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Hairspray
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 If I had to sum up this latest musical adaptation of a movie golden oldie in one sentence, I would do it with the title of the final number, "You Can't Stop the Beat." That beat, as dished up by composer-lyricist Marc Shaiman and his co-lyricist Scott Wittman, is a foot tapping trip to the rock'n'roll era of the 60s and the heyday of the teen-age dance show American Bandstand. The story is pure Cinderella. Make that Cinderellas, for Hairspray centers around two moths turning into butterflies -- one more unlikely and adorable than the other. Sixteen-year-old Tracy (Marissa Jaret Winokur who seems to have been born to be Tracy) is a self-propelled fairy tale heroine. She's short and squat but her dancing and Beehive hairdo can compete with the best of the more conventional looking teens on the Corny Collins TV show. In the course of making her dream come true, Tracy also unfolds the wings of her plus-sized, frumpy, ironing board tethered mom (Harvey Fierestein who, his decidedly non-lyrical foghorn voice and mountains of silicone fat notwithstanding, exudes enough maternal warmth and witty physicality to add a new best actor-and-actress in a musical category to the Tonys). Not only does Tracy manage to get on the show, but she wins the heart of Prince Charming-cum-Elvis-wannabe (Matthew Morrison) and integrates the show, thus helping her hometown of Baltimore to take a giant step forward in racial tolerance. All this puts enough key elements in place to satisfy those for whom a good musical is like a good hairspray, light but with enough hold to keep it from collapsing from its fluffiness. The nineteen songs (no Webber-like leaning on reprises) fit the book so well that you wonder why this wasn't a musical to begin with, with many that will keep bouncing around in your head. Fans of the film will be pleased with the fidelity to the original by book writers Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan (Meehan also contributed mightily to the success of another musical mega hit, The Producers ). They'll also find Harvey Fierest in and Marissa Jaret Winokur better than satisfactory replacements for the original Tracy (Ricky Lake) and Edna (the cross-dresser Divine). As a familiarity with or liking of the Waters film isn't a prerequisite for enjoying the show neither is being old enough catch all the little homages to the '60s or young enough for all its shenanigans to jog memories of your own teens. In fact, while I would tag the youngest age to warrant the expenditure for a ticket at 10 to 12, the 5-year old boy next to me, as well as a 7-year-old girl in front of him, were happily and quietly attentive throughout. As if those endearing Cinderellas and the bouncy score weren't enough, director Jack O'Brien has turned the large supporting cast into a tight-knit unit that gives new meaning to the expression all-star. Laura Bell Bundy as Amber Von Tussle and Linda Hart as her mom, the bigoted producer and former Miss Baltimore Crabs, give winning performances as the blonde "villains." Matthew Morrison's Link Larkin is sweet and attractive as befits the prince of Tracy's dreams. Kerry Butler, as Tracy's best friend Penny proves that the good impression she made as a teen ager in the musical Bat Boy wasn't a passing one . Leading the actors who keep the integration subplot from succumbing to its tendency to preach are Mary Bond Davis as Motormouth Maybelle, the big-voiced proprietor of a record store; Corey Reynolds as her nimble-footed son Seaweed who becomes Penny's dreamboat; and Danielle Eugenia Wilson as her scrappy daughter Little Inez. Dick Latessa is just right as Edna's somewhat nutty but devoted husband Wilbur. Director O'Brien scores extra points for allowing an encore right in the middle of the show for Wilbur and Edna's "Timeless To Me" duet. Due credit for the show's deliciously tacky pleasures can be credited to the behind the scenes stars: Jerry Mitchell for his spirited choreography; David Rockwell clever panels and roll-on scenery, ingeniously lit by Kenneth Posner. (The ensemble silhoutted against bright orange backed ovals in the opening scene establishes the overall visual mood of an animated cartoon); William Ivey Long's fabulously kitschy costumes and Paul Huntley's buoyant, bouffant hairdos -- one in particular outdoing a wedding cake in its towering, frothy glory. Because of the big ripple of positive publicity preceding and immediately following last week's official Broadway opening, Hairspray is sure to be compared with the big movie-into-super-hit-musical, The Producers. While it may well have a more original score, The Producers has sturdier legs to carry it to the pantheon of classic musical comedies. But then why look for split ends in a show that's been sprayed and laquered for big laughs and fun rather than musical history making.
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