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From Hollywood to Broadway and back again, Hairspray has taken the world by storm. Building off the childhood memories of provocateur filmmaker John Waters, a host of visionary collaborators have invented and reinvented the work, and the result is three very unique incarnations.
Earning significant dollars and fans every step of the way, the sweetly rousing story has launched a franchise while digging into themes of segregation, body image, interracial love, gender-bending and the power of a fab beat. Last weekend, the shiny Hollywood film grossed over $27 million at the box office, making it the biggest debut for a movie musical ever.
Earning significant dollars and fans every step of the way, the sweetly rousing story has launched a franchise while digging into themes of segregation, body image, interracial love, gender-bending and the power of a fab beat. Last weekend, the shiny Hollywood film grossed over $27 million at the box office, making it the biggest debut for a movie musical ever.
Toasting this pop culture phenom, Lisa Collins of Hollywood.com and Paul Wontorek of Broadway.com team up to explore each version's distinct flavor,
| Three Cans of Hairspray | ||
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| THE MOVIE: Released: 2/26/88 Budget: $2 Million Director: John Waters Stars: Ricki Lake Tracy, Divine Edna, Jerry Stiller Wilbur, Ruth Brown Motormouth, Deborah Harry Velma, Sonny Bono Franklin, Colleen Fitzpatrick Amber, Leslie Ann Powers Penny, Clayton Prince Seaweed and Michael St. Gerard Link |
THE MUSICAL: Opened: 8/15/02 Budget: $11 Million Director: Jack O'Brien Stars: Marissa Jaret Winokur Tracy,Harvey Fierstein Edna, Dick Latessa Wilbur, Mary Bond Davis Motormouth, Linda Hart Velma, Laura Bell Bundy Amber, Kerry Butler Penny, Corey Reynolds Seaweed and Matthew Morrison Link |
THE MOVIE MUSICAL: Released: 7/20/07 Budget: $75 Million Director: Adam Shankman Stars: Nikki Blonsky Tracy, John Travolta Edna, Christopher Walken Wilbur, Queen Latifah Motormouth, Michelle Pfeiffer Velma, Brittany Snow Amber, Amanda Bynes Penny, Elijah Kelley Seaweed and Zac Efron Link |
| A Star is Born | ||
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| THE MOVIE: Way before for her talk show fame, Ricki Lake was an Ithaca College freshman studying for finals when she won the role of Tracy Turnblad, earning $50,000 for her acclaimed movie debut. |
THE MUSICAL: Best known for a cameo as a fast food drive-through girl in American Beauty "You're so busted!", Marissa Jaret Winokur landed her first lead and a Tony! in the stage musical. |
THE MOVIE MUSICAL: An ice cream scooper at Cold Stone Creamery on Long Island, Nikki Blonsky had only appeared in small community theater gigs prior to getting cast as the new Tracy. |
| The Three Faces of Edna | ||
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| THE MOVIE: Simultaneously sublime and alarming, Waters' childhood pal and longtime muse Divine brought a girth of integrity to his downtrodden, largess laundress-in-a-housecoat, Edna Turnblad—injecting the mainstream with its first decent shot of transgendered casting. With signature 1950s arched brows and pin-curls, Divine's Edna is a brash, no-nonsense homemaking dame, with a wily smile hidden behind her steam-wafting iron, ultimately awaiting to blossom into the modern-day lady suppressed within. |
THE MUSICAL: While he intentionally tipped his wig to Divine's beloved film work, Harvey Fierstein brought a unique comic sensibility—not to mention signature gravelly voice—to his distinct Broadway performance. His triumphant take which won him the Tony and every other theater award took Fierstein off of the career track of typical Hollywood "gay friend" cameos and confirmed him as one of the great stage stars of our time. Fun fact: Fierstein also wrote a handful of Edna's signature jokes himself. |
THE MOVIE MUSICAL: Although a little heavy on the Bal'more accent, John Travolta brings a coy, demure Edna into the fold of the bubbly 2007 cast. Arguably scene-stealing in a passive/aggressive way with Edna's self-conscious, agoraphobic ways, Travolta wisely gives Edna's touching entrance to the outside world some big notes to underscore the non-dramatic nature of cross-gendered casting in 2007. Plus, as we all know from Saturday Night Fever and Grease, The Boy in the Plastic Bubble knows how to step! |
Maybelle's Magic Moment | ||
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| THE MOVIE: "Ooh Papa Tooney. We've got a Looney!" Motormouth Maybelle Ruth Brown utters when religious, knife-wielding Prudence Pingleton enters her record shop to protect her daughter's white virtues from the soulful Seaweed. "Don't you cast one of your voodoo spells on me, native woman!" With Maybelle's nonplussed eye-roll, it's clear this isn't her first cuckoo racist encounter, nor will it be her last. |
THE MUSICAL: To sneak into the final televised face-off between Tracy and Amber, Broadway's Motormouth created by Mary Bond Davis slyly disguises herself in riot gear and slips in with the law, only to rip it off and show off a feather hat and fab gold lamé getup underneath it all when she reveals her identity to croon "You Can't Stop the Beat ." All eyes focus on the statuesque, gilded Maybelle—a lady liberty signaling '60s change. |
THE MOVIE MUSICAL: The ever bodacious Queen Latifah offers a comfortable-in-her-skin Maybelle, with a soft but spirited bite. Toning down the rabble-rousing and upping the musical stakes, she brings the house down with "I Know Where I've Been," now staged at a protest rally. The poignant or awkward, depending on who you ask! moment ultimately challenges segregationists: try to exist without this kind of soul in your lives! |
Back to Their Roots | ||
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| THE MOVIE: Who screams the late 1960s better than the other half of that crooning duo that first sang about "The Beat Goes On"? Swarthy Sonny Bono made a surprising addition to Waters' 1980s version of the '60s, playing the father to Tracy's nemesis Amber Von Tussle, opposite Deborah Harry. |
THE MUSICAL: Not only did starring in Hairspray mark a return to the Broadway stage after 15 years away for Fierstein... it also marked an unexpected return to drag. He first became a sensation not to mention gay icon in a dress as star and author of the Tony-winning Torch Song Trilogy both on stage and screen. |
THE MOVIE MUSICAL: Michelle Pfeiffer starred as a tough biker chick in the cult 1982 sequel Grease 2 early in her film career and sang again while crawling on a baby grand in 1989's The Fabulous Baker Boys. As Hairspray's former "Miss Baltimore Crabs," she's showing off her pipes once again. |
Good Morning Baltimore | ||
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| THE MOVIE: Shot in the resplendent, mean streets of Baltimore, Maryland and various locales in Waters' hometown, the tale of one teen's immersion into a changing world by way of a TV dance show jumps to life with authenticity and flavor. The city becomes another character in the film, revealing both stunted growth and endless changes at once. Row houses, a school building and the bold graffiti on the Turnblad residence keep the action rooted in the urban reality of decay and renewal. |
THE MUSICAL: Although working within the limitations of the stage, set designer David Rockwell took a trip to Baltimore with Waters acting as tour guide, natch to research the musical. He wound up cleverly recreating the look and color palate of Baltimore's row houses—even taking time to achieve the look and feel of the faux-stone siding that is a common sight. On the writing side, the script is peppered with references to real locales like Druid Hill and Patterson Park High. |
THE MOVIE MUSICAL: Although the new movie was filmed on soundstages and the streets of Toronto, attention to detail remained meticulous even in the dazzling CGI "helicopter view" opening shot of the city. The production design gives us a fantasy musical visual take on the urban landscape in transition—stuck somewhere between old and new, black and white, rich and poor. Like in the Waters' film, Tracy's graffiti-marked row house hints of a city with some visible signs of rebellion. |
| Hairdo Hall of Fame | ||
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| THE MOVIE: A hair of glass—namely the infinity, side-swept bouffant flip donned by ྌs pop icon Deborah Harry of Blondie fame—gave Velma Von Tussle instant icon status. Her 'do in Hairspray definitely required gallons of the title product. She carries off the insane wave of piled-on blonde, encasing her head without a trace of irony—just like your grandaunt who rocked the same look, back in the day. |
THE MUSICAL: It sweeps up into a mega-blonde bouffant with curls cascading from the top, while surrounding straight hair flows from around the perimeter to modernize a Madame de Pompadour look. Question: What can top the ludicrously elevated 'do that Amber played originally by Laura Bell Bundy of Broadway's Legally Blonde sports for the Miss Teenage Hairspray contest that caps the show? Answer: Nothing. |
THE MOVIE MUSICAL: It's campy, whimsical and has many exits for the hair to spill from the head. That's Amanda Bynes' 1960s period 'do, which may inspire a few multiple ponytail wearing gals to come out of the woodwork and hold their heads up high. A mini-bouffant on top, the 'do has just enough woman in it to counterbalance its childlike pixieness—not a bad inspiration for trendsetting Tinseltown movie stylists. |
Blast from the Past Cameo | ||
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| THE MOVIE: Pia Zadora, wherefore art thou? Having been out of the public eye for a good minute, petite onetime Golden Globe winner look it up Zadora pumped out a cute comeback back in 1988 playing a slick-haired beatnik drug chick. These days, Pia is working on... Pia. |
THE MUSICAL: In its six years on Broadway, Hairspray has welcomed many a musical guest star including Diana DeGarmo, Haylie Duff and the upcoming Lance Bass. These days former "Round and Round" R&B wonder kid Tevin Campbell is groovin' and movin' as Seaweed Stubbs. |
THE MOVIE MUSICAL: Blink and you'll miss it: After playing the harried dancer wrangler in the original movie, Mink Stole, a well-worshipped featured performer, seen in just about every John Waters film, pops up as a shocked Baltimore lady in the new movie's opening minutes. |
Best Big Girl Pride Moment | ||
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| THE MOVIE: In her first televised modeling gig for the local plus-size gal store, not only does our hero girl Tracy walk the walk with bounce and style... she also daintily nibbles on bright pink Hostess SnoBalls while doing so! Go Tracy! |
THE MUSICAL: In a scene unique to the stage version, the ever-rhyming Motormouth boosts Edna's self-confidence in being an "ample American" by saying things like "You can't let weight restrict your fate!" and "The bigger the girth, the more you're worth!" |
THE MOVIE MUSICAL: The new screenplay adds the element of Edna, ashamed by how she looks, not having left the Turnblad home for over a decade. When her daughter yanks her out with the song "Welcome to the '60s," the pleasantly plump mama gains new self-confidence. |
Edna Loves Wilbur | ||
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| THE MOVIE: Upon first seeing the Turnblads—Jerry Stiller and Divine—at home in their hilariously banal life, it's clear that Waters is skewering suburban stereotypes. But in portraying the relationship more as a sexless friendship, the actors nail the long-term married couple dynamic to a tee…while still making it clear that their love mingles in deep waters. We even get a jolt of physical chemistry between the two in Act Three—although it may come a bit too late for us to remember that Divine probably used aftershave that morning. Aha!—subversion! |
THE MUSICAL: In the stage musical, joke shop owner Wilbur originally played by Broadway old-timer Dick Latessa, who also walked off with a Tony is a goofy loon who loves whoopee cushions, exploding bubble gum and his larger-than-life wife. And Edna lights up when he walks in a room—they're clearly made for each other. The chemistry is further exploited in the Act Two duet "Timeless to Me," which turns the working class regulars into amorous old-time vaudevillian hoofers. The show's authors had lounge icons Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme in their heads when they penned the tune. |
THE MOVIE MUSICAL: It's all about the movie close-up. Getting to be the third party to the deliciously risky lack of space between demure Edna and frisky Wilbur is nothing short of exciting—maybe because under all those prosthetics, the fact remains: we're watching John Travolta and Christopher Walken tango, waltz and canoodle and the chemistry is palpable. Adding jealousy and a third wheel to the mix is Michelle Pfeiffer, which only serves to heighten the kinetics. It's believable that this couple could actually be intimate after the credits roll—and that's what counts. |
Best Special Effect | ||
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| THE MOVIE: Edna's 44DDD whoppers! |
THE MUSICAL: A poster announcing a gig for the Supremes-flavored Dynamites comes to life in "Welcome to the 60s," with the three actresses stepping out to sing to the Turnblad ladies. |
THE MOVIE MUSICAL: A Tracy-less Link Larkin sings "Without Love" to a framed photo of his imprisoned love—which sings right back to him! |
Like Mother, Like Daughter | ||
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| THE MOVIE: Who can resist the sight of Ricki Lake and Divine side-by-side in matching, beflowered outre outfits, bottomed off with a straight-cut, pagurian skirt? Not us! It's a known fact that when a genetic girl hangs with a trannie, the latter is afforded even more realness. You couldn't get a more real mother-daughter visual moment if you tried! |
THE MUSICAL: For "Welcome to the 60s," Edna and Tracy emerge from Mr. Pinky's Hefty Hideaway in vibrant Pucci-flavored silk and chiffon getups trimmed in aqua ostrich feathers. The vibrantly colored purple and blue hues seem to blend together and dance right off of Edna and Tracy's dresses and into the audience's laps. It's no wonder costume designer William Ivey Long won a Tony. |
THE MOVIE MUSICAL: The 2007 Turnblad ladies have far more realistic fashion transformations than did their predecessors, spending a dreamy, let's-get-dolled-up session that results in John Travolta and Nicki Blonsky heading home in oh-so-girly, scalloped-necked, pink sequined dresses that could've doubled for Jackie-O-esque, White House, gala affair attire. |
Unique Moments | ||
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| THE MOVIE: Great wigs on fire! When her wig-planted bomb shoots off in the film's final moments, Velma Von Tussle's alabaster face is charred black…a masterful Waters moment that shows just how far a nasty racist will go to impede equality and progress! |
THE MUSICAL: Onstage, a bunch of the main characters head to prison with Tracy following the protest on the TV station. Spotted in lockdown: Edna, Velma, Amber, Penny and Motormouth. They also sing a song called "Big Dollhouse." |
THE MOVIE MUSICAL: In a brand new scene with a sexy new reprise of "Big, Blonde and Beautiful", a scheming Velma seduces a befuddled Wilbur during a late night visit to his gag shop, the Har-De-Har Hut, while Edna gets dolled up for her man a la Anita in West Side Story. |
Where's Waters? | ||
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| THE MOVIE: Like Hitchcock himself, Waters likes to keep fans searching for his well-placed cameos. In Hairspray, he pops up with a spinning, Vertigo-inspired bullseye, stealing the scene as a shrink hired to heal the race-mixing tendencies of Tracy's quirky best bud, Penny Pingleton. |
THE MUSICAL: Waters had never stepped onstage at the Neil Simon Theatre, where Hairspray plays on Broadway, but his voice can be heard eight times a week. In a scene at Motormouth's record shop, the locals are gathered around a TV hearing news of Tracy's escape from prison…Waters voices the newscaster. |
THE MOVIE MUSICAL: Although he never considered actually directing the new film, fans are spotting John Waters in a showy cameo in the opening number, "Good Morning Baltimore." Wearing a classic perv trench coat, he runs by as the "flasher who lives next door" to Tracy Turnblad. As it should be. |
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