Published: July 02, 2009 03:12 pm      

PLAYHOUSE REVIEW: "Hairspray"

This is a multigenerational review: I am grateful for the assistance of my 12-year-old grandson and his aunt, my daughter, in commenting on Hairspray. This Broadway musical, based on the 1988 film by New Line Cinema, written and directed by John Waters, is a powerful addition to the Playhouse season.

Set in the turbulence of the 1960s, a cast of 38 talented men and women brings us twenty fabulous songs, a combination of bebop, rhythm and blues and rock and roll. With Michele Colvin as director and choreographer, Britt Hancock as assistant director and Craig Blake as assistant choreographer plus the musical direction of Ron Murphy, you know the show has energy.

The athleticism of the dancers and varied styles of the dancing is truly amazing with Michael Ruff, Donya Walker, Jaquay Gilbert, Earley Dean and Chaz Sanders as the Motormouth Kids. It is great to have Lar’Juanette Williams back home at the Playhouse in the role of Motormouth Maybelle. We celebrate the finely tuned ensemble dancing of the Council Members: Sara Nelson, Craig Blake, Kaylee Verble, Colt Irvin, Kristin Galloway, Austin Price, Brianna Smylie and Dylan Hauck. What a joy to see their skills. In many cases skills were honed in the Playhouse dance program.

The show depends heavily on the talents of Sara Scronce as Tracy Turnblad; this short, stout bundle of energy is incredibly powerful. With her little girl voice, she leads the company in the prologue song “Good Morning Baltimore” and many other music and dance numbers.

Productions of the show, on stage and film, cast a male as the shy reclusive Edna Turnblad, Tracy’s mother. Knowing that Jason Ross would play that role led long-time denizens of the Playhouse to have our laughs prepared. Costume designer Renee Luttrell has created a whole series of costumes to reflect Edna’s growing willingness to move out into the world after years hiding in her home, doing other folks’ laundry. It was hard to find the contours of Ross’ body in the midst of the oversized Edna. Despite the oddness of her appearance, Edna is the only mother willing to stand behind her daughter’s dreams. She may complain about the loud music but she and her husband, Wilbur, played by Daniel Black (diminutive beside Edna), are always there to support their daughter. His devotion to his wife and daughter ever understands, even when Edna comments that she feels “like a half-filled book of Green Stamps beyond redemption.”

Tracy’s best friend, Penny Pingleton, played skillfully by Leila Nelson, must deal with her mother, Prudy Pingleon, played by Nicole Begue. Objections from Prudy are based on the racial aspects of the music. Nelson plays the subtle transformation of Penny from shy best friend to a cool member of the group. Begue portrays this staid parent who ties her daughter in her bedroom for being jailed, “without her permission.” Her feelings are challenged by Penny’s relationship with Seaweed Stubbs, played by Quin Cason. She, too, is transformed with a hairstyle and actions to show it. Tracy, Penny, Link and Seaweed lead the company in singing the haunting “Without Love.”

Newcomer Elliott Cunningham, fresh from Chicago with a BFA in musical theater, brings us the role of Link Larkin, a teenage heartthrob who sees beyond Tracy’s size and shape to a person of worth.

Holding the plot together is Britt Hancock, as Corny Collins, emcee of “Corny Collins Show,” a local televised teenage dance show. Auditions for an open spot on the show are to be held. Amber Von Tussle, played by another Playhouse favorite, Anne Staler, manipulates the audition. Her mother, Velma, played way over-the-top by Weslie Webster, is one controlling woman. Singing “Miss Baltimore Crabs,” the two reject Tracy because of her size alone.

Musical director Ron Murphy and his ten-piece pit orchestra are up to the challenge presented by this complex show. Some may complain that the music is too loud. I remind you that this is the 1960s and they are teenagers. Reading the synopsis of the play printed in the program was helpful. The intertwined themes of change within society and the individuals are worth pondering. The audience sees and feels the tension between mothers and daughters as well as social issues of the time. Must weight and shapeliness, race, wealth or teen popularity define an individual? Change can and does happen, in hairstyles and the amount of hairspray needed to maintain them!

I could write much about the talents of other cast members. It is a real treat to have Britt Hancock back on the Playhouse stage from the touring companies of a variety of shows. Mention must be made of the wildly varying dance and vocal skills of the Nicest Kids: Bob Rogers, Jensen Crain, Logan Hartman, Marilla Burnham, Ian Sweitzer and Eden Flanders, as well as the Authority Figures: Stephen Harris, Joshua Scott, Lauren Marshall and Jamie Potter, and the Dynamites: Jnana Wilson, Kelle Jolly, and LaKeta Renee (who also plays the role of Little Inez). Suffice it to say that your soul will experience new depths, even as the hairstyles of the actresses reach new heights! Be sure to see Hairspray and join me in a thank you to Jim Crabtree for bringing us this gift.