Theater Reviews

May 18, 2006 - In Reno, "Hairspray" the musical, is a bouffant "do" with nearly every hair in place

By Jack Neal

Waiting with breathless expectation for the 2002 Tony Award winning musical "Hairspray" to play Reno's Pioneer Center, when the curtain went up Tuesday's (5/16/06) large opening night crowd fell in love with the sweet, if bizarre, characters on stage, turned back the clock to the incredible hair and music of the 60s, and had a ball.

"Hairspray" is not a transcendent musical comedy experience, but it is big, glossy, energetic, corny, sweet, lovable, and - above all else - upbeat and entertaining.

John Waters' 1988 film, "Hairspray," is the basis for the show's clever book by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan. The story of the overweight Tracy Turnblad (Christine M. Danelson) who claws her way to victory for the right to dance on The Corny Collins Show, is as inspiring as it's lots of fun.

Marc Shaiman has written the music and lyrics (with some help with words from Scott Whitman). The songs have a feeling for the time and place - 1962 Baltimore - without becoming caricatures. From the cheesy 1960s bounce of "Good Morning Baltimore" through the irresistible "You Can't Stop the Beat" that ends the show, the tunes and ultra stylized movement of the period never get old. "Welcome to the 60s" is a sizzling turn for the show's The Supremes-like girl trio, The Dynamites, featuring singers Amanda DeFreitas, Sabrina Sloan, Renata Renee Wilson.

The duet, "Timeless to Me," sung by Tracy's mother, Edna, played in funloving drag by Dale Calandra, and Tracy's dad, Wilbur, a thoroughly ingratiating Kenny Morris, is a showstopper. A word of caution, "breaking up" and falling out of character because something funny happens may thrill audiences who think it's a just-for-them happening, but it does nothing for the show. Calandra and Morris have a great "Timeless to Me" moment on their hands. They're terrific doing it straight. Why fool around?

The show's upbeat playfulness is torpedoed in the second act, when the other half of the show's integration plot comes into play. When Corny Collins Show producer Velma Von Tussle (Susan Henley) and her daughter, Amber Von Tussle (Tara Macri), attempt to stop Tracy - who does have a weight problem - from being on the Corny Collins Show, Baltimore's black community takes up her cause making civil rights an issue, and in this lighthearted show that's a stretch. Tracy's friend Motormouth Maybelle (Jane Blass), a black employee working the Corny Collins Show, leads the protest with the gospel-like "I Know Where I've been." That's when "Hairspray" hits deep water going 90 miles an hour. Fortunately, it recovers and that's a tribute to the hardworking, strong singing, exuberant dancing, excellent cast which never lets up.

As Tracy, Danelson is the show's centerpiece and she's terrific.Top drawer, too, are Henley, as the mean spirited Velma, and Macri, as the chip-off-the-old-block Amber. Both are wickedly on target. Darren Voros plays Tracy's goodlooking love interest, Link, and he's dashing. As Motormouth Maybelle, Blass is a magnetic stage presence, even if it's not the right moment in the right show.

The one casting intangible is the absence of Harvey Fierstein as Edna. The late, great Divine played Edna in the 1988 film and he was very special. Fierstein opened "Hairspray" in New York and was considered "moving and funny." As good as Calandra's Edna is, it's the "moving" part of the Edna persona that's missing from this production. But who can complain about a show that comes so close to being what a musical comedy should be?

Director Jack O'Brien and choreographer Jerry Mitchell have repeated the directing and choreography they did so brilliantly for "Hairspray's" Broadway version, as have all the show's other creative talents. Many parts cartoon and all parts charm, the marvelously colorful David Rockwell sets, the pizzazzy William Ivey Long costumes and the fabulously outlandish Paul Huntley wig and hair designs are all - each and every one - nothing less than sensational. The only drawback in this happy picture are Steve C. Kennedy's sound designs, which are a bit too muddied for clean, clear listening.

Nonetheless, "Hairspray" is a joy filled tribute to the fun side of America's 60s and a splendid throwback to an American musical comedy tradition too often absent from the American stage.

"Hairspray," the musical, can be seen at the Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts, 100 South Virginia Street, Reno, Nevada, Tuesday though Friday, May 16 through19 (2006) at 8 p.m., Saturday, May 20 at 2 and 8 p.m., and Sunday May 21 at 2 and 7 p.m. For information call 775-686-6600.