‘Hairspray’ – Music by Marc Shaiman. Lyrics by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman. Book by Mark O’Donnell and Thomas Meehan, based on John Waters’ 1988 film of the same name. Direction and Choreography by Dan Sullivan. Musical Direction by Jenny Tsai. Costume Design by DW. Hair and Makeup Design by Bridget Sullivan. Lighting Design by Erik Fox. Sound Design by Bridget Donovan, Properties Design by Rick Grenier. At The American Legion Nonantum Post 440, 295 California Street, Newton, MA, through March 1, 2025.
By Linda Chin
Even though the weather outside was frightful and they closed their last show, Annie, just eight weeks before, Sullivan Rep successfully opened Season Two with Hairspray – another ambitious audience favorite with a large cast, elaborate costumes, multiple scene changes, and intricate choreography – without missing a beat. Adding to already complicated production logistics (and my awe and admiration), the still new Newton-based company’s “tradition” is to present each of its season offerings at a “non-traditional” venue in one of the city’s diverse villages. In 2024, Sullivan Rep “popped up” full-scale productions of A Little Night Music at the distinguished City Hall, Blithe Spirit at the cozy Women’s Club of Newton Highlands, and Annie at the family-friendly Windsor Club in Waban.
For Hairspray, the story of big-hearted, full-figured Baltimore teen Tracy Turnblad, who lands a coveted role on “The Corny Collins Show” – and whose big dream (with even bigger odds) is that White (like Tracy) and Black people can dance together every day – Sullivan Rep returns to American Legion Nonantum Post 440, where an impressive production of Steel Pier marked the company’s debut at this time last year. The Post’s mid-century construction and multi-purpose function room with a built-in, circular, wooden dance floor (and topped with several cylindrical platforms of varying heights) provide a fitting “Good morning Baltimore!” and “Welcome to the 60s” theater-in-the-round experience.
Director and choreographer Dan Sullivan uses every cubic inch of the flexible playing area to the actors’ and audience’s advantage, creating sensational stage pictures for both the smaller scenes and the big production numbers featuring the full cast dancing full out. For this reviewer, it was love at first sight and a proud perma-grin on my face all night for triple-threat Nora Sullivan’s star turn as the sunny, optimistic social justice activist Tracy Turnblad. Same for Tracy’s plus-sized mother Edna, a drag role originated on Broadway by Harvey Fierstein. Elliot Norton-award-winning actor Tim Lawton (of Gold Dust Orphans fame) delivers a subtly nuanced and larger-than-life performance.
Elegant costumes designed by DW added punch and panache and fit the characters’ personalities and the actors’ bodies to a “T.” Hair and makeup design (bouffants by Bridget Sullivan!) were also period-perfect. Erik Fox’s lighting design was spot-on (though the ceiling lights mounted in the upper corners were blinding for audience members seated diagonally opposite). At the performance I attended on opening weekend, there were some issues with the actors’ volumes/mic settings and moments during the fast-paced production numbers with the orchestra/vocal balance and synchronicity between the music and dance elements (possibly because the orchestra and conductor were hard to see and hear from their curtained off location?).
Fortunately, this was not the case for the majority of the numbers, such as the high-energy “Mama I’m a Big Girl Now,” beautifully harmonic “I Can Hear the Bells,” and the Rhythm and Blues Day Dancers’ “Run and Tell That.” As the villainous producer Velma Von Tussle, Katie Ann Clark delivers a mean rendition of “Miss Baltimore Crabs” and “Velma’s Revenge,” and the matriarch of the local Black community, Motormouth Maybelle’s performance of “I Know Where I’ve Been” was especially moving. A vocal powerhouse, Hanifa Nelson-Kanau also delivers a brassy “Big, Blonde and Beautiful.”
Hairspray is generally considered a romantic comedy, and Tracy’s eagerness to win the affections of Corny Collins lead dancer Link Larkin is the main romantic storyline. However, the story is not all fun and upbeat: self-love, acceptance of people of all identities, colors, body shapes, and sizes, love in many forms – parent-child, husband-wife, teenage romance, and forbidden love (same-sex or interracial relationships) are among the themes explored. Tracy and Link (Jack Magan) and her parents Edna and Wilbur (Kai Chao) were well-cast and well-matched pairings, as were Tracy’s white BFF Penny (Eve Harrison) and Seaweed, a black male (Marell Perry). When they tell his mom, Mabelle, about their relationship, she responds with her support and the following advice: “Love is a gift. A lot of people don’t remember that. So you two better brace yourselves for a whole lotta ugly comin’ at you from a never-ending parade of stupid.”
Some people consider Hairspray outdated in several respects, but with the current climate – one where Black History Month, DEI programs, BIPOC, queer and trans people, and the arts – are under attack, I am grateful to Sullivan Rep for giving us live theater, and the opportunity to come together as a community, celebrate our differences, and not feel socially isolated when the never-ending parade of stupid keeps marching on. hardly skipping a beat.
