Big songs, big hair, and big dance numbers. Hairspray - The Broadway Musical seems at first to be a fun story of teens growing up in Baltimore in the 1960s. But mix in a backdrop of racial tension, and you also have some pretty big problems, like prejudice and discrimination.
"What's great about this show is it's bright and cheerful and colorful, but it has a message," explained Marissa Jaret Winokur. She's directing a new production of Hairspray in Thousand Oaks.
"I always say that Tracy and the colors and the up-tempo songs are the Trojan Horse to the real story of Hairspray, which is in the 1960s of segregation, and Black people and white people couldn't dance together on TV or do a lot of things together," Winokur continued. "And that's basically what this story is rooted in and based in is a time in history that was horribly unfair."
It's a full-circle moment for her because she originated the lead character of Tracy Turnblad on Broadway, scoring a Tony award for her portrayal of the plus-sized dreamer.
"It's Tracy squared!" said Winokur. "I don't think anyone knows this show better than me, except for the people who wrote the show."
She added that Lexie Martin's portrayal of Turnblad is fresh and new.
"It isn't like, 'Oh, she's wearing my boots'. She's literally just wearing different boots. Like, you know, she's saying the words and singing the songs, but it's her [incarnation]. This whole production is different. We have original choreography. We have all new sets. We're not just doing a carbon copy of the Broadway show. You know, I've come up with tons of new moments, especially for little Inez, who's local. She's only 12, and she's so sweet and so good that I've been able to give her moments that like our little Inez didn't have, you know. Just said like give our new moments to keep it fresh."
Every story needs a villain, and Hairspray has the glamorous Velma Von Tussle, played by Becky Lythgoe.
"My character is really this sort of reflective mirror showing and being sort of the epicenter of what used to be really horrific, and represents a very painful time in history where racism and prejudice and a lot of horrible things were going on. I hope that she shows our audiences how far we've come and also the work that we still need to do," said Lythgoe.
"I certainly hope that it's evoking conversation afterwards — of what not to be or if they are reminded of what's happened in the past, they're able to remember it and recognize how horrific it was," she added. "It is so interesting how Hairspray does tackle the issues of systemic racism and the body shaming that happened in this era by wrapping it all in big, juicy, belty production number," said Lythgoe.
5 Star Theatricals' presentation of Hairspray, the Broadway Musical, opens this Friday, October 10, and will stage selected performances through October 26. All shows are at Scherr Forum Theater in Thousand Oaks.
