Does Hairspray Still Have Hold with New Stars?

Hairspray is nearing its second anniversary on the Great White Way and now boasts two new stars in fact, only two principals, Mary Bond Davis and Dick Latessa, remain from the original cast, so critics were invited back to take in the Tony-winning musical. Headlined by Michael McKean and Carly Jibson, who have replaced Tony winners Harvey Fierstein and Marissa Jaret Winokur as Edna Turnblad and daughter Tracy, respectively, Hairsrpay officially re-opened at the Neil Simon Theatre on June 22. Were critics still tapping their toes to the unstoppable beat?

Here is a sampling of what they had to say:

Eric Grode in his Broadway.com Review: "Michael McKean is a very funny actor. Hairspray is a very funny musical. Michael McKean in Hairspray is, well, sort of funny. Surprisingly, the dip in comedic firepower isn't too damaging in the grand scheme of things. Director Jack O'Brien's fractured look at race relations and sock hops in 1962 Baltimore still has enough socko numbers, foolproof gags and dynamic performances to keep audiences grinning and tapping their toes. But McKean's tentative take on Edna Turnblad, "a simple housewife of indeterminate girth," has little of the over-the-top bravura that Harvey Fierstein provided so memorably. This padded housedress is a difficult one to fill."

Ben Brantley of The New York Times: "Unlike Mr. Fierstein, Mr. McKean never makes that final leap of faith that brings out the woman in a man. He is game, funny and charming as, locating his center of gravity in his newly enhanced chest, he quips and sings... His comic timing and his use of his bass voice to turn a punch line into a home run, à la Fierstein, are beyond reproach. But only occasionally do you shake off your awareness that Mr. McKean resembles a linebacker in a Hasty Pudding revue… [Carly Jibson] exudes a bright zeal and conviction that rivals that of her Tony-winning predecessor, Marissa Jaret Winokur. Ms. Jibson, who is 19, combines the nubile glow of adolescence with the confidence of an old pro… Seeing the show again, I was conscious of irritating stretches of tedium that my mind had kindly erased from my first viewing of it. What this recast Hairspray does best, and what makes it worth revisiting, is to highlight the randy rhythms in early rock 'n' roll that made parents fear for their children's chastity. With Ms. Jibson and Ms. Gambatese playing girls on the cusp of womanhood, the show vibrates with that sense of new access to previously forbidden pleasures."

Clive Barnes of The New York Post: "That feel-good Hairspray has just spritzed up in preparation for its third year on Broadway. And while it's still a hit, it's not quite the smash, knock 'em-in-the-aisles humdinger it was at first. The reason can be summed up in two words: Harvey Fierstein. Or, rather, the lack thereof. That said, this multi-Tony-winner, so smartly adapted from John Waters' cult movie of the same title, still has charms in plenty… Fierstein dominated the show--making it a stage-eating, starring vehicle. His successor is Michael McKean, who's a good actor, but he lacks pizzazz. He also looks like a man in drag, while Fierstein was every visible inch a woman. Carly Jibson, who replaces the adorable Tony winner Marissa Jaret Winokur as the ebullient Tracy, has just the right giggle and bounce--and wistful charm."

Howard Kissel of The New York Daily News: "McKean's Edna is less bulky, more delicate and, dare we say, more enticingly feminine? He actually brings a kind of warmth to the character, especially when he sings. He seems to have developed a good relationship with Dick Latessa, who plays his husband yet another of the eight Tonys Hairspray won a year ago. Their affectionate duet remains a high spot. The best news in the new cast is Jibson. Perhaps because she is only 19, she really does bring a youthful innocence to the role of Tracy. She can belt with the best of 'em and there is something especially endearing about a heavy girl dancing with so much gusto. But it's really her wide-eyed eagerness that puts a fresh spin on everything she does… Hairspray, whose score by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman and book by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan also won Tonys, remains endearing and entertaining."

Charles Isherwood of Variety: "There's plenty of spritz left in the can at Hairspray, the endlessly jubilant musical about a Baltimore teen who fights bigotry with her big hair and bigger heart... It probably would be impossible to re-create the magical symbiosis of the show's entirely adorable original cast--an ensemble so perfectly attuned to their roles and each other that they swept the audience into an intoxicating communal embrace. But the material itself seems to contain some sort of mood-boosting elixir, and the new cast delivers the show's high spirits with infectious exuberance. The Neil Simon will need new carpeting soon, so insistently do toes continue to tap along with this bouncing beach ball of a musical. Carly Jibson is dizzyingly hyperactive as the zaftig but zesty Tracy Turnblad… In his Broadway debut, McKean gives a persuasive, effective performance, but it simply doesn't have the heft--or the heart--of Fierstein's. Despite ample padding, he somehow cuts a smaller figure in Edna's voluminous muu-muus."

Justin Glanville of The Associated Press: " Those clouds of aerosol wafting off the stage of Broadway's Neil Simon Theatre remain as intoxicating as ever. Despite a nearly full rotation in its cast since opening two years ago, Hairspray seems, if anything, more charming on second viewing… [McKean's] performance at a recent show was an uneasy combination of Fierstein mimicry down to the bullfrog voice and sitcom-style smugness. One of Fierstein's primary accomplishments was to make the role's drag element seem incidental. He concocted a fully realized female character to serve as a guide for daughter Tracy, who achieves dance stardom and racial integration in 1960s Baltimore. McKean, on the other hand, is more a sight gag. He doesn't quite make you forget you're watching a guy in a fat suit and a dress… Still, McKean has a compassionate presence and it's very possible he'll grow into the role. At the very least, he's adequate, and that turns out to be good enough for a production that boasts a fabulous Tracy in newcomer Carly Jibson. She's physically quirkier than original star Marissa Jaret Winokur, bouncing around the stage and pulling off some randy moments with heartthrob Link Larkin Richard H. Blake. And her voice is thicker and more soulful than Winokur's… Hairspray remains the best party on Broadway."

Gordon Cox of Newsday: "As evidenced in his poker-faced film work, McKean is not the kind of actor who heartily sells a one-liner, which drains some of Hairspray's comic snap. Still, it's his steady emotional commitment that pays off. Taking careful time with a moment when Edna consoles her daughter Tracy Carly Jibson after the girl's boyfriend disappoints her, McKean renders the quick exchange tender and touching. 'Timeless to Me,' his duet with the perennially delightful Dick Latessa as Edna's husband, remains an old-fashioned charmer. Jibson overdoes it with Tracy's physical goofiness, but she has plenty of spunk and a powerful, belting voice… As it heads into its second anniversary on Broadway, the bouffant of Hairspray has started to sag a little, with some of its crisp energy beginning to lose hold. McKean lends the show a quieter heart, but it still retains enough body and volume that when the closing number asserts, 'You Can't Stop the Beat,' you're inclined to agree."