Billy Dawson, a Fort Wayne native, as Corny Collins in the Broadway musical “Hairspray.” The musical comes to Indianapolis from Feb. 21-26 at Old National Centre.
SUBMITTED PHOTO BY JEREMY DANIEL
After more than 300 shows portraying the same character, it could be forgiven if the experience became stale.
But for actor Bill Dawson, having the opportunity to portray the effervescent TV host Corny Collins in the hit musical “Hairspray” carries the same energy and excitement as his opening night.
“One question I always get is, ‘How do you keep it fresh? Do you get bored?’ No, I don’t get bored,” he said. “I’m blessed to work with a group of artists on stage who keep each other fresh. There are new members of the cast who come on, and we’re in new theaters all the time. You really have no time to settle in too much and be complacent, because that’s when things go awry. You’re always on your toes.”
Dawson is back for a second run in the traveling production of “Hairspray,” reprising his role as Corny Collins, the energetic dance show host at the core of the musical. The Broadway production comes to Indianapolis on Feb. 21 to 26 at Old National Centre in downtown Indianapolis.
“Hairspray” tells the story of 16-year-old Tracy Turnblad in 1960s Baltimore as she sets out to dance her way onto TV’s most popular show. Joining Dawson is a diverse and talented cast, including Niki Metcalf as Tracy Turnblad and Andrew Levitt, also known as Nina West from “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” as Edna Turnblad, Tracy’s mom.
Dawson, a native of Fort Wayne, has performed in a variety of roles in both international theater and regional shows, including gigs at Universal Studios Japan as Quasimodo in “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in “Jekyll & Hyde” and Dr. Frank-N-Furter in “The Rocky Horror Show.”
Leading into the opening of the show, Dawson took some time to share about the show, his longtime experience with it and what audiences can expect:
What led you to theater in the first place?
My very first love of theater started watching Disney movies when I was little. When we had family parties, my cousins and I would get together to do little numbers to Disney songs, and have my aunts and uncles and cousins watch. From there, my mom got me into community theater and youth theater in Fort Wayne, and I eventually moved to Chicago and the rest is history.
At what point did you realize this was something you wanted to make a career of?
High school. Leading up to high school, I really enjoyed theater, but didn’t know you could go to school to major in it and make it a career. In high school is when I started taking voice lessons, and it’s what I was thinking about when I was looking at colleges. Theater was my home; it was my safe space. That’s when I started taking it seriously.
When you’re up on stage, why is that something you feel so compelled by?
It’s an escape. As actors, we get to portray this human experience. And it’s an escape for the people in the audience as well. I don’t care if it’s four people or 4,000 people, we are transporting them to a different world. It’s top-tier dress up and make-believe. It’s not easy, what we do; it’s very hard work and dedicated work. But it’s fun.
How did the opportunity to play Corny Collins come about?
I was over in Japan for all of 2020, and when I came back in January 2021, theater didn’t really exist. Live performance didn’t exist yet. I moved back to Fort Wayne and got a job, but I still had my agent. An audition for the “Hairspray” tour came along. My agent submitted me. I had three sets of auditions over Zoom, and was fortunate to book it off of that. The very first time they saw me was the first day of rehearsal.
How have you tried to capture the character of Corny Collins?
My first time seeing “Hairspray” was the movie in 2007, and it was great. I loved James Marsden’s interpretation of it; it was great. When I booked the part, I started looking at the original and others on Broadway . But once I started doing the work and I’m in rehearsal, I had to stop listening to soundtracks and cast recordings, because I’m like a parrot. I’ll hear them, and my body will just try to do what they do. In order to make my own stamp on Corny Collins, I had to shut out their versions and do my own thing.
What can people expect from this performance if come out?
It is a party that makes you think. It’s set in 1962, and it came out in the early 2000s. It was relevant then, but unfortunately, it’s even more relevant now, with the times we’re in. But it’s a good time. “Hairspray” is one of the best musicals ever created, and I say that humbly. Every single night, the audience is on their feet.
IF YOU GO
“Hairspray”
What: The award-winning Broadway telling the story 16-year-old Tracy Turnblad in 1960s Baltimore as she sets out to dance her way onto TV’s most popular show.
When: Feb. 21-26
Where: Old National Centre, 502 N. New Jersey St., Indianapolis
Performance times: 7:30 p.m. Feb. 21-23; 8 p.m. Feb. 24 and 25; 2 p.m. Feb. 24; 1 and 6:30 p.m. Feb. 26
Tickets: indianapolis.broadway.com/shows/hairspray
