MANAGEABLE HAIR
Say what you will about Musical Theatre West’s fluffy season selections, including Winter Wonderettes, Forbidden Broadway and Spamalot, this company continues to collect an astounding assemblage of artists equal to that of Broadway (in fact, many have performed on the Great White Way). But wouldn’t it be great to see this great talent in great musicals? Sadly, it’s the same tired, mass-produced, bill o’ fare of sugary concoctions instead of a meaty entrée. Just the thought of last season’s The Wedding Singer, Annie, and Cats has me gagging up fur balls. The dream is that MTW will produce just one season that doesn’t include familiar, safe, silly outings alongside a jukebox musical (there are high hopes for the upcoming Man of La Mancha, directed by Nick DeGruccio and starring Davis Gaines).
With a lead-in like that, were you expecting a pan of Hairspray, the one new mainstay musical that truly deserves the classification of “Feel-Good?” Well, let me put it this way: Even when she (the musical) can’t hold up, her hair (the production) still can. The musical that makes the subject of racial segregation as easy to swallow as a sugar pill is back. In fact, with tour after tour, Vegas and international bookings, it never really left. (The recent production at The Hollywood Bowl made the original 2002 Broadway outing look amateur by comparison).
Adapted from John Waters’ 1988 film, Hairspray takes place in Baltimore, 1962, where the corpulent, plucky juvenile Tracy Turnblad (Victoria Morgan) desires nothing more out of life than a lacquered ’˜do and the chance to be on a hip dance show. Thomas Meehan’s book (along with Mark O’Donnell) mirrors his own blockbuster, Annie, in which our heroine can seemingly get away with anything based on her determined optimism: she slides through detention at school, instantly organizes public protests, convinces her mom Edna (Jim J. Bullock) that being hefty is hot, gets a reprieve from a governor and has a positive effect on everyone that she comes into contact with – all the while landing the hottest kid in town, Link (Derek Klena).
This crowd-pleaser receives a rousing rendition, courtesy of Lee Martino’s cool and swinging choreography. This company flies about the stage with infectious enthusiasm, bringing the pastiche 1960s tunes to sparkling life (music by Mark Shaiman, who is co-lyricist with Scott Wittman). Director Larry Raben managed some swell staging, but some of the leads, namely Jim J. Bullock, desperately needed to pick up the pace. If this show is not presented as a runaway train of fantasy race-relations, the golly-gee-gosh approach becomes somewhat mundane. The villains see the errors of their ways in the last five minutes, and a world where only white people are stupid and black people are ultra-cool stretches credulity to the breaking point. Even with the script’s two-dimensionality, both the movie version and the Hollywood Bowl presentation had me floating on air. At MTG, it felt a little precious and it didn’t seem like they were running the tightest ship. But Hairspray is still rousing. Enjoy. Let’s leave it at that.
What is wholly unacceptable is the sound design by Julie Ferrin. This is one complicated show and Ms. Ferrin is simply not up to the task. Glaringly obvious mistakes only take us out of the experience that the actors are working so hard to give us. Along with A Noise Within, this is the most shameful sound design in memory.
The main reason to see Hairspray, along with Byron Batista’s super-rad wig designs and Yolanda Rowell’s ebullient costumes, is the astonishing array of talent. It’s a pleasure just to be in the presence of true show-biz professionals, from Tracy Lore (with her hysterical turn as the malevolent Velma) to Todrick D. Hall (with his boundless athleticism). For those who have never seen the show before, you will not be disappointed.
photos by Ken Jacques Photography
Hairspray
Musical Theatre West
Carpenter Performing Arts Center in Long Beach
scheduled to end on November 13, 2011
for tickets, visit www.musical.org
