by\u00a0Robert W. McDowell
\nTriangle Arts & Entertainment<\/p>\n
Hairspray\u2019s<\/a><\/em><\/strong> irrepressible teenaged heroine Tracy Turnblad \u2014 the big girl with the big hair and the even bigger heart \u2014 is back. This time, local teenager Rachel Musson<\/strong> will play her in the July 16-20 PlayMakers Repertory Company Summer Youth Conservatory<\/a> production of the 2002 Broadway musical<\/a> based on the 1988 cult filmHairspray<\/a><\/em>, written and directed by John Waters<\/strong> and starring actress and television talk-show hostess Ricki Lake<\/strong>as Tracy Turnblad.<\/p>\n \u201cI first came into contact with Hairspray<\/em> as a kid when I first saw the 1988 John Waters movie<\/a> on video,\u201d recalls Seattle and the San Francisco Bay Area stage director Desdemona Chiang<\/a><\/strong>, who will put her youthful cast \u2014 aged 14-18 \u2014 through their paces in the Paul Green Theatre<\/a>. She adds, \u201cI was maybe 10 or 11 years old at the time, and saw it on VHS at a friend\u2019s house because her older sister had rented it and was really into John Waters.\u201d<\/p>\n Chiang says, \u201cI was pretty young and na\u00efve at the time, and so was a bit bewildered and fascinated by this outlandish campy story about a crass \u2018plus-size\u2019 girl who made friends with the black kids at her school during segregationist times and ends up overturning the beauty pageant and making a mess out of things. It was gritty, tacky, strange, a little gross, and surprisingly cool.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve never seen the stage musical performed (ever, anywhere), and I\u2019ve never seen the new [2007] movie version<\/a> of the musical\u201d Desdemona Chiang<\/a> confesses. \u201cSo, my impressions of the story are from that initial experience watching the 1988 film.\u201d<\/p>\n Set in Baltimore, MD in 1962, Hairspray<\/a><\/em> features music by Marc Shaiman<\/a><\/strong>, lyrics by Shaiman and Scott Wittman<\/a><\/strong>and a book by Mark O\u2019Donnell<\/a><\/strong> and Thomas Meehan<\/a><\/strong>. Hairspray<\/em> made its Broadway debut, directed by Jack O\u2019Brien<\/strong> and choreographed by Jerry Mitchell<\/strong>, on Aug. 15, 2002 at the Neil Simon Theatre, where it played for 2,642 performances before closing on Jan. 4, 2009. The show won eight 2003 Tony Awards\u00ae, including the Tonys for Best Musical, Best Original Score and Best Book of a Musical \u2014 and begat a 2007 motion-picture version of Hairspray<\/a><\/em>, directed by Adam Shankman<\/strong> from a screenplay by Leslie Dixon<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Desdemona Chiang says, \u201cMost people who\u2019ve seen or heard of Hairspray<\/em> know that it\u2019s a fun musical with lots of great music, singing, dancing, cross-dressing, big hair, and pink glitter. It has a reputation for being a glitzy, rambunctious production that is a bit like cotton candy for the soul. What often gets over-looked is the deeper message of integration and social justice during a time when race was a very uncomfortable topic in America.Hairspray<\/em> addresses issues I feel very deeply about \u2014 which is the marginalization, separation, and judgment of those who don\u2019t have from those who do. The message is shrouded inside a sparkly musical-theater package, but it\u2019s there.<\/p>\n \u201cI think anyone who\u2019s worked in the American Theater knows what it\u2019s like to feel marginalized \u2014 to not be accepted by mainstream society because they\u2019re not pretty enough, thin enough, rich enough, \u2018normal\u2019 enough, or because of their skin color, beliefs, or who they love. We all know what it\u2019s like to not be the cool kid or the popular kid, or even the regular kid. And in a way, that\u2019s what I love about Hairspray<\/em>. It\u2019s a story about misfits who band together under a common cause to become heroes. The fat girl gets the prince, the black kids dance on TV, and society\u2019s \u2018losers\u2019 end up turning themselves into winners,\u201d says Chiang.<\/p>\n When the curtain rises on Hairspray<\/em>, says director Desdemona Chiang, \u201cTracy Turnblad (Rachel Musson), a \u2018pleasantly plump\u2019 teenager from Patterson Park High School, wants to become a dancer on \u2018The Corny Collins Show,\u2019 a local teenage dance program. Despite the skepticism of her plus-sized mother Edna (Jack Carmichael<\/strong>), Tracy gets support from her father Wilbur, (Ethan Fox<\/strong>), and goes downtown with her best friend Penny Pingleton (Lily Whitter<\/strong>) to audition. Velma Von Tussle (Sadie Frank<\/strong>), the racist producer of \u2018The Corny Collins Show,\u2019 rejects Tracy from the audition because of her size; and Tracy is teased by Velma\u2019s daughter Amber (Ainsley Seiger<\/strong>), who is the lead female dancer on \u2018The Corny Collins Show.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Chiang adds, \u201cBack at school, Tracy is sent to detention for having an oversized and inappropriate hairstyle. There she meets black dancer, Seaweed J. Stubbs (Daniel Johnson<\/strong>), the son of the host of \u2018Negro Day\u2019 on \u2018The Corny Collins Show,\u2019 Motormouth Maybelle (Symone Crews<\/strong>). In detention, Seaweed teaches Tracy several new dance moves; and they soon become friends. She uses Seaweed\u2019s dance steps at the Sophomore Hop the following day to introduce herself to Corny Collins (Andrew Cook<\/strong>). Impressed by the new moves, he gives her a place on the show. Tracy\u2019s talent and dance skills soon make her a popular public figure.<\/p>\n \u201cLater, at a platter party at Motormouth Maybelle\u2019s record shop, Tracy rallies everyone to march against the station, because it is unfair to her that blacks and whites are not allowed to dance together. Tracy uses her popularity and the support of Motormouth Maybelle and the ensemble of black dancers to hold protests and eventually integrate dancers on \u2018The Corny Collins Show,\u2019\u201d says Chiang.<\/p>\n