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Written by Kurt Brighton
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Thursday, 21 February 2008 |
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There is nothing normal about “Hairspray,” the story of Tracy Turnblad, a plus-sized Baltimore teenager in the early 1960s who has a love of dancing and breaking down race barriers.
Not even the way the stage extravaganza came into being is normal. Of course, the show was born of strangeness; it is based on the John Waters film of the same name, after all. And the pencil-thin mustachioed director is as famous for his strange sense of humor as for his kitschy, yet loving sense of empathy for the everyman. It’s also a film that starred Divine, a 300-pound transvestite with serious make-up issues as Tracy’s mother, Edna Turnblad, and whose pre-“Hairspray” acting resume included eating dog poo in an earlier Watters film.
Yet, for some reason, this freakshow has not only been made into a stage musical — the touring production of which is coming to the Lincoln Center next week — it was also a surprise hit of sorts as a film musical. The film version stars the ever-bizarre Christopher Walken, a fat-suited John Travolta as Mrs. Turnblad, as well as several wholesome, Disney-rific teens like Zac Efron and Amanda Bynes.
The journey from screen to stage, back to screen and now stage again for the touring production was a long, and of course, strange one. The original Waters film was released in 1988, and no doubt some potential investors in a musical version of the show were put off by the film’s quirkiness. But the stage production retains its weirdness thanks in no small part to the retention of Waters himself as creative consultant.
Another coup was hiring Marc Shaiman to pen the music and lyrics along with Scott Wittman. Shaiman is perhaps best known for co-writing the music for “South Park: Bigger, Longer, Uncut.” Merely having such a film on his resume would seem to indicate Shaiman has a sense of humor, but songs like “Mama, I’m a Big Girl Now,” and “Big Dollhouse” confirm he shares that subversive humor with the show’s creators. A semi-trailer full of awards including a Tony Award for Best Musical would seem to confirm that the creative team succeeded in bringing Waters’ strange vision to life without alienating too many people.
Though the touring cast is largely made up of unknowns, it is nonetheless receiving excellent reviews as it wends its way across the country. A four-night stand of singing and dancing in northern Colorado should help cure the late winter blahs.
TO GO
“Hairspray”
Greeley
The show at 7:30 p.m., March 1 at Union Colony Civic Center, 701 10th Ave., is sold out. For more information, call the ticket office at 356.5000 or go to www.ucstars.com.
Fort Collins
7:30 p.m. Feb. 26-29
2 p.m. matinee on Feb. 27
Lincoln Center, 417 Magnolia St.
$40-$42. Call 221.6730, or go to www.fcgov.com/lctix
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