A blast from the past — that’s still timely

When it came to preparing for"Hairspray," director Chad DeKatch alreadyhad a leg up — literally.

"I remember my mom taught me theMashed Potato in our kitchen when I was5," DeKatch recalled.

For the past few weeks, he’s been watchinghis cast do that same dance — and manyothers from the early 1960s — on the stageof the Riverwalk Theatre.

And he admitshe’s been a bit jealous: "In the first dancerehearsals, I got up there and did the danceswith them, because working with Karyn(Perry, the show’schoreographer) isso much fun."

DeKatch, whohas directed showsin the Okemosschool district foralmost 10 years,had hoped to workon "Hairspray"one day, but henever expected itwould happen as quickly as it did. WhenRiverwalk announced its season last year,"Smokey Joe’s Café" was in the Februaryslot.

"But the rights fell through," DeKatchsaid.  "At the same time, ’Hairspray’ becameavailable. Everything lined up; it was meantto be."

Set in 1962 Baltimore, "Hairspray" followsteenager Tracy Turnblad (Ari Helgesen)from starry-eyed schoolgirl to TV personalityafter she manages to dance her wayonto "The Corny Collins Show," Baltimore’sanswer to "American Bandstand."  Just asTracy is adjusting to her new-found celebritystatus, she’spulled into thecity’s burgeoningcivil-rights movement.

Tracy balanceshigh school withTV appearances.But DeKatch’s firstpassion in highschool was sports: "Iwas a jock: football,basketball, baseball,track."

He enjoyed it all,except football. "Iremember one ofmy football coachessaid to us, ’You haveto be out here foryourself, not foryour dad or forsomebody else.’ SoI finished out thatseason, and thenext year I joined thechoir."

Like DeKatch, Tracyalso follows her heart,even though viper-tonguedAmber (ClareBrennan) and VelmaVon Tussle (Amanda Whitehead) insist thatTracy’s ample figure doesn’t belong on thedance floor, much less on television. In theprocess, Tracy even manages to open themind of her sheltered mom, Edna (TonySump), while making a big impression onLink (Ben English), the standout talent on"The Corny Collins Show."

"I was a fan of (writer-director) JohnWaters’ film when I was younger," DeKatchsaid. "The music is definitely catchy. Butwhat I love is that at the heart of this showis the story of this single girl taking on acause. It would be easy to rely on the songsand dances to get you through, but there’sso much more to the show."

To give his youthful cast a firm framework,DeKatch — who teaches history andgovernment at Okemos High School — heldclasses every Thursday before rehearsal todiscuss the social norms, trends, clothingand politics of the period. ("You can’t get theteacher out of me," he joked.)

"We were always coming back to thethemes of black America and white America,"he said. Some cast members had grown upin communities in which they hadn’t hadmuch contact with African-Americans, asituation very different from DeKatch’s ownupbringing in the Flint area.

"My father was a policeman for 25 years,and we were always mixing with all kinds ofpeople. It was very blue-collar at my house,and I’m very grateful for that experience.That was probably another driving factorbehind wanting to do the show: wanting toshare that experience."

DeKatch asked his actors if the sameissues raised in "Hairspray" were still relevantalmost 50 years later.

"The black cast members talked first,and told about their experiences," DeKatchsaid, "and afterward, some of the white castmembers were saying, ’Really?’"

Different backgrounds lead to differentperceptions of the world.

"It doesn’t matter what social issueyou’re talking about: Until it’s thrownin your face, you don’t have to deal withit. We could be here having this conversation,and someone could come up andthrow out a racial slur, and all of a suddenyou have to deal with it."

The "Hairspray" team has also latched onto a cause that’s not addressed in the show.

"As a cast, I wanted us to look at ourcommunity, and one thing we kept comingback to was the issue of homelessness,"DeKatch said.

"We teamed up with Haven House ofEast Lansing, and we’ll be offering opportunities(for patrons) to find out aboutthe organization. I kind of wanted to do aBroadway Cares (the HIV/AIDS fundraisingorganization in New York). We have anopportunity to give back."

’Hairspray’
7 p.m. Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays
Feb. 17-27
Riverwalk Theatre, 228 Museum Dr., Lansing
$20 adults; $18 students, seniors and military
(517) 482-5700
www.riverwalktheatre.com