Serena Cefalu plays the role of Tracy Turnblad in East Bay
performance of popular musical
In the upcoming summer musical Hairspray, at the Woodminster in
the Oakland Hills, former Hollister resident Serena Cefalu will be
playing the lead role of Tracy Turnblad. The musical is opening on
July 9 and will be showing on July 10, 11, and 15-18 at the
Woodminster Amphitheater.
Serena Cefalu plays the role of Tracy Turnblad in East Bay performance of popular musical
In the upcoming summer musical Hairspray, at the Woodminster in the Oakland Hills, former Hollister resident Serena Cefalu will be playing the lead role of Tracy Turnblad. The musical is opening on July 9 and will be showing on July 10, 11, and 15-18 at the Woodminster Amphitheater.
Serena Cefalu, who graduated from San Benito High School in 1998, moved to New York in 2001 to pursue education at the American Musical and Dramatics academy for dancing and musical performances.
“When I was 3, I always wanted to perform,” said Cefalu, whose mother Rose Ortiz still lives in town. “I did tap dancing since I was little so I was able to choreograph many musical performances.”
Cefalu taught dancing for the musical “Carmen” in New York, which was a ballet, and also did many dance reviews in New York.
“I have been doing theatre for a while and went to college for it,” Cefalu said. “I was off for spring break and decided to visit my mom and that is when I heard about the audition. I was really excited.”
“At the auditions, on the first day,” Cefalu said “they just gave me a number and told me sing straight out.”
Cefalu was then called to a second day of auditions to dancing auditions and also to read lines with a lead male role character.
“Now we practice Tuesday thru Friday at night and all day on weekends,” she said.
Cefalu is here in California for only six weeks while she is doing the show and will return to her home in New York after the musical is over.
“If you are going to an audition,” Cefalu said “you have to have a lot of hope and a lot of self confidence. You have to know there is a fifty-fifty chance that you might or might not get the role.”
There will be a special bus out of Hollister with the Friends 4Ever Club for people who want to go see Serena Cefalu and the musical performance, “Hairspray.” For more information, contact Karen Barnes at 637-7650.
For more information about Hairspray the musical and the Woodminster Amphitheater go to www.woodminster.com.
