Hairspray feathered, not ratted
Photo courtesy Broadway in Atlanta
Hairspray, the larger-than-life Broadway production based on the 1988 film of the same name, chronicles the story of Tracy Turnblad, a teenager-turned-television star growing up in Baltimore in the ' 60s. The production is playing at the Fox through Feb. 27.
One would think that a Broadway musical titled Hairspray would revolve around a tin can of hairspray. Well it does for the most part, but not only is Hairspray about perfecting the ' 60s hairdo, themes of the play dig deeper.
Set in 1962, when the ' 50s are out and the psychedelic colors and styles of the new decade are in full bloom, a teenage girl from Baltimore named Tracy Turnblad makes an incredible impact on her community.
Tracy ' s one passion is life is dancing, but her weight and mother ' s fears hold her back. (Mrs. Turnblad knows how it feels to be ostracized for her own weight and does not want Tracy to be picked on for her size.)
Aside from dancing, Tracy ' s next loves are the TV dance program The Corny Collins Show (think American Bandstand), and one of the heartthrobs featured daily on the show - Link Larkin.
Against all odds, Tracy lands a spot on the show (when one of the teenage girls is forced to take a pregnancy leave) and catches the eye of Link.
The fame from the show makes Tracy an overnight teenage celebrity and helps viewers to actually identify with a dancer on the show (most of the other teenagers look like Ken and Barbie dolls).
While landing the coveted spot is what she has always dreamed of, she does not understand why African American dancers cannot be featured on the program.
If it was not for the encouragement and the " far out " and " wicked " dance moves that she learned from her African-American friend, Seaweed, she would not have had the confidence to audition for the show at all.
She feels indebted to him and just thinks it ' s " stupid " that everyone cannot dance together.
As a result, Tracy finds herself in the middle of the integration movement in Baltimore as she fights for what she thinks is right.
Hairspray is a bright, colorful and crazy musical about the ' 60s, swingin ' hair, racism, segregation and interracial couples. I have never before been to a musical that had so much insightful social commentary on the times but was still delightfully funny and entertaining.
Based on the 1988 John Waters film (starring Ricki Lake), Hairspray was adapted for the stage and has received not only national critical acclaim, but eight Tony Awards, a Grammy and various other prestigious honors.
The neon colors and period costumes give the play the perfect ' 60s feel, the choreography is perfect and all of the performers have excellent voices.
The character of Tracy is cute and spunky and all of the cast members have great character development and are quite original.
The role of Tracy ' s mother is very unique - Mrs. Turnblad is actually played by a man in drag. The funny part is I did not fully realize it until the second act.
The show is simple to follow, has extremely catchy tunes and leaves you with a new sense of morality. One, racial segregation is silly, and we should all just get along and dance together; and two, we should be happy with ourselves (and with that killer self-confidence we too can land the Ken doll of our dreams!)
Hairspray is worth catching at the Fox during its two week run. Performance times are Tuesday through Sunday evenings at 8 p.m. Saturday matinee at 2 p.m. Sunday matinee at 1 p.m. and Sunday evenings at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster or at the Fabulous Fox Theatre box office.
