Phillyist Reviews... Hairspray

It's hard not to have fun with Hairspray. The show lacks much of the charm, and the story, and all of the class, of an old-timey musical, but when done right, it's so fun and engaging that you're bound to enjoy the show more than just another production of The King and I.

Fortunately, Walnut Street Theatre's current production of the show is largely done right. I was there on opening night, which wasn't without its share of early-run technical glitches (mostly bad mics and rough-moving sets and scrims that I was worried were collision-bound once or twice), but it's hard to hold those things against a show if they don't seriously impede its flow. I'm sure—or at least I'd surely hope—that those problems have been resolved by now, just over two weeks into the run. And even if they haven't, they don't make the show any less enjoyable—a credit to its young, generally excellent, and refreshingly local (by comparison to other Walnut productions), cast. Amy Toporek is cast well in the lead role of Tracy Turnblad, the adorable and endearing, yet slightly chubby, dancer-cum-civil rights activist, and Josh Young plays her love interest with just the right combination of stupid and sweet. Kate Fahrner is Spencer-and-Heidi shallow as Amber Von Tussle, and Liz Kimball is sweetly awkward (with one helluva set of pipes) as Tracy's best friend, Penny Pingleton. (Both Amber and Penny's mothers, played by Denise Whelan and Connie Shafer respectively, are also excellent in their roles.) Locals Ben Dibble and Joilet F. Harris play television hosts Corny Collins and Motormouth Mabel with great enthusiasm and strong singing voices, and certainly made sure their characters were my favorites in the show. Both Dibble and Harris were joined onstage by a number of talented young triple threats, singing while doing the kind of dancing (choreographed by Mary Jane Houdina) that's pretty hard to sing through. And if the cast didn't make you want to stand up and dance by the time they performed "You Can't Stop the Beat," you probably don't like having fun, because again, that's exactly what this show is all about.

Truly, the only weak points in the show were Michael Walker's Edna Turnblad, the obese drag laundress, and Neil Totton's "Negro Day" dancing stud, Seaweed J. Stubbs. In Walker's case, it seemed as if he was trying so hard not to recreate Harvey Fierstein's original Broadway interpretation of the character, or John Travolta's portrayal on the big screen, that he was at a loss for what to do when it was his turn. Once in a while, he verged on charming, but most of the time he fell flat. I'm not entirely sure what direction he might have been given to improve his performance, but he was close to something and just needed to see it out. Totton's performance, however, could not have been improved by a few directorial tweaks. Make no mistake about it: he's an exceptional dancer and a talented singer. But it was impossible to take his Seaweed seriously, especially every time he said something lascivious (and he said a lot of somethings lascivious), because every time he opened his mouth, he was betrayed by a telltale lisp. This is not a homophobic statement in any way, but rather an observation: some people just can't "play it straight," and Totton is, unfortunately, one of those people. He was nothing short of distracting, and prompted a serious gigglefest (on the part of my date for the evening, who happens to be a gay man himself) during one of the play's sexier scenes.

If you can look past two weaker performances, though, you get over thirty solid ones spread out over two amusing acts with fun music and sharp dance numbers. It's the kind of fun show that's perfect for the holidays, and because it runs through January 4, a good choice for a three-hour break from Christmas shopping.

Michael Walker (center) appears with the ensemble of Hairspray, running through January 4 at the Walnut Street Theatre. Photo by Brett Thomas.