Maryland, in the early 1960s. Main character Tracy Turnblad, played with great energy by tenth grader Cindy Chen, is a dreamer whose greatest desires are to dance on television, win the affection of a teen heart throb and, most importantly, fight for racial integration. Standout performances included Max Chang as the object of Tracy’s affection, Kevin Liao and Connie Chang as a humorous interracial couple and Jack Chang and Terence Liao as Tracy’s supportive parents. There were also some very funny cameos, including Ivy Tai as an overprotective mother and Eugene Huang as a nervous corporate sponsor of the local cable dance show. One major hurdle—most of the students at HIS are neither ‘white’ nor ‘black’—was overcome with the use of funky black wigs, to differentiate cool “swing” kids from the more straight-laced white dancers on the local cable show.



Audiences were appreciative of the students’ efforts at the two-night run. A ‘romantic’ song and dance number featuring Terence Liao and Jack Chang was an obvious crowd favorite, as were the large dance numbers, featuring virtually every student in the school.

A great deal of credit for the show’s success is due to Secondary Dept. Principal Grant Ruskovich, who designed the set, choreographed many of the dance moves, and coached the singers, in between acting as both director and producer. His unflagging confidence in the ability of these young people from grades 7 to 11 was a key factor in motivating them to commit hours towards rehearsing for the show and putting their full effort into providing two hours of great entertainment. Amazing job, everyone!