| Bouffant Babes: The Ladies of "Hairspray" |
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| Erin McCracken (left) plays the lead role of Tracy Turnblad in Theatre By The Sea's "Hairspray." It's a show so dominated by great women's roles, that even the biggest male role is a woman, Tracy's mother Edna, played by Tom Gladow. (Mark Turek photo) |
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They sing! They dance! They tease! (their hair that is) in the outrageously fun musical “Hairspray,” now in its final week at Theatre By The Sea in Matunuck, RI (through Saturday, August 13). Start with some “Grease” style retro campiness, add in some John Waters quirkiness (his film was the basis for the musical) and some not-too-preachy social consciousness and a whole lotta heart, and you’ve got “Hairspray.” The TBTS production is outstanding and moves along faster than a Six Flags rollercoaster.
Since the show is mostly about the ladies, we asked to talk to a few of them and find out if it’s really as much fun as it looks. Connecticut Concerts met a number of the performers after the opening night performance (solid as a rock, btw, they were in mid-run stride on the first performance and few weeks ago - read our review here) and arranged for follow-up interviews with the star, Erin McCracken, who plays Tracy Turnblad, a teen who dreams of being on her favorite American Bandstand-style TV show and winds up practically starting a cultural revolution, and Alexa Shanahan, a Rhode Island actress who plays Tracy’s sidekick, Penny.
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“It’s just the dream of a lifetime and I’m having a blast!” Erin told me. With its fun way of dealing with important social issues, “it’s a piece you don’t normally see on stage, especially one that kids can relate to,” she offered.
Typically, a hero or heroine has a certain flaw or weakness that propels their character arc. But in Hairspray, it’s other people who have the problems as they bully Tracy and make jokes about her appearance and then go bonkers when she invites her African-American friends to dance on the “Corny Collins” television dance show set in 1962 Baltimore.
“She does have a flaw,” Erin told me. “She’s described as a wide-eyed, optimistic teenager, but sometimes that can be a flaw. She always gets put down and sometimes people think she should just stay in the background. But in the end, she comes out on top by doing the thing that most parents tell their kids: just follow your dreams and work hard at it.”
It’s a role that’s near to her heart. “I always felt like Tracy Turnblad when I was growing up. I felt like I never fit in, I didn’t look like the other girls and sometimes I didn’t get all the chances the other girls got, so that’s why I love playing her.”
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| Jay Leland Krottinger (4th from right) as Corny Collins is joined by (front row from left) Nicole Calabrese, Jamie Markovich, Derek Johnson (kneeling), Rosalie Burke, Jimmy Larkin, Arielle Kook (kneeling), Emily Brockway, (back row from left) James Wells, Mike Baskowski and Zach Trimmer as “The Nicest Kids on Town” on The Corny Collins Show in "Hairspray" at Theatre By The Sea (Mark Turek photo) |
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Alexa Shanahan is a hoot as Tracy’s best friend, Penny. I couldn’t take my eyes off her whenever she was on stage. “Penny’s a character. She’s dumb as a box of hair,” Alexa joked about her role as a teen who breaks away from a controlling mom. “She’s basically following Tracy in her footsteps until she meets Seaweed (charmingly played by Antonio Tillman) and then she breaks out of her shell. She finally found something she really wanted and she went for it.”
Ms. Shanahan grew up in Wakefield, Rhode Island. As a 10th grader, she worked at Theatre By The Sea as an usher. “I thought, ‘this place is really amazing!’ I could see myself on that stage,” she said. She’ll be entering her sophomore year at Rider University next month.
The young actor has discovered a new intensity working in the lighting-quick pace of TBTS. “It’s a great experience!” she enthused. “But it’s been a lot of work. We had to put the show up in nine days! (Amateur and school productions typically take six weeks or more to mount a musical). “It was just insane because it’s the first professional show I’ve ever done so I was thinking, ‘it’s never gonna happen!’ But I was really surprised at how professionally and quickly everything came together.”
All of the women in the cast are outfitted in incredibly beautiful costumes in eye-popping colors with early-60’s bouffant wigs. “Marcia Zammarelli did an absolutely wonderful job with her vision for all the costumes,” Ms. McCracken said, giving props to the resident costume designer. (In the theatre, you can give props to Costumes, but not costumes to Props, lol). “And she is so easy to work with. Everyone on her team just did a fabulous job.”
And how do the girls get along offstage? “Alexa and I share a dressing room,” Erin told me. “She’s so sweet. She’s only in college! For what she has to offer in this production, she’s heads and tails over some of the professional people I work with in New York. She has great comedic timing and that voice! She just opens her mouth and makes it look effortless.”
“Erin is amazing to work with!” Alexa countered. “She knew her lines right off the bat, she was focused and ready to work from day one. I was really inspired by how driven she is to just get it done. So professional. She knew exactly how she wanted to play the part but she took direction like I’ve never seen. It’s been a pleasure to work with her.”
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| Rebecca Gibel as Velma Von Tussle is joined by (from left) Jimmy Larkin, James Wells, Mike Baskowski and Derek Johnson. (Mark Turek photo) |
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In fact, I couldn’t get either of them to say a mean thing about anyone, even the mother-daughter mean girls who lead the tag-team verbal beat-downs on Tracy. Rebecca Gibel plays TV producer (and blatant racist) Velma Von Tussle and Rosalie Burke plays her beeyotch daughter, Amber.
“Rebecca is evil on stage, but in person, she’s the sweetest woman,” Erin laughed. “She always comes into rehearsal with a smile on her face. She’s always cracking jokes and making us laugh. She’s local, so she knows a lot about the theater scene in Rhode Island.”
“She really is the total opposite of Velma,” Alexa agreed. Onstage, “I’m a little frightened of her sometimes but then she comes offstage and she’s all happy and smiling.” And “Rosalie is just as sweet as Becky, they’re probably the two nicest girls in the cast and they’re playing the two meanest parts in the show!” Alexa said.
While Ms. Gibel has a few great numbers, it’s Yvette Monique Clark who steals the show as Motormouth Maybelle whose two showstopping songs are anthems for plus-size women everywhere (“Big Blonde & Beautiful”) and a call-to-arms for civil rights (“I Know Where I’ve Been”).
“She’s done the show on the tour and regionally several times,” Erin said of Yvette. “Not only is she a fabulous actor but she’s a good person, inside and out. I’ve had so much fun getting to know her.”
“Oh my gosh, I could listen to her sing her face off all day!” Alexa gushed. “She’s so great! She’s done the show over 400 times so she knows certain things that she wants to do but she still takes direction. She has so much passion behind everything she sings. It always brings tears to my eyes during ‘I Know Where I’ve Been’ every single night.”
“Being a person of her size and being my size, there are certain roles we cannot play but there are definitely a lot of roles out there we can play,” Ms. McCracken said candidly. “She does lots of other shows, like “Hello, Dolly!” and “Showboat” and she’s getting ready to tour with “Ain’t Misbehavin’.”
Stacy Geer handles three comedic roles (Penny’s mom, a slightly creepy gym teacher, and a jail matron) and count Alexa as a fan. “She’s so funny. She has so many great characters. I love people who do character work. That’s my favorite.”
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| Sean McGuirk, Tom Gleadow, Yvette Monique Clark, Antonio Tillman, J. Stubbs, Alexa Shanahan and (back from left) Antuan Raimone, Lisa Finegold, Sydni Beaudoin and Kimberly Lowe (Mark Turek photo) |
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Which brings up another big (and I do mean BIG!) female role, that of Tracy’s mother, Edna. “Hairspray” is such a female-driven show that even the biggest male role is a woman! Tom Gleadow plays Edna, which has always been dona as a drag role since the original John Waters (non-musical) film with Divine, then Harvey Weinstein originating it on Broadway and John Travolta in the recent movie musical.
“Tom is hysterical!” Erin laughed. “He’s so much fun to work next to and we have so much fun on and off stage. Tom has taught me so much. But I can’t say that without also mentioning Sean McGuirk, who plays my dad. The two of them make a great pair. Their ‘Timeless’ number is so funny! We all stand offstage every night and watch that number. I just love them both dearly.”
“He makes fun of me all the time!” Alexa laughed. “He is my favorite person in the show, probably.” And it’s admirable that Gleadow resists the temptation to play Edna over-the-top. While he’s hilarious, he still keeps it real. “He’s so honest in his character. I asked him what inspired him to come up with this character of Edna and he said, ‘a lot of it comes from my mother, actually.’ That’s so sweet. ‘I just want to play it as honest as I can, about being a mother,’ he told me. I’m really inspired by that.”
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| Tom Gleadow and Sean McGuirk as Edna and Wilbur Turnblad (Mark Turek photo) |
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I must mention the rest of The Ladies Of Hairspray: Lisa Finegold, Sydni Beaudoin, Kimberly Lowe, Roslyn Seale, Emily Brockway, Arielle Kook, Nicole Calabrese, Jamie Markovich and Amanda Kouri.
Both Erin and Alexa are gorgeous and it was fun to meet them out of their “Hairspray” costumes and wigs.
I asked them what they take away from the “Hairspray” experience.
“Everyone in the cast says this all the time, ‘go big or go home,’ Alexa replied. “Make a choice and if it doesn’t work, the director will tell you. But in order for the director to give direction, you have to make choices, really commit and go for it. If you don’t, what are you doing? It’s what being an actor – or anything – is all about. I’ve always known that but now I see it’s what you really have to do.”
For Erin, “I’ve learned that anything is possible. I always knew I wanted to be an actor. My parents always told me it was going to be hard work and you kind of have to thrive off of rejection. And that’s exactly what Tracy does. If you just keep trying, your dreams are going to happen. I’ve been working as a professional actor for four years now and it’s all about ‘keep on keepin’ on.’ Just like the last song says, ‘you can’t stop the beat.’ If you just follow your dreams and believe in yourself, things are going to happen. That’s exactly what happens to Tracy and that’s exactly what happened to me and it’s exactly what can happen to anybody else.”
Enjoy a summer night at Theatre By The Sea with this thoroughly entertaining show through August 13. The theatre is located at 364 Cards Pond Road in Matunuck, RI, a short drive from the Connecticut border. Tickets are $39 - $54, a bargain. Rush tickets are available on a limited basis one hour prior to curtain on the day of the performance.
Call the box office at (401) 782-TKTS or visit them online.
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