MTL's 'Hairspray' runs through Aug. 9
The musical Hairspray, based on John Waters' 1988 warm-hearted movie satire, will play at Music Theatre Louisville's new home at the Kentucky Center for the Arts' Bomhard Theatre. Performances run from July 31 to Aug. 9.
As in the original 1988 movie, which made Ricki Lake a star, and the 2007 movie remake, Music Theatre Louisville's stage musical-comedy version follows the adventures in 1962 Baltimore of Tracy Turnblad, a talented dancer whose body and hair are as big as her heart.
The plus-sized Tracy's heart's desire is to dance on The Corny Collins Show, a local dance program based on Baltimore's real-life Buddy Deane Show. When she achieves her dream, Tracy turns her attention to desegregating The Corny Collins Show. Will Tracy overcome prejudice and usher in social justice in television land?
Musical Theatre Louisville's production of Hairspray contains the same hits that made the Tony Award-winning Broadway version a hit: the opening number, "Good Morning, Baltimore"; "You Can't Stop the Beat" and "Welcome to the '60s."
The Broadway version of Hairspray won eight Tony Awards after opening in 2002. Waters' original film wasn't a musical. The 2007 movie, starring John Travolta in the role of Tracy Turnblad's irrepressible mother, Edna, is a filmed version of the Broadway musical.
Hairspray the musical has international appeal: It's been performed in the United Kingdom, South Africa, Canada, Finland, Japan, South Korea, Italy, Switzerland, Brazil, Argentina, China and Sweden. A Dutch television production of the musical's slated to be broadcast soon.
Tickets cost $25 for adults, $10 for children 10 and younger and $20 for seniors 60 and older and for students 11 through college (with college ID). Tickets are available online, by calling (502) 584-7777 or by visiting the Kentucky Center's box office in person Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., or Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. You can view a seating chart of the Bomhard Theatre here.
Posted by Ivonne Rovira
