BWW Reviews: 5th Avenue's HAIRSPRAY: IN CONCERT Has the Beat but Could Use More Camp

Let me start out, Dear Readers, by saying there is no way for me to not be biased about this show. I have loved it since I saw the original preview at the 5th way back when (twice) and all productions since then have never failed to make me happy. Hell, I've even done the show before (hence the bias). So please take that into account as I talk about the current concert version of "Hairspray" being presented at the 5th Avenue in conjunction with the Seattle Men's Chorus. While the talent and fun energy was definitely up there on the 5th Avenue stage, some keys roles seemed to be missing that spark of camp that is so crucial for the show.

For those not familiar with the movie ... or the stage show ... or the other movie, we follow the ever-bubbly Tracy Turnblad (Kat Ramsburg), a chubby teenage girl in the 60's who wants nothing more than to dance on her favorite afterschool TV show, The Corny Collins Show. The problem, as her mother Edna (Eric Polani Jensen) points out, is that they don't put girls like Tracy on TV except to be laughed at. Especially those like the Producer of the show, Velma Von Tussle (Jerick Hoffer) and her daughter Amber (Jessica Skerritt), who are determined to keep the show only filled with their ideal of pretty and of course, white. So when Tracy makes it on the show and begins to shake things up including attempting to get the show integrated, the Von Tussles will do anything to keep her down.

The show, on the whole, is a fun frothy good time. With a cadre of some of Seattle's best performers being backed up by the 160 members of the Seattle Men's Chorus it would be tough to not have a good time. But while the show is uber fun, not all the pieces were exactly there to push it over the top to glorious. Director David Armstrong kept shying away from a lot of the campier elements especially those with the actors interacting with each other. I may be a little close to the show but I kept seeing moment after moment just zip on past and leaving the show with a lot of underused potential.

Ramsburg is an absolute delight in the role. Not only does she have the voice to command the stage but you can see her complete and unadulterated love for the character and the role making her performance just that much more exuberant. Jensen, while having a killer voice, seemed to be missing some of that camp I mentioned and felt like he was more a guy in a dress than a boisterous woman. Contrarily Allan Fitzpatrick had character to spare as Tracy's jokester of a Dad. Hoffer and Skerritt make excellent foils for the Turnblads and had the comedy gold down but Hoffer seemed to be straining a bit vocally. Cynthia Jones also seemed to be a bit out of her depth with the vocal requirements for Motormouth Mabel as I've heard more powerful renditions of the songs but still turned in a great performance with tons of character. Louis Hobson as the crooning Corny Collins certainly has the vocal chops for the role but I felt could use a little more confidence. Aaron Finley as the swoon worthy Link Larkin also has the voice but lacked some of the chemistry and sex appeal for the wanna-be teen idol. On the other hand, Heath Saunders had the perfect style, voice and moves for the role of Seaweed and completely owned it. And I must mention some smaller roles who completely stood out and owned the stage. Kirsten drLohr Helland could not have been funnier as the awkward tag-a-long BFF of Tracy's, Penny Pingleton. The voice, the look, the moves, and so much of the comedy, she had the entire package. Bobbi Kotula managed her usual bit of taking whatever role (or roles) and spinning them into gold. Camille Collaco may have only had a few solo lines but what came out of her mouth could rival anyone on that stage. And Jeff Steitzer in his multiple roles kept the hilarity going through out the entire evening.

So, yes, there are tons of elements to recommend the show (just the show itself is enough to recommend it) but being so close to it I just kept seeing too many missed opportunities keeping it from completely shining. You can't stop the beat, but you can muffle it.

"Hairspray: In Concert" performs at the 5th avenue theater for only 6 performances through June 23rd. For tickets or information contact the 5th Avenue Theatre box office at 206-625-1900 or the Seattle Men's Chorus box office at 206-388-1400 or visit them online at www.5thavenue.org or www.seattlemenschorus.org.

Photo credit: John Pai

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