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HAIRSPRAY
*HAIRSPRAY - Neil Simon Theatre
*REVIEWED Friday, May 25th 2003
PERFORMANCE
Book by Mark O'Donnell & Thomas
Meehan; Music by Marc Shaiman; Lyrics by Scott Wittman & Marc Shaiman.
Directed by Jack O'Brien
Choreography by Jerry Mitchell
Music Direction by Lon Hoyt
Costume Design by William Ivey
Long
Lighting Design by Kenneth
Posner
Scenic Design by David Rockwell
**CAST**
TRACY TURNBLAD..............................................Marissa
Jaret Winokur
CORNEY
COLLINS.............................................. Clarke Thorell
AMBER VON
TUSSLE...........................................Laura Bell Bundy
LINK
LARKIN........................................................Matthew
Morrison
PRUDY PINGELTON/GYM
TEACHER/MATRON.........Jackie Hoffman
EDNA TURNBLAD..................................................Harvey
Fierstein
PENNY PINGLETON..............................................Kerry
Butler
VELMA VON
TUSSLE............................................Linda Hart
WILBER TURNBLAD..............................................Dick
Latessa
SEAWEED J.
STUBBS.............................................Corey Reynolds
MOTORMOUTH MAYBELLE................................Mary
Bond Davis
HAIRSPRAY
When a play or musical has been
lauded and weighted down with so much
praise, hype, buzz, and endless
reams of positive ink, it inadvertly
can (and does) cause some
dangerous results.
The production itself has
placed an elephantine mountain before a
theatergoer who just might have
heard or read all this aforementioned
buzz.
This same theatergoer may walk
into the production with a steel wall
or chip on their shoulder, as
if saying to the production, "Okay, so
now prove it that you truly do
deserve all this hype!".
Come on, admit it. If a show or
movie has been praised or raised to
the high heavens due to its
critical praise, you walk into that
theater with this veil of "Now
prove it to me!". Its as though their
decision or opinion may be
predispositioned before a single line or
musical note has been spoken.
This can result in the overall
experience become a major let down, disappointment, or failure to this
theatergoer.
A perfect example is THE
PRODUCERS. Bushels of praise and golden
raves were placed at the
pedestals of Nathan Lane and Matthew
Broderick, both from the New
York production. This reviewer himself
saw the broadway version with
Lane & Broderick and completely raved
about their performances as
well.
But I have spoken to friends
and colleagues who have seen the
production, only to have Lane
and/or Broderick not in the show that
night. A few still loved it,
yet many others loathed it. Another
common theme in some opinions
was it, "just didn't match all the
hype I heard."
In my review of THE PRODUCERS I
did state that it would be a colossal challenge for whoever replaced Lane
& Broderick-either on broadway or
on the road.
Just recently the Mel Brooks
musical opened in Los Angeles, which was
met with mixed reviews on the
performances of Jason Alexander and
Martin Short, who are playing
the roles that were created by La Lane
and Broderick.
While its not totally fair to
compare them to their New York
counterparts, many of the
reviews from LaLa land did just that. But
in their defense, you can't
help it, its human nature.
When I sit through a show that
I have seen more than once, my brain
automatically downloads images,
scenes, songs, and performances from
previous incarnations of this
same show.
But there is the other side of
the coin, when a play or musical does
match-if not surpass-the hype.
Which brings us to HAIRSPRAY.
This kitchy musical is based on
the campy John Waters film of the
same name. A majority of the
basic plot and story line still remains
intact in the stage version.
Instead of wasting space with the plot
of the show, I thought I would
share some differences and omissions
that went from the silver
screen and then transferred to the stage
boards:
* There is no Mr. Von Tussle at
all in the stage version-in the film
it was played by the late
congressman, Sonny Bono.
* We no longer have the Miss
Auto Show competition which is co- sponsored by Mr. Von Tussle's
company-which was in the film. This
time around its "Miss
Hairspray", sponsored by Ultra Clutch hairspray.
* The finale dance, created by
Tracy Turnblad which dealt with
squashing cockroaches is gone.
So is Mr. Hefty Hideaway's gown design
of pale pink satin with black
roaches on it.
* Also no beatniks (played by
Rick Ocasek & Pia Ziadora in the film)
for Tracy and Link to hide out
with.
* Other characters gone include
Corny Collin's assistant (played by
Mink Stole in the film). The
stage version has Mrs. Von Tussle as the
producer of the dance TV show.
Divine's (who originated "Edna" on
film) another character-the
bigoted politician, is gone as well. So
is the Governor.
* In the film, the audition for
Corny Collins had Penny, Tracy, and a
beautiful African American
girl. The stage version only has Tracy- with Penny there for support, and
tiny Inez coming in at the end.
So how was HAIRSPRAY? Did it
meet its hype you ask?
I can honestly say that- like
extra hold Aqua-net- this musical
sticks and holds firmly to all
its hype and buzz! And even then some!
While the musical is not
original nor truly unique as last season's critically acclaimed URINETOWN.
HAIRSPRAY falls back to those classic
comedy musicals of the golden
age, with a dosage of modern themes,
jokes, situations, and gags.
HAIRSPRAY opened on broadway on
August 15, 2002, but you would have never noticed it by Friday night's
performance! The energy is
explosive to say the least. The
entire cast-from principals to
ensemble-acted, danced, and
sang with such mega watt energy and
commitment, you thought they
were still in previews! Some shows can
show their wear and tear after
lengthy runs on broadway or on the
road-you won't see this at the
Neil Simon! They were hell bent on
making everyone feel their
ecstatic love for their characters and the
show, and I felt every ounce of
it.
The very next thing you notice
is Marc Shaiman's infectious score
that becomes addictive after
listening to it.
Shaiman's score is a throwback
to those 60's doo-wop, bubblegum songs that girl groups sang. It pays
homage to Elvis, the Supremes,
Connie Francis, gospel, rock,
and others. The score is saturated with
so many toe-tapping tunes that
you feel this sudden urge to get out
of your theater seat and start
shaking your money makers.
Scott Wittman and Shaiman's
lyrics is the perfect "side show" twin to
the music. These writers wrote
lyrics that greatly aided in fleshing
out the characters, or to
create another layer of subtext for them.
The lyrics not only provided
commentary to what was unfolding on
stage perfectly, but they also
allowed the audience to get closer
into their hearts and emotions.
Another shining diamond within
the lyrics is how gut busting
hilarious they are! Sure, when
you have listened to the cast at home
or in the car, you are
smirking. But when you add staging, costume,
set, light, and the live
performance of the character-those lyrics
take a whole new life and
energy.
Out of this glittery pastiche
of songs, I would have to confess my
personal favorites include:
"Good Morning Baltimore"; "Mamma I'm A
Big Girl Now"; "I Can Hear the
Bells"; "Welcome to the 60's"; "The
Big Dollhouse"; "Timeless to
Me"; "Without Love"; and the pulsating
"You Can't Stop the Beat."
Choreographer Jerry Mitchell
studied the movements of those 1960
wacky, spastic dances, which at
times looks as though someone stuck a finger in an electrical socket.
Mitchell's loving tribute to "American Bandstand" dance is displayed
wonderfully in the Corny Collins numbers. I have read in articles that
Mitchell wanted the choreography to match the performer. That way it looks
clean, relaxed, and not a struggle to execute, he has totally succeeded
here.
Director Jack O'Brien has taken
loving care in not only bringing the
film to stage, but to also
respect and enhance it. The pace is quick,
frenzy, and completely matching
the energy of the cast. O'Brien takes
full command of the stage with
his blocking, constantly having
movement. But where the
director earns his golden kudos is how he and
the cast do not make "fun" of
their characters. They instead are
completely faithful and
committed to their characterizations. Both
director and actor want you to
see them as real people, not cartoon
like zanies. This is fully
achieved by what you see on stage.
Let's turn our attention to the
designs of light, costume, and set.
Kenneth Posner's lighting
design is a bursting kaleidoscopic
exhibition of colors that come
from what has got to be a 1000 box of
Crayola crayons! Many of the
musical numbers are soaked in vibrant
colors that somehow pump the
energy of the show-if that's even
possible! Posner also designed
a solid wall of light which is used to
divine effect for several
numbers. This wall of light can configure
into many designs, as well as
pulsate to match the music. Every color
imaginable is on this wall.
Fuchsias, purples, reds, greens, oranges,
you name it!
The Necco Wafer-colored sets
designed by David Rockwell are a solid complement to Posner's lighting
creations. Rockwell's attention to
detail is marvelous to say the
least. The first set piece alone is an excellent example. The show starts
off with Tracey singing from her bed, "Good Morning Baltimore", but she's
laying straight up.
Rockwell designed it as though
we were observing this from the
ceiling-as though the audience
was a bird looking down! Surrounding
Tracy is popcorn, albums,
clothes, etc.
Rockwell has designed formstone
row houses for the Turnblad
neighborhood. Wait till you see
his terrific designs for the Hefty
Hideaway dress shop, the Miss
Hairspray pageant, and many others-they
will floor you with its rich
detail and creativity.
William Ivey Long is one of my
personal favorite costume designers
since I saw his creations in
the original NINE. For his designs for
HAIRSPRAY, Long has
constructed, sewed, dyed, sequined, and beaded a
cornucopia of cloth confections
that are to die for!
Apparently Long has a great
sense of humor as well, for his conceptions for Edna Turnblad and the Miss
HairSpray number earned
loud waves of laughter! Long
has fashioned gorgeous beaded gowns as
well for several characters
that sparkle like gems!
But Long's costumes are not
complete without Paul Huntley's weight defying design of wigs & hair! I
wonder if Huntley took the mantra in which southern belles live by, "The
higher the hair, the closer to god"! Some of those wigs must come with
back & neck insurance for the HAIRSPRAY ladies. Huntley has designed wigs
that at times look like a cross combination of Tammye Fay Baker/beauty
pageant/drag queen/Dairy Queen!
His assortment of wigs come in
every color, some with glitter or
rhinestones. But all of them
are teased, combed, feathered, and
sprayed to jiffy pop heights!
Underneath a massive, vanilla &
chocolate swirl of a wig is Marissa
Jaret Winokur, the star of
HAIRSPRAY.
If you have seen Ms. Winokur on
television performing a number from
the show, let me say that what
you see confined to a small video
image coming out of that black
box comes nowhere near what Winokur is
actually like live on stage.
This pint sized darling is
mesmerizing as our heroine, "Tracy
Turnblad". She carries the show
on her small shoulders with blazing
success. Her stage presence
alone is so bright and strong, it becomes
hypnotic. This girl fills the
Neil Simon theater with her eye blinding
presence and talents.
Her squeaky, helium voice that
is done in both dialogue and song works
superbly with her character.
She sings with full lung gusto, emotion,
and buckets full of pizzazz.
Her jaw popping comic timing, pace,
energy, and facial expressions
are gifts from the comic gods, for she
will have you laughing so damn
hard, you beg for a pee break.
It should be noted that
Winokur's chemistry with all the characters
surrounding her "Tracy" is
extremely tight, solid and just so
heavenly to watch before your
eyes. Winokur shows love, compassion,
devotion, and friendship to all
those around her-from her best friend
Penny, to her mother Edna,to
her hunk of burning love Link!
I will confess, I fell
completely in love with Winokur.
Harvey Fierstein has had a
career of being a drag queen from his
early years working in
Greenwich Village clubs and with experimental
theater companies like La MaMa.
I first saw Fierstein on
broadway in his Tony award winning
performance of TORCH SONG
TRILOGY. Picture a high school boy watching this play, which at the time
was controversial.
In this semi-autobiographical
play Fierstein's first scene was him
putting on make up, for his
character Arnold Beckoff was a drag
performer.
Now some years later he's back
on broadway, putting on women's make-up, BUT he is not a drag queen at all
in this role. Fierstein completely transforms both visually and internally
into this buxom, shy loving mother & wife within the Turnblad household.
Fierstein is blessed with that
phenomenal comic timing, pace, and
delivery that has audiences
rolling in the aisles from laughing so
hard. Even his throwaway lines
hit everytime the comedy bull's eye!
Those facial expressions of his
are so hilarious, your face hurts
from laughing so much.
But was is so remarkable about
his performance is that you completely
buy into him being a woman. You
do not think nor see a man playing a
woman, but a real woman-Edna.
She is a true flesh, blood, and bones
lady!
Divine, who originated the role
for the film must be smiling from the
heavens over Fierstein's
performance.
However, it does take a few
minutes for your ears to adjust to
Fierstein's singing. He does
have that "fog horn scratching over
glass filled gravel" voice that
is, well-unique.
Fierstein's duet in the second
act-"Timeless to Me"- with Dick
Latessa (who plays Edna's
husband) is a guffawing ,laugh out loud
number. But you honestly choke
up in tears because you feel the undying, warm love between this mature
couple. Fierstein and Latessa will tug at your heart with this jovial, yet
heartfelt duet.
Latessa is engaging & winsome
as "Wilber", but I must admit the role
is not written that strongly,
but what he does have, Latessa does
succeed.
This musical contains a
treasure chest full of scene stealing
performances that raise the
roof-and beyond.
There is Kerry Butler's
farcical turn as "Penny Pingleton", who is Tracy's best friend. This gal
has some of the funniest "stage business" that is created for her. She is
so uproarious that leaves you wiping the laugh tears from your eyes.
Matthew Morrison is perfect as
the TV hunk from the Corny Collins
show. He has a romantic tenor
voice that would make teenyboppers
squeal til their penny loafers
popped off their feet. Morrison's
comic timing is as slick as his
"ode to Elvis" pompadour. He is both
chivalrous & sexy all wrapped
in radiant stage presence. By his scintillating performance, you can see
why Tracy becomes all gaga and even drools on stage for him!
To be honest here-while I think
Dick Latessa and Corey Reynolds were fabulous in their roles, to me
Morrison was much stronger and had much more stage time than the other
two. So why Morrison was over looked for a Tony nomination completely
baffles me. I throughly enjoyed Morrison much more. He was robbed, rolled,
and swiped from a Tony nod for his sensational work in HAIRSPRAY.
Ditto for Kerry Butler! This
scene stealing darling also deserved a
Tony nod, but was also
overlooked. I think Butler's work in HAIRSPRAY
is much more deserving than
Ashley Tuttle's performance in MOVIN'OUT,
who got the Tony nod.
Laudiation must also be given
to such sparkling work done by Linda
Hart as the villainous "Velma
Von Tussle"; Corey Reynolds as the
darling "Seaweed"; Clark
Thorell as the sexy TV host "Corny Collins";
and Jackie Hoffman with her bag
of characters.
Special kudos must go to
Kamilah Martin, Judine Richard, and Shayna
Steele as "The Dynamites". They
are a girl doo-wop group that provide
lung soaring vocals to the hit
number, "Welcome to the 60's".
After you have sat through this
rhapsodic, super duper, glittery spectacle that is HAIRSPRAY-you will
immediately want to buy a year's supply of Ultra Clutch hairspray and some
joke gags the Har-De-Har Hut.
As you leave the Neil Simon
Theatre, as Tracy Turnblad says in song,
"You'll cha-cha right out the
door".
GRADE: A+
--John Garcia
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