Based on cult director John Waters' 1988 movie comedy, Hairspray is a 1960s fairy tale revolving around plus-sized teen Tracy Turnblad and her desire for acceptance. Her spirit and personality, combined with her mastery of the latest dance crazes, earn her a place on The Corny Collins Show, the Baltimore American Bandstand clone. In pursuit of her dream of belonging, she wins the local heartthrob, liberates her housebound mother and integrates the show, all the while remaining infectiously perky and upbeat.
It is a pretty good show in a decent house. In a large venue by Broadway standards, the Luxor Theater production has been redesigned to take advantage of the size difference. Unfortunately, the theater's acoustics seem to have been left out of the process. The musicians are on the stage, hidden behind the set and are overamplified; the sound is murky and performers' voices often seem muffled.
Hopefully, this will be corrected in time, as the songs by Marc Shuman and Scott Whitman further the plot and define the characters, and the entire score captures the sound of pre-British-invasion American pop music. The cast is dense with terrific singers—from the powerful voices of leads Katrina Rose Dideriksen (Tracy) and Fran Jay (Motormouth Mabell) to standout ensemble member Lori Eve Marinacci (Shelley). Austin Miller as heartthrob Link and Terry Lavell as Seaweed, Tracy's special-ed classmate, display gifts for physical comedy. And the cast performs Jerry Miller's peppy choreography with energy and style. The dances echo the style of the '60s without turning them into museum pieces.
The heart of this production, though, is the relationship between Tracy's parents, Edna and Wilbur (played by Tony award-winners Harvey Fierstein and Dick Latessa). As Edna, Fierstein transcends what could be merely a kitschy drag turn. He plays the comedy with a poignant sincerity, managing to be simultaneously funny and touching. Latessa is endearing and daffy as a husband who loves and supports his wife and daughter. "Timeless to Me," Edna and Wilbur's duet, provides one of the most genuinely tender moments in contemporary musical theater. It stops the show.
The period costumes and outstanding hair and wig designs complement the overall design. The clever sets make for smooth transitions between scenes with no pause in the forward motion. This is fortunate, as the tight, designed-for-Vegas 90-minute format keeps the pace clipping at light speed, leaving little time for luxuries like complete scene changes.
For the most part, the tightening up works, although some things have been lost. The pace often makes the characters seem brittle, and some sweetness is missing. The cuts are especially noticeable in the relationship between Tracy's nemesis, Amber Von Tussle, and her mother, Velma (Susan Anton). They have been reduced from formidable villains to irritating stumbling blocks, causing a corresponding reduction in plot tension. We know from the beginning that Tracy and her mother can take them. It's never in doubt that Tracy will be on The Corny Collins Show, and that she will get Amber's boyfriend. Because of this, the focus of the plot shifts from a general exploration of what it means to be an outsider to the specific issue of the racial integration of a teen show. This is unsatisfying, as it reduces the racial issue to a plot element. Hairspray is a musical comedy, after all, and a serious social problem must be gotten rid of as quickly as possible. Point taken, message sent, now back to the show.
Albeit short on substance, with its big hair and big laughs, Hairspray is designed to show the audience a good time. On that level it succeeds.