The film director John Walters made his name with cult classics such Pink Flamingos and Mondo Trasho, both starring the luscious drag queen Divine. These pursued storylines which featured such delicate subject matters as foot fetishism, cannibalism and dining on dog excrement. Then in 1988, Walters and Divine released something far more shocking - Hairspray, which was then transformed into a Broadway musical in 2002. Tonight’s production at the New Theatre is all about such transformations and suddenly we’ve moved into the reassuring territory of good, old-fashioned, family fun.
Set in 1960s Baltimore (Walters’ hometown) the plot shimmies along to the plight of high school student Tracy Turnblad. With luck and talent on her side, Tracy changes from classroom nobody to the all-dancing star of the Corny Collins television show. Her mother Edna, exuberantly played by Matt Rixon in the role originally written for Divine, undergoes an equally unexpected shift; one moment the frumpy Mom who confesses to never leaving the family apartment, the next a bejewelled, buoyant presence on the stage. And the biggest transformation of all is the one enacted by the dancers around them as they bring a new wave of racial integration onto America’s black and white TV screens.
Among the stars of the cast is Shak Gabbidon-Williams. He takes on the role of Seaweed, who teaches Tracy her best moves on the floor of the school detention room. Not content with pulling off backflips and mid-air splits, Gabbidon-Williams also delivers songs with the gravelly voice of a vintage soul star, and the audience lap it up. Also excelling tonight is Brenda Edwards, an X Factor veteran, in the role of Seaweed’s mother, the appropriately named Motormouth Maybelle.
The production climaxes in a blast of fast-paced ensemble vocals and flamboyant dancing, choreographed by Drew McOnie. Even the audience undergo a transformation as the musical unfolds. As the action accelerates towards its final stop, very few of those who began the evening shifting in their seats are not up on their feet, responding with a thunderous ovation.