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With 25 actors requiring multiple costume changes and a dozen locations that sometimes feature scene changes during song-and-dance performances, 鈥淗airspray鈥� is not the typical Theatre Department production.

In fact, it may be the most complex production the department has ever brought to the stage, director Anne Brady said.

鈥淭his is probably the most complicated show, but I often choose big-cast shows,鈥� said Brady, a professor in the Theatre Department. 鈥淚 love tech. I love scenery. I love costumes. They all help tell the story.

鈥淚 wanted to do 鈥楬airspray鈥� because it is a well-known show. I said to the design staff: 鈥楾ell me how we can do it because I know it is big. If we need to pare things down, tell me how to make it possible.鈥欌��

Brady鈥檚 version of the Tony-winning musical based on John Waters鈥� 1988 film will come to the Watters Theater at 8 p.m. Nov. 30, Dec. 1, Dec. 7-8, and at 2 p.m. Dec. 9. Tickets are $18, general admission; $16, faculty/staff/seniors; and $10, students; and can be purchased by calling the Anderson Center Box Office at 607-777-ARTS or by visiting .

Set in Baltimore, 鈥淗airspray鈥� transports audience members to 1962 and introduces them to Tracy Turnblad (played by Michelle Goldrich).  She is a plump and cheerful teen who fulfills her dream of dancing on her favorite TV dance program, 鈥淭he Corny Collins Show.鈥� Tracy then uses her celebrity status to help integrate the show and change the city.

For the design team, 鈥淗airspray鈥� has been a labor of love.

鈥淭he idea of doing a show of this scale at this University in this program has been a daunting task,鈥� said Karen Kozlowski, associate professor of theatre and 鈥淗airspray鈥� scenic designer. 鈥淚t鈥檚 taken a lot out of the department to produce something of this caliber.鈥�

Jun Han, the show鈥檚 costume designer, had to not only discover the proper 鈥渞etro feel鈥� for the costumes, but the international student from China also had to learn about American culture in the 1960s.

鈥淚 did a lot of research by looking at older magazines and newspapers from that time,鈥� said Han, a senior from China. 鈥淚 also looked at historical catalogs,鈥� such as Sears and Montgomery Ward.

Han and her adviser/supervisor, Andrea Lenci-Cerchiara, MA 鈥�10, would learn about the era and then work on visually defining the show鈥檚 iconic characters.

鈥淚 was always asking Andrea: 鈥業s this from the 1970s or 1960s?鈥欌�� Han said with a laugh. 鈥淪ometimes I did the research and would show (a costume idea) and people would say: 鈥楾hat鈥檚 what my grandfather would wear!鈥� That helped me a lot.鈥�

Perhaps most impressively, Han sketched each 鈥淗airspray鈥� character and would show the costume ideas to Brady. A final sketch of Tracy Turnblad by Han revealed an amazing replication of the character, complete with colorful clothes from the era.

鈥淚 wanted a classic Tracy with skirts and blouses,鈥� Han said. 鈥淪o I did a lot of research on what schoolgirls were wearing at the time.鈥�

Han often did up to six sketches per character before a final one was approved.

鈥淛un would do a sketch based on the character and the ideas that we wanted,鈥� Lenci-Cerchiara said. 鈥淭hen the sketch was modified with real garments using period patterns. 鈥� We sat in meetings and discussed what worked, what didn鈥檛 work, what told the story and what didn鈥檛 tell the story. What fabrics work best? What colors work best?鈥�

Han even sculpted and built a 鈥渇at suit/lady suit鈥� that is worn by Matt Gaska, who plays Tracy鈥檚 mother Edna in the role made famous on Broadway by Harvey Fierstein.

鈥淲e had to have that done well ahead of time so that he could have it and get used to that feeling of being in a women鈥檚 suit 鈥� and being large,鈥� Lenci-Cerchiara said.

For Kozlowski and student assistant Glenn Pepe, the scenic design was just as detailed and complex.

鈥淚 remember saying to Karen that the show is about movement and it feels like the set has to move,鈥� Brady said.

Kozlowski incorporated large circular platforms that help to shift locations, especially as scenes change during musical numbers.

鈥淚t鈥檚 incredibly exciting and challenging to put into the choreography some of the movements of the platforms from one place to another,鈥� Brady said.

Another challenge for Kozlowski was finding ways to have a dozen locations without using many bulk pieces.

鈥淲e have to pare down to just the essentials that dictate the scene we are in,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e鈥檒l use a sign or a few pops of color to say we鈥檙e at 鈥楾he Corny Collins Show鈥� or Motormouth鈥檚 Record Shop. We鈥檒l have a few stylized pieces as opposed to a full house.鈥�

It is important that the costume and scenic crews do not work independently from each other, Kozlowski said.

鈥淚鈥檝e met with Jun and Andrea as much as I鈥檝e met with Anne to make sure that our historical patterns and colors work together and don鈥檛 conflict,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 want TV-test patterns onstage! There is a lot of balance and give-and-take between the different areas.鈥�

No design elements should stand out if the production teams have done their jobs correctly, Kozlowski added.

鈥淭hey should blend seamlessly with the rest of the production to make a cohesive package,鈥� she said. 鈥淚f one element stands out that we haven鈥檛 chosen to stand out, then something did not mesh correctly in the overall development concept.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 one of the beauties of theater: It鈥檚 a collaborative art form. It takes all of us to achieve one goal. Without one of us, it doesn鈥檛 work. We have to be working together to make sure it鈥檚 a functioning machine.鈥�

Kozlowski has simple hopes for how audiences might react to 鈥淗airspray.鈥�

鈥淲e want them to say: 鈥楾hat was a great version of 鈥楬airspray.鈥� It was a lot of fun and it felt like the early 鈥�60s.鈥欌��

Brady, meanwhile, is anticipating a more active reaction from the audience.

鈥淚 want them to be dancing in the aisles!鈥� she said.