TRY TO FIND A HAIRSPRAY WITH BETTER HOLD;
THIS ONE WORKS FROM HEAD TO NECK!
As I was driving to the Rancho Mirage Amphitheatre I noticed that the regular Friday Night Stress was lifting from my shoulders. I already loved Hairspray and Desert Theatricals can be quite stylish and classy, but I soon discovered that this one topped even their normal high level—but it ends on Sunday. They evidently were able to rent the touring sets so we were greeted with an extremely well-painted and accessorized Baltimore street which stayed upstage throughout the performance.
At the top of the show, a prop is turned around to reveal Tracy Turnblad (Abigail Matossian), a curvaceous teenager who has enough energy to light up a city block. Her opening song, the bubble-gummy “Good Morning Baltimore,” let’s us know immediately that we’re in for something special. She is joined by a street full of people whose seemingly random movements meld into the first of the dynamite dance numbers staged by director Ray Limon. I have commented in previous reviews that he knows how to make non-dancers look good. In this production he has ten very talented actual dancers and he uses them to maximum effect.
When Tracy gets home we meet her mother, Edna (Joe Hooper), a role that is always been played by a man in drag. In many productions Edna is elevated to the star position (Harvey Fierstein, John Travolta, Nina West) but Hooper keeps the plus-sized character right-sized. She’s funny and talented but she remains the star’s mother. Tracy’s dad, Wilbur (Michael Hamlin) looks a bit old to be a teenager’s father and not nearly as whacky as I’ve seen the role played, but he and Edna knock it out of the park with the duet “You’re Timeless to Me” in the second act.
Desert Theatricals’ regular Lizzie Schmelling is hilarious as Edna’s classmate Penny Pingleton. She’s mousey, idolizes Tracy’s chutzpah, and is terrified of her mother, played with malicious glee by Dana Adkins, who also plays the Gym Teacher and the Prison Matron, each with their own flavor of sadism.
Tracy’s dream is to someday dance on The Corny Collins daily television show which features high school students dancing to the latest rock hits with a super cool host (think Dick Clark’s American Bandstand). The television show is produced by Velma Von Tussle (Mia Mercado), a strong-willed force of nature who wants a clean, all-white production with an emphasis on promoting her daughter, Amber Van Tussle (Maisie Meneer), a girl who believes she’s the star her mother tells her she is, and Meneer mines maximum laughs at every turn. Corny is played with smarmy charm by Ted Macofsky.
The stud-puppy of the Corny Collins teenagers is Link Larkin (Garrett Caelan Weir) and though his hair doesn’t have the 60s torque normally associated with the role, his acting, singing and dancing skills make us quickly forgive him and we can see why Tracy and Amber fight so hard for his attention.
So far, the Corny Collins Show has been exclusively white except for one day per month which is Negro Day. Tracy wants to integrate the show. Plot developments take us to the record store of Motormouth Mable (Vonetta Mixson), a locally recognized black singing celebrity. She has a couple of very strong, well-delivered songs. While in the record store we meet her daughter, Lil Inez (the outstanding Hosanna Hailemichael), whose brother Seaweed J. Stubbs (Bryant Moon-Watson, ecstatically delivering as a triple-threat)—who met Tracy in detention—falls for Penny.
Actors are rarely described as too young or too thin but Tim McIntosh is both as he tackles playing the Male Authority Figures—Mr. Pinky, Spritzer and The Guard. I’ve seen McIntosh do wonderful stage work but, even with a noble attempt, these are not the roles for him.
One of the absolute delights of all Desert Theatricals productions is a live 12-piece band, under the direction of Joshua Carr. The band is physically located off stage but well amplified. Many of the songs also have choral backing and once again the sound team does a great job balancing the mix of singers, backers, and band.
The joyfulness of the show is mainly carried by the indomitable, optimistic Tracy Turnblad who is offstage only a few moments. Abigail Matossian simply radiates enough for the full stage at all times. When she achieves her goals of landing Link Larkin and integrating the Corny Collins Show, and then starts singing “You Can’t Stop the Beat,” GET READY. Soon the entire cast joins her, the couples all find each other, the band is rocking out, and the dancers are simply mind blowing—even some audience members got up to dance. I think this might be my favorite finale number from any musical.
Alas, the Desert Theatrical productions only play for one weekend and with an outdoor amphitheater, they can only play nights. Since the entire weekend of Hairspray is virtually sold out, I suspect they’ll have to open on Wednesday or Thursday nights in the future, especially with their next production, The Addams Family, playing October 24 – 26.
photos courtesy of Desert Theatricals
Hairspray
Desert Theatricals
Rancho Mirage Amphitheater, 71560 San Jacinto Dr, in Rancho Mirage
Fri, Sat & Sun at 7:30 (gates open at 5:30); chairs are provided
ends on April 13, 2025
for tickets, visit Desert Theatricals
