Lucas Lowry and Olivia Hollan in Hairspray (Connor Smalley)
23 years after its Broadway premiere, the musical Hairspray remains a crowd-pleasing fan favorite, and for good reason. Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman’s score is immensely catchy and the nonstop bops are in satisfying contrast to the play’s heavy themes of discrimination. The play, based on John Waters’ 1988 film of the same name, leans into spectacle and presents its characters as larger-than-life archetypes. At times, this leads to a flattening of the characters and the show’s message. But overall, their straightforwardness and their magnitude mostly aid the overall effect of the rollicking rock and roll extravaganza.
Hairspray opens on Tracy Turnblad, a bright-eyed teen singing good morning to her hometown of Baltimore in 1962. When we meet her, Tracy is lying in bed—or rather, standing with her back against a bed, facing out at an audience situated in the position of her ceiling. The effect is both intimate and a dazzling bit of pageantry, which describes much of the overall style of the play itself.
This year, The White Theatre at the J and The Black Repertory Theatre of Kansas City have chosen Hairspray as their fourth annual collaboration, directed by Damron Armstrong. “In many ways Hairspray is the perfect project for this partnership, as the show highlights many ideals and values our two organizations share,” writes The White Theatre’s Director of Arts & Culture and Managing Artistic Director Keith Wiedenkeller in a program note. “[T]he power of love to transcend racial, ethnic and superficial boundaries; the idea that we are stronger when we stand in solidarity against hate and bigotry; and the universal truth that if we do not remember our history—all of our history—we are doomed to repeat its mistakes.”
In Hairspray, Tracy’s dream is to dance on her favorite TV program, The Corny Collins Show. Ignoring her mother’s warnings that bigger girls and women should avoid seeking that level of attention, she tries to audition for a spot on the show. She’s mocked and shunned, as her mother predicted, though she quickly lands a spot in the cast anyway. While her more cruel castmates don’t let up with their derision, Tracy befriends a group of young Black dancers and sets her sights on using her platform to help integrate The Corny Collins Show.
As Tracy, Olivia Hollan guides the show with joyful optimism, and the supporting cast is stacked with stand-outs. Lacy Goettling is endearingly zany as Tracy’s exuberant and awkward best friend Penny Pingleton. Lucas Lowry’s Seaweed J. Stubbs is utterly charming. Guy Gardner gives a deeply heartfelt and hilarious performance as Tracy’s mother Edna. And Brietta Goodman is dazzling as record store owner Motormouth Maybelle, sparking a mid-show ovation with the show-stopping number “I Know Where I’ve Been.”
The undeniable star of Hairspray is its music. The show is jam-packed with catchy rock and R&B hits and Christopher Barksdale-Burns’ lively choreography amplifies its toe-tapping impact. With its important subject matter and whimsical delivery, the lasting power of this family-friendly musical is evident, and the White Theatre and the Black Repertory Theatre have mounted a solidly crowd-pleasing production of the fan-favorite modern classic.
“Hairspray,” a co-production of The White Theatre at the J and The Black Repertory Theatre of Kansas City, runs at The White Theatre at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City (5801 W 115 Street, Overland Park, KS) through February 23. For more information, visit thewhitetheatre.org.
