hairspray

Hairspray
October 2007

My iTunes: Welcome to the 60's from Hairspray

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I saw the Broadway show Hairspray in New York on Saturday. The Phantom of the Opera will always be first in my heart as a Broadway show, but Hairspray is definitely up there in a list of my favorites! The music is really upbeat and fun -- every time I hear it I just want to dance and sing along. And since I'm from the Baltimore area (and my family actually all lived in Baltimore during the 60's, when the show is set), it's really fun to hear music about my hometown.

The show isn't only good music, though. It is staged around a very poignant social commentary on segregation and racial stereotyping, which, quite sadly, are still present in America. I really hope that as people watch the show, it causes them to think about their own stereotypes and confront the relevant societal issues rather than just saying to themselves, "Oh, that is a thing of the past -- it happened in the 1960's, but not today!"

One of my favorite parts about the show happened during the end of the song "You're Timeless to Me," which is sung by the two actors (yes, both male -- the show is written to have men playing Tracey Turnblad's father and mother, to great comic effect I must say) who play Mr. and Mrs. Turnblad. Typically the song closes with the two singing "You're timeless to me!", but the actors had gotten into it so much that the man playing the father couldn't stop laughing, so the two had to ad lib and repeat the ending of the song all over again. It was fantastic and the audience just loved it!

So, if you ever have the opportunity, go see Hairspray or another Broadway show -- they're fantastic!