Sing It, Don't Spray It!

Hairspray
Originally uploaded by lorilea.

I have always really enjoyed live theatre, and last night's performance of "Hairspray" simply confirmed it. I have never before paid for tickets to a show I knew nothing about, but given that Lexie had seen the production four times before (in New York, not here), I figured that was a pretty good indication that I would find it enjoyable too. And in any case, the newspapers here have been positively raving about it, so that was also a good sign.

If you haven't the live version or the movie, "Hairspray" is set in 1960s Baltimore and is the story of an overweight but highly energetic girl named Tracy whose one dream is to dance on a TV show with all of her young, thin idols. When she achieves her dream, she learns quickly that the show is segregated and therefore her African American friends have no chance of joining her onstage and onscreen. The story is about her dogged determination to change things, and win the affections of her hearthrob co-star at the same time. The movie "Hairspray" became famous because a large man (Divine) played the part of Tracy's mother. And in all the stage productions, this tradition has been upheld. The male actor that played Tracy's mother in last night's performance was superb and had the audience in stitches during a song with Tracy's father. In fact, both the actors ended up laughing in the song, but the audience just applauded even harder. It was great.

When the show ended, the curtain closed on another performance, and the illusion was over. Going out into the fresh cold air, my fellow theatregoers were raving about the show we'd just witnessed. Some gay guys at my bustop were belting out a rendition of the opening number (and not too shabbily either to be honest), and so spirits were high even though it was nearly 11pm.

Tonight I'm off to Navy Pier to the Chicago Shakespeare Company's performance of "Much Ado About Nothing". This is no amateur production either, and I'm really looking forward to it. Lexie works for the Company in their box office, so I've got great seats and a free ticket, so that's a double-whammy bonus!