Interview: Marissa Winokur And Garrett Clayton of HAIRSPRAY at Bank Of America Performing Arts Center

More than two decades after originating the role of Tracy Turnblad on Broadway, Tony Award winner Marissa Jaret Winokur is returning to the world of Hairspray, this time behind the scenes.

Winokur—who originated Tracy on Broadway in 2002, returned to the role in 2009, and also appeared in NBC’s Hairspray Live! in 2016—is now making her large-scale directorial debut with 5-Star Theatricals’ upcoming production of the show at the Bank of America Performing Arts Center in Thousand Oaks. 

The show runs October 10–26 and stars Ryan O’Connor as “Edna Turnblad,” Lexie Martin as “Tracy Turnblad,” Garrett Clayton as “Corny Collins,” Jennifer Leigh Warren as “Motormouth Maybelle,” and Becky Lythgoe as “Velma Von Tussle,” with music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, book by Mark O’Donnell and Thomas Meehan and based on the John Waters film.

As director, Winokur did the casting herself—making sure to include fellow Hairspray Live! alum Garrett Clayton, perhaps best known to TV audiences as surfer heartthrob Tanner in Disney’s Teen Beach Movie franchise. Clayton, who played “Link Larkin” in the TV adaptation, will now step into the role of Corny Collins, the slick but well-meaning dance show host.

Winokur and Clayton sat down with BroadwayWorld to talk about the show, Los Angeles’s scrappy theater ecosystem, and why Hairspray continues to resonate.

[To Marissa] When I reached out to set up an interview with you, you really wanted Garrett to be included in our talk—why was that so important to you?

Marissa:  Because I'm so excited that he's doing the show! Honestly . . . I just love him so much, and I'm so psyched for him to do this role because it's been so fun. And also, I don't know, I always like having other people in interviews because it’s more fun.

Are you both based in L.A.?

Marissa: Yes. I have a place in New York as well, so I go back and forth. But because I have a child, I try to stay on the West Coast as much as possible.

How did you two first meet?

Marissa: In my mind, I feel like we met with Hairspray Live! But we are in a circle of theater people in LA. If you're a theater lover in LA, you're in a group—we're all like, ‘How do we put on a show? Where are we going to put on the show?’ Because, as much as doing TV and film definitely pays the bills more than theater, theater runs our spirit. 

How did you get connected with 5-Star Theatricals to do Hairspray? Did you reach out to them, or did you approach them about it?  

Marissa: They reached out to me, but I think they reached out to me because a friend of ours works there and was like, ‘You should ask Marissa to direct.’  

And the second after I said yes, I called Garrett and said, ‘Garrett, if I do. Hairspray with 5 Star Theatricals in Thousand Oaks, will you play Corny Collins?’ And he said yes.  

He didn’t need to audition? 

Marissa: No. There is no audition for Garrett. Garrett can do anything in my mind. If you can get Garrett on stage, not only will you have an audience, but you'll also have a great show.

We had a day of rehearsal. I got the ensemble all up to speed, and then Garrett came in, learned his blocking, and it was just like magic. Everybody was like, ‘Oh, my God, we're so excited.’

[To Garrett] How does it feel to return to Hairspray?  

Garrett: I love it. Honestly—and this is a big testament to how much I really love Marissa—what a great leader. The best advice I ever got was that it really is from the top down. Like, who's your director and who's your lead? Because they really set the tone for how everybody feels in the room, and Marissa is so considerate with everybody's time. She's really direct, but still kind.

How are rehearsals going, and when did they start?  

Marissa: It’s been a week. Oh, my gosh. It gets so crazy. But we know most of the show already. 

Garrett: It's hard for us to get through the finale without jumping in with the choreography.

Marissa: And this is all new choreography! The whole show is new; it's a new show. But Garrett and I went to Broadway Rave once, and the [Hairspray] music started playing and literally the two of us did the whole thing from the beginning of “You Can’t Stop The Beat” to the end. We were both looking at each other the whole time like, “You still know this?” And we got through the whole number.  

What do you love most about the show? 

Garrett: Hairspray has such a wonderful message in a time that we need it. I've been given the great gift that any time I've done this show, it has been during a time when the message is really important. Because there are calm moments in history when it's just a fun, fluffy musical—and there are times where it really matters. Musicals like this have a really important message. 

Marissa: I like to say that Hairspray is like the Trojan Horse to get you in, so you can really learn the message. 

For readers who somehow haven’t yet seen Hairspray, what is that message? 

Marissa: Oh, my gosh. Well, I mean, for the tiny percentage of readers that haven't seen Hairspray and who are on BroadwayWorld, reading an article about it. I feel like maybe you need to go look at some theater. I'm like, have you seen West Side Story?  

I'm just kidding. Listen, the message, at the end of the day, is that everyone is created equal. I mean, it's literally just about equality, and not comparing different minorities. We're all the same. 

But if you haven't seen Hairspray or listened to Hairspray, you should also know it’s probably the most perfect score ever written—from opening to end. There's not a B-side song in the bunch.

[To Marissa] How was it casting the show? Were you at every audition? 

Marissa: I didn't miss one audition. I went to all the open calls; I went to all the Equity calls. I was in the room for every single audition and I watched every single tape. I mean it—it was three days of open calls, then the callbacks, then the submissions. Because also, as someone who is a performer, I know it's not fair to not watch every tape. It's not fair to not be in the room. 

I was lucky with Garrett. I just called him and said, ‘Do you want to do this?’ And the same with Jennifer [Leigh Warren], and with Ryan O'Connor, and Becky [Lythgoe]. So I had my core adults. 

What about finding Tracy? How was that for you?

Marissa: It was emotional. These girls would come in and just sing their hearts out, and I was like, ‘Oh, my God. This is what I pictured when I first started this show.’ I remember thinking, ‘Twenty years from now, they'll be doing this in high schools,’ and here we are. And these girls—some were so good, and some were not so good. And I loved every single one of them. 

Then Lexie came in, sang the song, and I was like, ‘She's my Tracy.’ And then I stalked her on Instagram. Instagram is a great way to really learn about people . . .  I remember being in my pool stalking Lexie, and I just kept sending her to people, being like, ‘I think this is our Tracy. I think this is our Tracy.’ 

Do you like being on the director’s side this time around? 

Marissa: It's been interesting directing it. It's been scary, and it's daunting and, at night I have dreams that I don't remember my lines and that I'm supposed to go on.

Is this your first time directing on this scale?

Marissa: Directing at a theater this size, yes. I've done a lot of directing in little theaters and one-person shows, but this is my first, 28-person cast, full orchestra, proper theater.

What are you doing differently with the show? 

Marissa: Garrett will tell you, we're coming up with so many new fun things that weren't what we’ve done in the past—which I didn't know I was going to be able to do. I'm not just doing a carbon copy of the show I did. 

[To Garrett] Do you ever feel tempted to coach the new “Link,” since that was your role in Hairspray Live!

Garrett: Oh, no, I would never do that. That can kind of get into awkward territory, especially when someone's trying to create their vision of a character. And I would never want someone to feel like they have to compare themselves to me. There have been so many productions of Hairspray at this point; there's nothing that should make me feel like my take on it is more valid or that I should ever invalidate someone else's version.

The only struggle I have is that sometimes when they yell ‘Link,” I'm like, “Don't look!”

[To Marissa] So does this feel like a full-circle moment for you with Hairspray?

Marissa: Tracy Turnblad has always been a part of my life. I did the show when it opened in 2002,. Then I went back in 2006. Then Harvey Fierstein and I closed it in 2009. Then we did it at the Hollywood Bowl in 2011. Then we did it at Carnegie Hall in 2014. Then, Hairspray Live in 2016.

There was a hiccup after I did the Hollywood Bowl and for maybe five years after that, when people would come to me and sing, “Good Morning, Baltimore,” and I’d say, “No, I’m done.”  

But honestly, the full circle moment for me was when Laura Bell, Kerry Butler, and I put our “Mama I’m a Big Girl Now” show together. We spent all last year on it, and we tour with it now still. We have 2026 completely booked with our tour. 

And then all of a sudden, directing it now is like, ‘Oh my gosh, it really is the gift that keeps on giving.” I've been saying that I think I just need to contact every big theater across America and be like, “Do you want me to come put on Hairspray in your theater? I'll come do it.”

Both of you have done so many different things—film, TV, reality shows, stage—what do you like best?  

Garrett: People have asked me what the favorite medium is a lot. Really, it's creative freedom. The real version of success, at least for me, is that I don't have to say yes to every job now. I only do the things that feel nourishing and positive and good environments. 

Marissa: I always said Hairspray was like the gift. Everything else I might do is just icing on the cake. And I can say yes to anything. Some people were like, ‘Don't do, Big Brother; Don’t do Dancing with the Stars.” But you know what? These are fun gigs. I'm having fun. 

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