Midvale Main Street Theater’s “Hairspray” Has Got the Beat!

By Rachelle Porter and Garrett Porter

Once again we found ourselves out of time and rushing to get to the Midvale Main Street Theatre on time for Hairspray, Midvale Main Street Theatre’s current production. We very carefully ate our hotdogs in the car while chatting excitedly about the well-known and well-loved story we were about to go experience. Because we were a little short on time, Garrett didn’t get enough food in his belly and Rachelle as ever was thirsty twenty minutes later  Luckily, this theater has fantastic concessions and the seats are pulled up to tables in the theatre. Talk about dinner AND a show! We were instantly taken with the fun almost diner-like atmosphere that they have created at the Midvale Main Street Theatre.

 The story follows a young “pleasantly plump” girl, Tracy Turnblad, played by Taylor Lawrence, who fights for integration in the 1960s.  Tracy’s dream is to be on  “The Corny Collins Show” because of her love for music and dancing. She “goes to Patterson Park High School watches “The Corny Collins Show” and does nothing else” apparently.  When she finally manages to win a spot on the show, she becomes a star almost instantly, in spite of her less than svelte appearance. She doesn’t look anything like the other young women who star on the show. This fearless girl manages to get herself and just about everyone else into trouble standing up for what she believes in.

 

Ms. Lawrence did a fantastic job playing the lead and bringing emotion and style to her character Tracy Turnblad. (But where is the Tracy Turnblad flip hairdo?) Tracy’s mother Edna captured our hearts with her sweet yet somehow masculine personality and comical remarks. The folks at Midvale Main Street Theatre kept the tradition of having the role played by a man alive by casting Greg Brockman as the lovely Edna Turnblad. Brockman performed the role magnificently with his tremendous bass voice, adding another exceptional layer of hilarity to every scene he performed in. Allie Duke as Amber Von Tussle could not have been a better fit as Tracy’s rival. She knew how to groove and had the voice to match. Ms. Duke’s body language and facial expressions were to die for and had everyone rolling out of their seats in laughter, bringing a great deal of attention to her character even when not occupying center stage.

 

The other leads were commendable. Link played by Colyn Quinn had a great voice and his chemistry with Tracy made the show sparkle. Tracy’s best friend Penny, played by Cassidy Ross, was a delight, as was her mother in real life, Tammy Ross, who played Prudy, Penny’s mother in the show. Our question is (and we say this jokingly), do this mother and daughter have the same issues at home? Motormouth Maybelle, played by Leah Jacobs, had an amazing set of pipes. And Terry Hicks III who plays her son Seaweed, who becomes the show’s interracial couple when he and Penny fall in love, had good chemistry with his love interest and did a great job as the play’s “bad boy.” JJ Bateman’s Corny Collins was a lot of fun and had a great voice.

 The cast was able to work through their opening night jitters quite well during the first half. There were a few missed lines and steps but they played them off gracefully and came out the second half bursting with confidence, vigor and energy that the audience could not help but catch. The choreography by Aaron Ford was a little bit stiff, but with a few shows under their belt we are quite sure they will loosen up and the boogying nature of the play will come ever more alive. Because this show really has dancing as one of its themes, we had hoped the dancing would have been a little bit livelier.

The other disappointment was costumes, by Jan Harris. We had hoped for more authentic 60s attire.

 

There was a lot of young rising talent on this stage. Director Tammy Ross did an exceptional job stretching this cast to their potential and helping them grow. There are certainly some future stars developing their talent in this production.

 Overall this show was a toe-tapping (literally feet dancing to the beat) good time and we were left laughing through the hilarities and commiserating through the heartbreaks of the story. We walked out holding hands and smiling, waiting until we got out of earshot to make sure to mention to each other that WOW–it was so fun! However, you may want to consider leaving the youngsters home for this one as there is some adult humor and language. In the end, if you are up for being carried imaginatively and emotionally into a classic story of fighting for change in a crazy world then you should be finding yourself down to the Midvale Main Street Theatre in time to catch a showing of Hairspray! 

Hairspray

Midvale Main St. Theatre, 7711 South Main St., Midvale, UT 84047

January 23 – Feb 8 Mon. – Sat. 7 PM and Sat. 2 PM

Tickets Adults – $15 Children – $12

Phone: 801.566.0596

http://www.midvaletheatre.com/