Still relevant: 'Hairspray' to be performed next week at River Campus

There's a perky, quirky charm about "Hairspray."

The cast of Southeast Missouri State University's Department of Theatre and Dance's production of "Hairspray" rehearse, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2014, in the Donald C. Bedell Performance Hall. (Laura Simon)

Kenn Stilson directs the Southeast Missouri State University Department of Theatre and Dance's upcoming production of the hit Broadway show and says the idea was to get back to the flair and camp of the original John Waters film.

"This show has got such wonderful colorful characters and music and dancing. It makes for wonderful entertainment," he said. "but it's got a point as well."

Costume designer Dusty Shaffer describes it as a sort of surrealism. Each costume was inspired by a different piece of pop art from the era; a Lichtenstein or a Warhol. He said there's a palpable sense of "'60s cult-film camp" that runs through the show from the oblique city skyline of the set all the way to the bubble gum and baby blue dance floor.

That's not to say that the show is naughty -- although the satire produces some truly outrageous one-liners -- rather, the richness and camp is an aesthetic choice. It establishes a thematic environment that helps make the show's themes more palatable.

Because without it, it might seem uncanny the way "Hairspray's" moral statements about equality and acceptance resonate in the modern zeitgeist.

The cast of Southeast Missouri State University's Department of Theatre and Dance's production of "Hairspray" rehearse, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2014, in the Donald C. Bedell Performance Hall. (Laura Simon)

The plot revolves around idealistic and full-figured teen Tracy Turnblad, whose unprecedented rise to celebrity and romance with resident dreamboat Link Larkin incidentally paves the way for the civil rights progress in 1960s Baltimore.

"Just look around and you can see how relevant this show still is," Stilson said. "Just look to Ferguson, Missouri. It's as relevant as it ever was."

He explained one of the hardest things about the show was "getting 21st-century students to understand 1962" and characters' racial attitudes that, while still relevant, are at the same time entirely foreign.

Jordan Davis, plays Seaweed J. Stubbs, and said it took a lot of research to understand the mindset of a black teen in the burgeoning civil rights movement. Alternately, Collin Ritter plays TV host Corny Collins, who has to reconcile his personal views on race with the expectations of his studio and his public persona.

"He wants it, but he's not sure if he can do something about it," Ritter said.

Past racial equality, "Hairspray" also addresses bullying, body image and even gender identity. A blonde-wigged Michael McIntosh plays Tracy's buxom mother Edna, a role that is traditionally played by a man.

"To understand that, you have to go back to the John Waters film. That role was written for Divine," Stilson explained, referring to the iconic drag queen. "There are a lot of plays and movies with parts written for cross-gendered portrayal. It has to do with gender equality. It speaks to that theme of no matter how different someone is, it's about acceptance."

There's a tangible take-away, but the show's effervescent score and droll wit ensure it doesn't get preachy.

"I like to compare it to 'Cabaret,'" Stilson said. "It's so fun and high-energy, but at its heart its about the destruction of fascism."

The show runs Wednesday through Oct. 11 at the Bedell Performance Hall at the River Campus. Tickets are $20.

tgraef@semissourian.com

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