Photos: Check Out Original HAIRSPRAY Costumes New John Waters Exhibition at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures

The exhibition is on view through August 4, 2024.

By: Sep. 18, 2023
Get Access To Every Broadway Story

Unlock access to every one of the hundreds of articles published daily on BroadwayWorld by logging in with one click.




Existing user? Just click login.

John Waters: Pope of Trash, the first comprehensive exhibition dedicated to the eponymous artist’s contributions to cinema, opened at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures over the weekend.

The exhibition includes the costumes from Waters' Hairspray film, which inspired the Tony-winning musical of the same name. Props from Waters' 1990 film Cry Baby, also inspired a Broadway musical, are also featured.

Hairspray, the quirky story of a plus-sized Baltimore teen and her friends integrating a local television dance show in the early 1960s, wasn't a huge success at first but has gone on to have a life of its own.

It was remade as a Tony Award-winning musical on Broadway, a megahit musical film in 2007 and a live TV version in 2016. But in John Waters' 1988 original, it was an 18-year-old Ricki Lake who was first tapped to play the lead role of Tracy Turnblad. 

Check out photos of original props and costumes from Hairspray and Cry Baby below!

Exploring his process, themes, and unmatched moviemaking approach, the exhibition traces the grotesque, daring, deliberately tacky, hilarious, and salacious elements that recur throughout Waters’s sixty-year career of filmmaking and reveals how his movies have redefined independent cinema.

On view through August 4, 2024, John Waters: Pope of Trash journeys through Waters’s complete filmography, from his do-it-yourself independent beginnings to his rebellious Hollywood productions, including four shorts and twelve feature films.

Collaborating closely with Waters—anointed the “Pope of Trash” by author William S. Burroughs—as well as members of his casts and crews, the co-curators selected more than 400 works for the exhibition, many of which have never been displayed publicly.

Check out photos from the exhibition here:

Photos: Check Out Original HAIRSPRAY Costumes New John Waters Exhibition at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures
Original Hairspray Costumes on Display at the John Waters Pope of Trash, an Exhibition Devoted the Filmmaker's Work at The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, Los Angeles, California

Photos: Check Out Original HAIRSPRAY Costumes New John Waters Exhibition at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures
Original Hairspray Costumes on Display at the John Waters Pope of Trash, an Exhibition Devoted the Filmmaker's Work at The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, Los Angeles, California

Photos: Check Out Original HAIRSPRAY Costumes New John Waters Exhibition at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures
Cry Baby Props on Display at the John Waters Pope of Trash, an Exhibition Devoted the Filmmaker's Work at The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, Los Angeles, California

Photos: Check Out Original HAIRSPRAY Costumes New John Waters Exhibition at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures
Cry Baby Costumes on Display at the John Waters Pope of Trash, an Exhibition Devoted the Filmmaker's Work at The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, Los Angeles, California

Photo by: Charles White,JWPictures/©Academy MuseumFoundation


Play Broadway Games

The Broadway Match-UpTest and expand your Broadway knowledge with our new game - The Broadway Match-Up! How well do you know your Broadway casting trivia? The Broadway ScramblePlay the Daily Game, explore current shows, and delve into past decades like the 2000s, 80s, and the Golden Age. Challenge your friends and see where you rank!
Tony Awards TriviaHow well do you know your Tony Awards history? Take our never-ending quiz of nominations and winner history and challenge your friends. Broadway World GameCan you beat your friends? Play today’s daily Broadway word game, featuring a new theatrically inspired word or phrase every day!

 



Videos