Moms Weekend is full of fun activities and events that appeal to students and their moms, but nothing gets a mother’s attention like a musical.

The Illini Union Board will be putting on the musical “Hairspray” at Assembly Hall, Saturday, April 13, during Moms Weekend.

“There’s nothing more appealing to a mom than watching ‘Hairspray’ the musical with her kids,” David Mor said in a press release. Mor is the director of musicals and drama with IUB and a freshman in FAA.

Mor, who was appointed in December, had to put together this production in a short period of time, with auditions in January and casting and rehearsals starting in February.

“I’ve never been a producer before,” Mor said. “Acting is my passion, but I went ahead and threw myself into the work. I hired every single staff member of the show, I helped with the audition process immensely and I have been basically planning every single aspect of the show, behind the scenes.”

But Mor isn’t alone. Every single staff member involved with the musical has been dedicating five days a week and four hours a day to rehearsals. 

“Everyone’s been working super hard for long tedious hours, but it’s all for something that we love and are passionate about,” said Beth Grosky, senior in LAS.

Grosky will be playing the lead role of Tracy Turnblad in the musical.

“When I heard this year we were doing ‘Hairspray,’ I was so happy because it’s my favorite musical,” Grosky said. “It was the first musical I ever saw on Broadway in New York City when I was in seventh grade, and Tracy is my dream role. I knew I had to audition.”

Grosky found out about the musical and auditions over Facebook, and signed up for them online. She was one of the first people the director and producer heard. She sang a song from the musical called, ‘Good Morning Baltimore.’

Grosky said that it’s common knowledge in musical theater to not audition with a song from the musical you’re auditioning for, but she felt confident and took a risk — which paid off in the end.

“When I found out I got the part, I got the email that said ‘Hairspray cast list’ and I was sitting with all my friends,” Grosky said,  “I scrolled through it and saw that I was cast, so all I said while sitting there was, ‘I got Tracy!’ and we all started to scream. I called my mom and told everyone the news.”

Grosky and Mor are both excited for their families to come out for the musical this year. Since IUB is a completely student-run organization, the entire production is completely student-run as well, and they want their hard work to result in a great show.

Mor said the cast and crew consists of a diverse amount of students, many of whom have never done musicals before and are not acting students.  

“That’s my favorite part of the show, when people audition and say, ‘Just so you know, I’ve never done this before,’” Mor said. I’d say that half of our leads have never done a show before but everyone is so incredibly talented.”

Mor said they also have a lot of seniors in the production, and this will be their last show before they graduate.

Grosky grew up doing theater her entire life but chose not to pursue it in college. “Hairspray” will be the first and last musical of her college career.

“This whole musical, as a senior, has been bittersweet. I made such good friends and even though I did musicals all my life, this is my first one in college, and what better way to end my time at U of I than this?” Grosky said.

In the past, IUB musicals have had huge turnouts, according to Mor. Last year’s show had over 2,000 members in the audience. This year, “Hairspray” will be showing at two different times on Saturday, one at 2 p.m. and the other at 7 p.m.

“Hairspray” is appropriate for all ages, Grosky said. But more importantly, there is a nice mother-daughter relationship within the show between three of the characters and their mothers, she said.

“We see it in the musical number, ‘Momma I’m a Big Girl Now.’ In the spirit of Moms Weekend, it’ll be nice for mothers to see relationships that they can probably relate to (and that are) funny to watch.” Grosky said.

Tickets will be sold at the door, but they can also be purchased online at the Assembly Hall website. Prices range from $12 to $18 depending on the seats, but will cost more at the door, Mor said. Tickets are going fast and he is hoping to reach his goal of 2,500 people in attendance. 

“Who doesn’t want an excuse to sit down for two and a half hours and just be entertained? This is truly the main event for Moms Weekend,” he said.

Saher can be reached at [email protected].