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WPCNR ON THE AISLE. Theatrical Review by John F. Bailey. May 6, 2012:
You can’t stop the beat in Westchester Broadway Theatre’s bring-back of the Tony Best Musical HAIRSPRAY based on the camp John Waters 1988 film. The early 1960s beat and changin’ times comes right back with all the teen hormones you remember. Remember when the big thing if you were not too pretty and idolized cute guys to die for, or wore glasses and used a pocket protector was to get on home after school and watch American Bandstand, or if black to watch Soul Train? This was your life!
The spectacular national dance-off finale to HAIRSPRAY…It’s Shindig, Hullabaloo and Bandstand all on one stage! Features the comedically gifted, left to right, front row, INGA BALLARD as Motormouth, PAT McROBERTS perfect pitch dance host, Corny Collins, ELGIN GILES as cleancut Seaweed, ERIN McCRACKEN as Tracy, TRIPP HAMPTON as Link, TERRY PALASZ as Penny’s Mom, and STACIE GOGO as loyal sidekick Penny. Under the Ultra Clutch hair spray bottle : BRUCE REBOLD as Tracy’s Dad, Wilber Turnblad and TAD WILSON as EDNA TURNBLAD. And, of course those wonderful beehive hairdos of yesterdates! Photos, Courtesy, Westchester Broadway Theatre by John Vecchiolla
In WBT’s Baltimore on opening night Friday, the show is WZZT-TV’s Corny Collins Show, a spot-on parody of Bandstand. Saxophonist Ron Kozak’s mellow sax seduces your 60s heart with those danceable, wailing saxy riffs of dances and sound-the-same ballads and the crude beginnings of soul music that drove the 60’s beat beginning a society revolution.
Want to live the innocent life of the 60S teen when there was no AIDS, no drugs, and detention was the worst thing that could happen to you? The irreverent—cohesive cast of strong scene-stealers in one of the best assembled ensembles WBT has put together in every key role, creates early 60s for children of all ages with no four-letter words to worry about. It shows how rock and roll and soul came here to stay.
Determined Erin McCracken as Tracy Turnblad, a chubs with three goals in life: get on Corny’s show, win the show dance contest and pursue her tv idol, Link Larkin played with Bobby Darin/Bobby Rydell flare by Tripp Hampton (below), show that teen dreams do come true as believable, lovable teen leads with great timing, chemistry and deliverability of the original tunes of this show.
Ms. McCracken carries this fantasy out with pluck, guile, and has the audience from the first Good Morning, Baltimore to her best number, I’m a Big Girl Now with Mr. Wilson as her Mom.
TRIPP HAMPTON as idol Link performing IT TAKES TWO on the Corny Collins Show.. Hampton as Link channels Fabian, Bobby Darin, Paul Anka and teen idols of the past with perfect cracked voice.. His rock and roll balladeering captures the hearts and dreams of teenage girls young and old, many of whom attended Friday night.
Hey Man, dig those crazy clothes! Pat McRoberts is glib, smooth-talking Dick Clark-alike host, Corny Collins, with a way of selling hair spray that makes you want to go out to the Rexall. He has the personality of the dance show host down. I was so reminded of American Bandstand.
The coolly evil beautiful Ann Van Cleave (above left) creates classy, nasty, cool, beautiful villainess Executive Producer of Corny’s show, Velma Van Tussle. Velma is dedicated to keeping the show regulars all white and only filled with svelte young ladies and clean cut young men.
Played with a Dragon Lady/Cruella DeVille cattiness, perversely mesmerizing, her Velma dominates, delights with glamorous edge that drives the book. Velma plots to make her daughter Amber Van Tussle (deliciously played by Kara Dombrowski, above right) winner of the show dance competition.
Amber is confidently endowed with a personality as lovable as cracked glass: spoiled, icy, to-die-for, snooty teen catty cruelty by Kara Dombrowski especially when she performs the hysterically icky Cooties in Act Two. The two dynamic blondes, mom and daughter are two more great characters in a show with a Top Ten List of stars.
Elgin Giles is the cool, non-threatening young black, Seaweed, who makes a believable sequence out of the cliche storyline of a young Black falling for Tracy’s friend, Penny created by Stacie Gogo (what an actress for a 60s musical!) who plays “instantly smitten” well and is a strong sidekick to Ms. McCracken. Gogo lands her punch line knockouts with style and effect. You’ll love Mr. Giles in detention, where Tracy encounters the black dance style that she eventually wants to bring to the hip white kids on Corny’s show.
MOTOMOUTH MAYBELLE (Inga Ballard) hold court in her record shop. That’s Mr.Giles (left) as Seawood, romancing Penny (Stacie Gogo) and Link(Tripp Hampton) declaring his love for Tracy (McCracken)
Inga Ballard a big, spectacular woman who has played Motormouth Maybelle many times in previous HAIRSPRAYS is another over-the-top treat. She plays Seaweed’s mom who runs a record shop. Her anthem Big, Blonde and Beautiful brought hurrahs and whoops from the sellout opening night crowd in just the first act! What a belter!
Tracy, through a unique appearance on Corny’s show convinces the sponsor, with her unique moxie and enthusiasm much to the annoyance of Velma and her daughter there is an audience out there who will watch not-so-perfect girls and guys, and lands a slot on the Corny’s dance program.
Tracy also lands in detention by crossing the principal who is a charicature of the mean and nasty principals who seemed to run every school in that time(Scott Calcagno) meets some black kids dancing up a storm in detention and decides that blacks, too, have a right to have a chance to bring their dance styles to the national t.v. audience. She, inspired by Motormouth Maybelle, convinces the black kids and her friend Penny to run a protest against Corny’s program that lands the kids in jail at the end of the first act.
The second act of HAIRSPRAY takes off into more crowd-pleasing numbers than any musical deserves. We join the young ladies in jail at the Baltimore Women’s House of Detention, where Tracy experiences the darkside of protest: being arrested. Here the audience appreciates a funny turn by Terry Palasz (left) as a pseudo-sadistic jail guard. When the sponsor pays their bail, all are freed except Tracy. Palasz doubles as the wonderfully funny typical 60s mom, Prudence Pingleton who breaks up the audience with hilarious punch lines
Tracy is supported by her parents Tad Wilson playing big Edna Turnblad (the part played by Divine in the film) who is proud of her heft while ably matched by Bruce Rebold as Wilbur Turnblad, who loves her despite her weight.
Mr. Rebold and Mr. Wilson’s duet, Timeless to Me punctuated by adlibs brought a sustained innovation in Act II. (Timeless is perhaps an ultimate anthem for the weight and the not-so-gifted-with-physical-beauty set, sort of a You’re the Top for the increasingly dysfunctional 60s. Mr. Wilson and Mr. Rebold touch all hearts and sensitivities with their masterful presentation of this anthem.
Ms. McCracken, Mr. Hampton, Mr. Giles and Ms. Gogo as Tracy,Link, Seaweed and Penny do touching duets on the song Without Love which brings the odd couples, slightly-overweight girl with teen idol (Tracy and Link), white girl (Penny) and black boyfriend (Seaweed)together
Inga Balard’s Motormouth Maybelle inspires the audience with a protest song I Know Where I’ve Been to inspire Tracy and the kids to take on the Amber Von Tussle in the spectacular finale of HAIRSPRAY, the nonstop dance contest on national television at the Baltimore Eventorium.
The finale is introduced by a reverent tribute to the beehive hairdo by Mr. McRoberts’ Corny Collins singing the title song HAIRSPRAY, where the architectural secret of the 60s beehive “do” is revealed with clouds and clouds of the spray that holds it altogether. Mr. McRoberts’ obsequious huckstering and self-love of the typical television personality is just one of dozens of scenes in HAIRSPRAY that had Opening Nighters standing in tribute as this cohesive, dancin’, wise-crackin’ smooth-talking cast of all-stars took their bows.
The 10-minute You Can’t Stop the Beat dance contest finale is one of the amazing scenes you’ll see. From Kara Dombrowski’s condescendingly hilarious Cooties dance entry to try and win the contest to Edna’s Tracy’s mom’s appearance in a most spectacular manner, YOU CAN’T STOP THE BEAT sends you into the night with a much higher opinion of the early 1960s than that era deserves.
Does Tracy win the contest? What do you think?
Bring back those bouffants and beehives ladies, I’d love to get my fingers stuck in your hair again.
BETWEEN THE ACTS…..
The sidemen with leadman Leo P. Carusone driving the boys delivers da-dum, da-dum teen ballads with slow-dancing pathos, sax man Ron Kozak has fun playing all the cliché saxophone solos of that transitional time and bassman Ron Raffio channels the origins of the classic soul riffs.
Choregrapher Richard Stafford, assisted by Jonathan Stahl captures the set the old dances, and gives glimpses of those old moves when teenagers could dance instead of mill and jump up and down on the floor. We still remember you, Pat Molitiere! Swim,Frug,and boogaloo moves, you will see them all.
A very “cool” “way to go, man,” to Bottari and Case for designing sets that capture the rigid studio looks of the old prime time rock shows and afternoon dance programs as well as those sportcoats and crinoline dresses. To die for, guys.
This was also the debut of Alex Sampaio, the new chef of the Westchester Broadway Theatre. The standbys regular favorite entrees, the Talapia, roast beef,stuffed flounder are still there, with a new zest and taste. Salad dressing needed work though. (Today the entrees, next month, the salads). This critic’s roast beef was tender, succulent and deliciously rare and lean and thicker, ladies and gentlemen!
Even the longest running dessert in a starring role, Peach Melba featured bigger cookie,fuller whipped cream and riper pears. The Gin Gimlets were tangier. Patrons should be aware there is a 30-minute intermission and the show breaks at 10:45 P.M.
Steve “Can’t Stop the Chatter” Calleran, the last of the genial tuxedoed emcees who introduces every show again warned audiences that HAIRSPRAY only runs for four weeks, ending June 3. (By the way Kelly Ripka should consider Calleran for her co-host.)He noted in his classic opening, longest-running monologue in a continuing production, that many are still calling for tickets the last show,LEGALLY BLONDE which as closed. Ticket information for the musical that holds and holds, HAIRSPRAY is available at www.BroadwayTheatre.com or by calling the box office at 914-592-2222.
