Maine State Music Theatre opens summer season with Hairspray in Brunswick

Maine State Music Theatre’s opening night of Hairspray signaled more than the return of a familiar crowd-pleaser to Pickard Theatre. It marked the point when Brunswick’s summer arts economy begins to take shape, sending more people toward downtown, the Bowdoin College campus and the businesses that depend on warm-weather foot traffic.

The production runs June 3 to 20 at Pickard Theatre, 1 Bath Road, and MSMT lists it as the opening mainstage musical of its 2026 summer season. For a town where the theater is one of the most visible seasonal draws, that short window matters. Tickets bring theatergoers into Brunswick, and those audiences tend to spill over to nearby restaurants, shops and parking lots as the evening crowd builds around the campus.

Hairspray is built for that kind of broad appeal. Set in 1962 Baltimore, it follows Tracy Turnblad, who wants to dance on The Corny Collins Show while pushing for a more integrated stage and a more open-minded community. Director and choreographer Kenny Ingram said he drew on memories of 1960s television, including variety programs such as The Ed Sullivan Show and American Bandstand, while shaping the production. That sense of nostalgia gives the show a built-in draw for longtime patrons and families looking for a first-night-of-summer outing in Brunswick.

The show also fits into a larger seasonal schedule that keeps the theater at the center of Brunswick’s warm-weather calendar. MSMT’s 2026 mainstage season continues with additional musicals scheduled for June 24 to July 11, July 15 to August 1 and August 5 to 22, along with concerts and theatre for young audiences. All performances take place at Pickard Theatre on the Bowdoin College campus, reinforcing the campus corridor as a regular destination for visitors throughout the summer.

That role has deep roots. MSMT traces its history to 1959, when Victoria Crandall founded the Brunswick Summer Playhouse and opened it in Pickard Theater with The Song of Norway. Today, the organization operates from 22 Elm Street in Brunswick and stages its shows at Pickard Theatre, carrying that original summer model into a season that still helps drive local business when the first tourists, theatergoers and weekend visitors begin arriving in town.