HAIRSPRAY BACKGROUND

Based on John Waters’ 1988 cult film of the same name, the 2003 Broadway smash tells the tale of full-figured teenager Tracy Turnblad’s dream to dance on The Corny Collins Show, a 1962 Baltimore version of American Bandstand.

Anyone familiar with Waters’ movie or its multiple Tony award-winning musical adaptation (with songs by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman) knows that Tracy is the daughter of a woman of ample proportions and a heart of mush named Edna Turnblad, a role originated on film by John Waters muse Divine (an actor of the biologically male persuasion) and on Broadway by the one-and-only Harvey Fierstein.

Despite some extra pounds and a then shockingly progressive attitude towards integration, Edna’s pride-and-joy does indeed make that dream come true, leaving only two more tasks for her to accomplish: a) making “Negro Day” more than a once-a-month Corny Colins Show event and b) winning the heart of local teen heartthrob Link Larkin. Since Hairspray is the quintessential happy-ending musical, there’s little doubt about our pleasingly plump heroine’s success in both endeavors.