The wait is finally over for the Moorpark College Theatre Department’s production of “Hairspray.”

On Thursday, March 3, the cast and crew celebrated the opening night of the musical, “Hairspray,” a fun, high energy performance with beautifully choreographed dance numbers and vocals, that will have you singing the songs for days after.

John Loprieno, interim dean of performing arts, loved the reactions he was seeing and is excited for the following performances.

“For the first of 12 shows, I think we are doing great,” said Loprieno. “You could tell the audience really enjoyed it!”

It was a full house with an audience packed with family members, friends and loved ones of the cast eager to watch the performance. Dozens of proud parents had smiles from ear to ear as they watched with flowers in hand for their child.

As the show wrapped up, Alexandra Rae, 25-year-old theatre arts major, who plays Miss Penny Pingleton, was overwhelmed with joy and excitement.

“That was so much fun!” said Rae. “Being able to perform with the energy of the audience was inspiring. We just did it!”

Je’nyce Johnson, theatre arts major, who plays one of two guards, was both nervous and excited to perform in front of a live audience for the first time after what felt like more than eight weeks of rehearsals.

“My nerves were at a thousand,” said Johnson. “Just the momentum of having a live audience was a good feeling. Overall, I think this hard working cast and crew did amazing.”

Johnson is also the mother of the youngest cast member, Kobe Johnson, a 14-year-old currently attending Portola Middle School and playing the role of Stewy in the show. K. Johnson currently takes dance classes at Moorpark College, and has been dancing since he was two years old.

“I love being able to participate in a fun show,” said K. Johnson. “I was kind of nervous, but when I walked out on stage and saw the audience I felt calm. Not nervous at all.”

The show couldn’t have come together without the help of the various departments at Moorpark College, such as the makeup and costume departments.

Jordan Oss, 19-year-old theatre arts major and assistant makeup designer and makeup artist, thought the process of getting the cast ready, in terms of makeup, was a challenging but fun process. When deciding what looks suited each charater, Oss said he took a lot of inspiration from looking back at the 60’s and the original “Hairspray” film.

“Getting the cast ready and deciding on looks for each character was difficult, but all and all, I think it came together really well,” said Oss. “As far as the next couple of shows, I think it will go swimmingly.”

A total of 781 tickets have already been sold for all 12 performances and opening night only had 132 seats left of a possible 350, according to Mellissa Pinza, box office staff member.

If you didn’t get to watch the show on opening night, fear not, for there are still plenty of performances to watch. There is even a free matinee performance for Moorpark College students on March 9 at 10 a.m.

The show runs through March 20 and tickets are still avaliable online at http://www.moorparkcollege.edu/departments/academic/theatre-arts/performing-arts-center