You know how even classic musical theater shows almost always have one boring clunker? Well, "Hairspray" doesn't.
From opener "Good Morning Baltimore" to finale "You Can't Stop the Beat," every song by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman is a gem. It's impossible to overestimate what that consistency does for a musical, especially when paired with Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan's witty, slightly bawdy book and Jack O'Brien's detail-oriented original direction.
All of them won Tony Awards for their work on a show that's so much fun there are usually two or three interesting things happening at once. Take, for instance, a scene when brash teenager Tracy Turnblad has a romantic fantasy: O'Brien makes sure we notice her joy and also how embarrassed her meek friend Penny is to find herself in the margins of her friend's dream. Or another where women with hissing cans of hairspray perform a sort of aerosol ballet as counterpoint to the main action.
Big-haired Tracy (played by Niki Metcalf) and her mother Edna (Andrew Levitt, better known as drag character Nina West) are the central figures in "Hairspray," which is set in 1962 Baltimore, where racial integration is not coming fast enough. Tracy dreams of dancing on an "American Bandstand"-style TV show and of making the once-a-month "Negro Day" happen every day, but she's about to learn there are some problems that all the backcombing in the world can't solve. Meanwhile, Edna, who once had big dreams, fears that no good can come of Tracy's efforts.
It's a simple premise but "Hairspray" has humor, heart and unstoppable energy. If you want to quibble, several performers are noticeably too young for their roles, which can happen with nonunion tours. Understudy Melanie Puente Ervin — who went on Tuesday as Motormouth Maybelle, an activist with a big gospel growl — is a much more authoritative singer than actor. And, if "Hairspray" were written now instead of two decades ago, I bet its Black characters would play more central roles.
In general, though, the touring cast is a dazzling bunch of singer/dancer/actors and Levitt, whose performance picks up steam when his character gets a glam-over, must have one of the strongest voices ever to tackle Edna (original lead Harvey Fierstein, while terrific, is not known as a vocalist).
One of the biggest pleasures of "Hairspray" is Jerry Mitchell's choreography, which somehow did not win a Tony but which incorporates early-'60s dances such as the frug, the Madison and the twist into movement that's entirely of his own invention. The blend of styles feels appropriate in a show whose theme is integration and whose songs mash up Motown, doo-wop and girl groups in a way that feels both fresh and instantly recognizable.
The result is almost guaranteed to make you feel better on the way out than you did on the way in. If that's something you need right now, da-doo-run-run to "Hairspray."
'Hairspray'
Who: Book by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan. Music by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman. Directed by Jack O'Brien. Based on the movie by John Waters.
When: 7:30 p.m. Wed.-Thu., 8 p.m. Fri., 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Sat., 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Sun.
Where: Orpheum Theatre, 910 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls.
Tickets: $40-$139, 800-982-2787 or hennepintheatretrust.org.
