THEATRE
Hairspray
Presented by
Playhouse on the Square
at
Playhouse on the Square
June 25-July 25, 2010
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It's 1962, the '50s are out, and change is in the air. Baltimore's Tracy Turnblad, a big girl with big hair and an even bigger heart, has only one passion - to dance. She wins a spot on the local TV dance program, "The Corny Collins Show" and, overnight, is transformed from outsider to irrepressible teen celebrity. But can a trendsetter in dance and fashion vanquish the program's reigning princess, win the heart of heartthrob Link Larkin, and integrate a television show without denting her "do" Only in Hairspray! Welcome to the '60s! "Irresistable! If life were everything it should be, it would be more like Hairspray!" -New York Times.
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At-a-
Glance
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Venue Info
Playhouse on the Square
66 South Cooper
Memphis, TN 38104
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Admission Info
Tickets:
Adults - $35 Students/Seniors - $20 Children - $15 Opening Weekend - $20 Preview - $15
Info Phone: 901-726-4656
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Dates & Times
Dates:
June 25-July 25, 2010
Times:
8:00pm - Thursday - Saturday 2:00pm - Sunday No performance Sunday July 4, 2010
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Event Name: Hairspray
"Hairspray at Playhouse is Must See. Don’t miss it!"
Comment
posted by:
George Conroy - ArtsMemphis Rants & Raver
from Memphis, TN,
Jul 09, 2010
Hairspray at Playhouse is set in Baltimore, but the show is endearingly Memphis. Take your comfy seat in the beautiful new venue and come with me to those thrilling days of yesteryear. The names have...
Expand
Hairspray at Playhouse is set in Baltimore, but the show is endearingly Memphis. Take your comfy seat in the beautiful new venue and come with me to those thrilling days of yesteryear. The names have been changed to protect the guilty, but every Memphian of a certain age is sure to identify thinly disguised allusions to Memphis institutions like “Tuesday is Colored Day at The Zoo,” George Klein’s “Dance Party,” Downtown’s Black and White Store, and Poplar Tunes Record Shop. Baltimore or Memphis, this feel-good musical is all Broadway! Other theatres have installed hearing aids at their seats… POTS may one-up-‘em and install seat belts! The audience can’t help but want to get up and dance in the aisles! And that’s just what happens during the finale when multi- colored balloons drop from the ceiling and the theatre becomes awash in a crescendo of rocking music, bold color, and happy patrons standing and cheering the exceptional cast of what must be one of the very best performances ever presented at Playhouse.
Caveat: If you come to the theatre to see performances by Memphis’ perennial favorite actress Courtney Oliver or the return of Ken Zimmerman you may be tempted after the final curtain call to take your ticket stub to the box office and ask for a refund. Courtney and Ken are so cleverly costumed, always in character, and deliver such over-the-top performances you may fail to recognize either of them as they become Tracy and Edna Turnblad.
Speaking of tickets, get yours now. Hairspray is sure to have a brilliant run in Memphis. It’s a Cinderella story about a nice girl with an unconventional body shape winning her handsome prince, and of a more hopeful society for Baltimore/Memphis's black community. Truth to tell no way would Tracy Turnblad's feet fit into a petite Cinderella’s delicate glass slippers, but the nimble Courtney, herself an accomplished choreographer, can dance any Cinderella off the stage. You will be impressed by the sheer professionalism of the production: beautifully choreographed with energetic dance scenes by guest choreographer Shorey Walker and bright, lively, sets ingeniously created by imported scenic designer Jimmie Humphries. Rebecca Powell’s colorful and eye-popping costumes rock and rule, as do the seemingly sprayed and lacquered big hair-do’s of the day which seem to defy gravity. The music is homage to the Top 40 of the 1950s with brilliant toe-tapping beats and sing-along melodies.
More about the stars of the show: I was blown away as always by Courtney Oliver’s performance. Courtney’s sparkling personality is so engaging, the audience loves her from the very first scene. At no point do we feel this sweet smiley girl is anything but totally sincere. Ken Zimmerman shines as Edna, Tracy's mother (the Travolta movie role). Matt Reed is rather more contained as Wilbur, but their big song and dance duet, "Timeless to Me," gets a huge and enthusiastic hand. The always winning Laura Stracko as Penny Pingleton delivers her usual superb performance. She makes the transition from gifted comedienne/geeky girl to striking beauty after hooking up with Seaweed - played by the very talented Karlos Nichols, whose solo "Run and Tell That" is also a show stopper. Jackie Murray exhibits her powerful voice and delivers a stunningly strong performance as Momma Motormouth Maybelle. Jordan Nichols (whose talent comes naturally as the real life son of Playhouse executive producer Jackie Nichols) excels as the teen idol Link Larkin . The Motown retro Dynamites are superlative as their musical number welcomes the advent of the 1960s.
In the subplot we find Tracy’s character as catalyst for social change; smarting at the unfairness of the voting in the Miss Hairspray contest and the manipulation of a judicial system just to win a contest, and we cheer her determination to make the world a more fair and less racially segregated place.
Hairspray at Playhouse is Must See. Don’t miss it!
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Add review/comment
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Event Name: Hairspray
"Hairspray at Playhouse is Must See. Don’t miss it!"
Comment
posted by:
George Conroy - ArtsMemphis Rants & Raver
from Memphis, TN,
Jul 09, 2010
Hairspray at Playhouse is set in Baltimore, but the show is endearingly Memphis. Take your comfy seat in the beautiful new venue and come with me to those thrilling days of yesteryear. The names have...
Expand
Hairspray at Playhouse is set in Baltimore, but the show is endearingly Memphis. Take your comfy seat in the beautiful new venue and come with me to those thrilling days of yesteryear. The names have been changed to protect the guilty, but every Memphian of a certain age is sure to identify thinly disguised allusions to Memphis institutions like “Tuesday is Colored Day at The Zoo,” George Klein’s “Dance Party,” Downtown’s Black and White Store, and Poplar Tunes Record Shop. Baltimore or Memphis, this feel-good musical is all Broadway! Other theatres have installed hearing aids at their seats… POTS may one-up-‘em and install seat belts! The audience can’t help but want to get up and dance in the aisles! And that’s just what happens during the finale when multi- colored balloons drop from the ceiling and the theatre becomes awash in a crescendo of rocking music, bold color, and happy patrons standing and cheering the exceptional cast of what must be one of the very best performances ever presented at Playhouse.
Caveat: If you come to the theatre to see performances by Memphis’ perennial favorite actress Courtney Oliver or the return of Ken Zimmerman you may be tempted after the final curtain call to take your ticket stub to the box office and ask for a refund. Courtney and Ken are so cleverly costumed, always in character, and deliver such over-the-top performances you may fail to recognize either of them as they become Tracy and Edna Turnblad.
Speaking of tickets, get yours now. Hairspray is sure to have a brilliant run in Memphis. It’s a Cinderella story about a nice girl with an unconventional body shape winning her handsome prince, and of a more hopeful society for Baltimore/Memphis's black community. Truth to tell no way would Tracy Turnblad's feet fit into a petite Cinderella’s delicate glass slippers, but the nimble Courtney, herself an accomplished choreographer, can dance any Cinderella off the stage. You will be impressed by the sheer professionalism of the production: beautifully choreographed with energetic dance scenes by guest choreographer Shorey Walker and bright, lively, sets ingeniously created by imported scenic designer Jimmie Humphries. Rebecca Powell’s colorful and eye-popping costumes rock and rule, as do the seemingly sprayed and lacquered big hair-do’s of the day which seem to defy gravity. The music is homage to the Top 40 of the 1950s with brilliant toe-tapping beats and sing-along melodies.
More about the stars of the show: I was blown away as always by Courtney Oliver’s performance. Courtney’s sparkling personality is so engaging, the audience loves her from the very first scene. At no point do we feel this sweet smiley girl is anything but totally sincere. Ken Zimmerman shines as Edna, Tracy's mother (the Travolta movie role). Matt Reed is rather more contained as Wilbur, but their big song and dance duet, "Timeless to Me," gets a huge and enthusiastic hand. The always winning Laura Stracko as Penny Pingleton delivers her usual superb performance. She makes the transition from gifted comedienne/geeky girl to striking beauty after hooking up with Seaweed - played by the very talented Karlos Nichols, whose solo "Run and Tell That" is also a show stopper. Jackie Murray exhibits her powerful voice and delivers a stunningly strong performance as Momma Motormouth Maybelle. Jordan Nichols (whose talent comes naturally as the real life son of Playhouse executive producer Jackie Nichols) excels as the teen idol Link Larkin . The Motown retro Dynamites are superlative as their musical number welcomes the advent of the 1960s.
In the subplot we find Tracy’s character as catalyst for social change; smarting at the unfairness of the voting in the Miss Hairspray contest and the manipulation of a judicial system just to win a contest, and we cheer her determination to make the world a more fair and less racially segregated place.
Hairspray at Playhouse is Must See. Don’t miss it!
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