Cute and cartoon-y, a campy, cardboard comedy with heart, this bouncy, bubble-gum bauble is already a favorite among those whose entertainment requirements are non-cerebral. Marissa Jaret Winokur as Tracy is every tubby teen's heroine as she blithely blitzes through weight-related insults and stereotypical barriers to achieve her dreams in remarkably short succession: to dance on the local TV's "The Corny Collins Show" (Clarke Thorell) and steal the beauty queen's (pouty Laura Bell Bundy) hunky beau (Mathew Morrison).
It would seem she has it all but, not content with her sudden success, she also single-handedly takes on the race issue of Baltimore, circa 1962, insisting that black music and dancers be integrated with white instead of being relegated to a monthly "Negro Day," hosted by Motormouth Maybelle (Mary Bond Davis). Her goofy girlfriend (Kerry Butler) similarly jumps into an interracial relationship with nary a backward glance with Maybelle's son (Corey Reynolds), despite her mom's (Jackie Hoffman) frantic but futile protestations.
Since reality has little role in this fun fantasy-with-a-message, based on John Waters' 1988 film, all is accomplished within the two fast-moving acts with alacrity and dispatch, thanks to director Jack O'Brien and book adaptation by Thomas Meehan and Mark O'Donnell. Harvey Fierstein is a sublime sight gag as Tracy's mother. His -- er, her transformation from blase, blowsy homemaker to glamorous stage mom is accomplished with the help of versatile costumer deluxe, William Ivey Long. Fierstein and "husband" Dick Latessa deliver the production's show stopper, the love-song-and-dance, "Timeless To Me." The rest of Hairspray is all a blur of audience-friendly energy and enthusiasm. There is nary an ounce of substance or originality in this derivative opus for which predisposition toward this mindless musical melee is a must. Marc Shaiman's score is as generic as Jerry Mitchell's choreography.
Easily executed replica's of David Rockwell's cartoon-y sets and Mr. Long's costumes make it a must for high school productions across the country. Special mention must go to another star of the show, award-winning wig master, Paul Huntley, who confides that his chief ingredient is the show's title.
