My Favourite Musical #1
Published By Dónal on Thursday February 19th, 2009 at 03:02
Every once in a while I tell you about one of My Favourite Musicals. After all, this site is called Musicalit.ie. I love musical theatre and performance and have a huge collection of soundtracks and cast recordings. With every My Favourite Musical post, I’ll put a playlist of my very favourite songs from the featured musical and if more than one exists, my favourite cast.
- Dónal
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My Favourite Musical for this week is Hairspray.
The Place: Baltimore, Maryland, The Year – 1962
“Pleasantly plump” teenager Tracy Turnblad, with big hair and big personality, dreams of appearing on “The Corny Collins Show” – local TV station, WYZT’s teenage dance show. The story is based around Tracy’s eventual achievement of this dream and the many social and racial hurdles on the way. Tracy while white herself holds the unpopular view of being pro-integration and anti-apartheid.
“I’m all for integration, it’s the new frontier” – Tracy in “Miss. Baltimore Crabs”
Songs
Good Morning Baltimore – Tracy muses about her love for her hometown, her love of dancing, and her desire to be famous.
The Nicest Kids In Town – The them tune from “The Corny Collins Show”, in which we’re introduced to the show’s dancers (aka Nicest Kids In Town). Of particular note here is the mention of “Negro Day”, on which the black dancers get an opportunity to share their music and dance, which is arguably better than that of the “Nicest Kids”.
Mama, I’m A Big Girl Now – After an announcement that auditions for a place on the show will be held, Tracy pleads with her mother for permission to audition. However her mother Edna, fearing that she will be laughed at due to her weight, refuses. Penny (Tracy’s Best friend) and Amber (Tracy’s enemy and daughter of the show’s producer, Velma Von Tussle) have similar arguments with their mothers.
I Can Hear The Bells – After gaining permission and support from her father, Wilbur, Tracy auditions for the show and bumps into teen heartthrob, Link Larkin, which leads into a dream sequence.
(The Legend of) Miss Baltimore Crabs – Tracy is laughed at and rejected by the show’s producer, Velma who then launches into gloating about and retelling the story of her entry and victory in the “Miss Baltimore Crabs” dance competition.
Back at school, Tracy is sent to detention again for her hair “obstructing everyone’s view of the blackboard” with her hair. There she meets black dancer, Seaweed, who teaches her several dance moves. She uses the new dance steps at the Sophomore Hop the next day to introduce herself to Corny Collins, later integrating the moves into The Madison during the scene transition. Corny sees how well Tracy can dance and he gives her a place on the show. Corny offers the chance for Link to sing “It Takes Two” to her and she quickly accepts, much to Amber’s dismay.
It Takes Two – In this smooth sixties style love song, Link uses many metaphors to symbolise his love. There are references to various relationships in drama (“Lancelot had Guinevere”, Romeo had Juliet”), popular culture (“Mrs. Claus has old St. Nick”), and show business (“Liz, well, she has her Dick!) [i.e. Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor]. Another interesting reference here is of Frankie Avalon and his “favourite Mouseketeer”, this relates to a competition that Disney held at the time [i.e. Mickey Mouse] for people to appear on their shows with Frankie, who went on to have a relationship with one of them. Tracy joins in the singing towards the end.
Welcome To The 60’s – A call comes in from Mr. Pinky of the plus size dress shop, Mr. Pinky’s Hefty Hideaway — Quality Clothes for Quantity Gals, for an endorsement. Tracy pleads with her mother to come with her and act as her agent although Edna has not left their apartment in years. Finally making it outside, Edna is given a huge makeover, as she is told, “Welcome to the ’60s”. Tracy becomes the spokes-girl for the shop.
Run And Tell That – Penny and Seaweed, who have developed a liking for one another, return after having found the nurse out sick. Seaweed, suggesting that some fun would make Tracy feel better, invites all of them to Motormouth Maybelle’s Record Shop for a platter party. At the shop, Tracy rallies everyone to march against the station, as African Americans are not allowed on the show except for the once-a-month Negro Day. Before they start, Motormouth Maybelle convinces the initially reluctant Edna and Wilbur to march as well. The song consists mainly of Seaweed’s justification and glorification of being a “Negro”.
Big, Blonde And Beautiful – Motormouth Maybelle points out pride in her weight and love for food, and tries to instil some confidence into Edna who is ashamed of her size. Tracy and Wilbur encourage her further. The thinner ladies of the community say that they too are confident in themselves.
Interval
The Big Dollhouse – Following a protest held outside the studios, organised by Tracy and Maybelle, almost every woman in town bar Edna is in jail. Velma and Amber suck up to governor and are released, while Wilbur bails the remaining women except for Tracy who was not let go.
Good Morning Baltimore (Reprise) – Tracy is alone in “The Big Dollhouse”, and wishes for Link to save her, however she doesn’t lose confidence. “Get ready Baltimore, theres a bright brand new day in store, let me out so this dreams unfurled, I’ll eat some breakfast, then, change the world! And I promise Baltimore, once I cha-cha right out of that door, the world’s gonna wake up and see: Link’s in love with me!”
(You’re) Timeless to Me – In this sentimental but upbeat number, Edna and Wilbur reminisce about their relationship and acceptance of each other. A variety of strange metaphors appear including – “You’re like a smelly old cheese babe! Just getting riper with age. You’re like a fatal disease babe! But there’s no cure, so let this fever rage!”
Without Love – During the night, Link sneaks into the jail where he finds Tracy in solitary confinement. Penny’s mother punishes Penny for “going to jail without permission” and ties her up in her bedroom where Seaweed comes to rescue her. Both couples declare their love for one another. More popular culture references appear here, including 45″ records, “Doris Day at The Apollo” and “making out with Perry Como”.
I Know Where I’ve Been – Maybelle tells the two escaped couples of the long struggle for equality, which is not yet over.
(It’s) Hairspray – On the day of the Miss Teenage Hairspray, Corny sings a song to promote the show’s sponsor “Ultraclutch Hairspray”, with some shameless self promotion thrown in for good measure – “The only thing better than Hairspray, that’s ME!”.
Cooties – Amber shows off her talents in a bid to get more votes.
You Can’t Stop The Beat – As the competition lines are closing, Tracy takes to the stage joined by Link, Penny (who declares herself a “checker board chick” and Seaweed come on a little later. Seaweed’s little sister, Little Inez comes on, dancing better than anyone else. Edna, filled with confidence takes over, and say’s “if you don’t like the way I look, well I just don’t give a damn”. Meanwhile the competition lines remain open, with votes flooding in for Inez, who is not even an official contestant. Negro Day presenter Motormouth Maybelle appears to get her word in too, singing about her vision of tomorrow, a new day that “don’t know white from black”. Finally, the station bosses, overriding Velma’s control declare Little Inez the winner, officially integrating The Corny Collins Show! This is a roaring finale to a show with bucketloads of moral vision!
My Hairspray Playlist
Marrissa Jaret Winokur – Good Morning Baltimore (Original Broadway Cast)
Nikki Blonsky; Amanda Bynes; Elijah Kelley; John Travolta; Queen Latifah & Zac Efron – You Can’t Stop The Beat (2007 Movie Cast)
See It!
- Hairspray is running at the Shaftesbury Theatre on London’s West End, starring Michael Ball as Edna and Leanne Jones as Tracy. Details: hairspraythemusical.co.uk
- The original Broadway production finished on 4th January 2009, but a U.S national tour commenced 2 days later on the 6th, with the Broadway cast. Details: hairsprayontour.com
Hairspray The Movie (2007), is quite different in some ways from the theatrical version. Next week, I’ll discuss the similarities and differences.
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