It’s time to tease your hair into a bouffant or beehive, spray it into shellac heaven, wiggle into a poodle skirt and be prepared to dance as you’ve never jitter bugged before. Hold on to your partner because the mega musical hit “HAIRSPRAY!” is bopping into Bridgeport.
Until Sunday, October 16, the Downtown Cabaret Main Stage Theatre will present this 2003 winner of eightTony Awards by Mark O’Donnell and Thomas Meehan, with score by Marc Shaiman and lyrics by Shaiman and Scott Wittman that is guaranteed to grab your heart and take it for a spin.
Big heart, big hair, big girl Tracy Turnblad lives to dance and Lynette Marshall's Tracy is a wonderful whirling dervish on stage. A chance to appear on “The Corny Collins Show,” a local teenage TV dance show, changes her life and thrusts her into the spotlight. As she dances up a storm, she also stirs up a tornado of controversy as she tries single-handedly to integrate the whole city of Baltimore by making Negro Day more than a once a month occurrence. In the process, she also sets her permed hairdo on the cutest heartthrob on the show, Link Larkin (Eric Regan) and the crown of princess.
Lynette Marshall stars as the irrepressible Tracy, who with grit and determination sets out to win her dream guy and save her little corner of the world. With the help and encouragement of her wonderfully supportive parents Edna (G. Laricca) and Wilbur (Eric Dino), Tracy takes the lead starting with the bouncy tune “Good Morning, Baltimore” all the way to the finale “You Can’t Stop the Beat.”
Helping Tracy in her mission are her best friend Penny (Kristin Gagliardi), Seaweed (Garth West), Motormouth Maybelle (Alana Cauthen) and Corny Collins (Chris Kozlowski) while Velma von Tussle (Karen Hanley) and her daughter Amber (Chelsea Dacey) do everything in their power to stop her.
Bob Filipowich and Robie Livingstone join an enthusiastic and energetic cast directed with zest by Christy McIntosh-Newsom.
For tickets ($33), call the Downtown Cabaret Main Stage Theatre, 263 Golden Hill Street, Bridgeport at 203-576-1636 or online at www.MyCabaret.org or dcab.com. Performances are Friday at 7:30 p.m. , Saturday at 5 p.m.and 8:15 p.m., and Sunday at 5 p.m. Plan to take the kiddies to see Hansel and Gretel ($23) at noon on the weekends.
You won’t want the beat to end as Tracy Turnblad swivels and sways to the latest 60’s tunes, so get your cans of hairspray and tubes of gel primed for supersonic action.