Interview: Brandon Miller of HAIRSPRAY at Dutch Apple Dinner Theatre

The Tony award winning musical Hairspray, with music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, and book by Mark O’Donnell and Thomas Meehan, was based on the 1988 John Waters film. The musical took the stage in 2002 in Seattle, and it has become a favorite of high school and community theatres throughout the world. Hairspray is not just a fun show with catchy tunes and great dancing. It is a show that explores themes about acceptance, freedom, racial prejudice, and discrimination. While the show is set in 1962, its message is one that transcends time and place. To provide our readers with a little twist on the usual show interview, wig designer Brandon Miller took some time to talk about one aspect of the behind-the-scenes work that goes into a production.

BWW: Tell us a little about yourself.

Miller: My name is Brandon Miller. I am originally from Harrisburg, PA but now I live in Lancaster, PA. I went to Shenandoah Conservatory for my undergraduate degree, which is in Arts Administration. I also have a Performance degree in Percussion. I started work at the Dutch Apple Dinner Theatre December 2006 as the resident Drummer/Percussionist. I didn’t start doing the wigs and hair until 2013 with our production of CATS.  CATS was a crazy difficult show to start with. I have also designed wigs for several of our national tours with our company APEX Touring, one of which travels all over the globe.  It is crazy to think that my work has been seen by so many people all over the world. Growing up and continuing until her passing, I would style and dye my mother’s hair. She loved it! She is the biggest reason I got into wig and hair styling. She always cared deeply about her hair and that it was perfect. She got that from my grandmother, who had one of the best and biggest beehive hairdos I have ever seen. I also dedicate all of my work to my mother. Her favorite hairbrush sits in my studio for constant inspiration.

BWW: What skills are involved in wig design, and how did you get into it?

Miller: As a wig designer/stylist it starts with knowledge of the period that the show takes place in. My favorite hair period is the 1940s. I work with the Costume Designer closely, as well as the director, to make sure we are all on the same page as to the hair story for the show. Then you have to think about the actor’s natural hair color when picking wig colors. If someone has fair skin, blonde is not the way to go because it ends up washing them out onstage. I also like to have a variety of hair colors on stage to make it more interesting. Then there is the styling and curler setting. I start with base wigs that are mostly from Amazon or other online wig stores. Nowadays there are a lot of great resources available—books, YouTube, or the internet. I also research the show and period of the show and find inspiration pictures from that era. I am basically self-taught. John White, the resident Costume Designer, taught me the basics, and then I learned through trial and error and YouTube how to get certain looks. I have learned a lot through my journey of dealing with wigs—discovering what doesn’t work and what does. The great thing about working on wigs is you can always take it apart and redo it. 

BWW: What are the differences between working with wigs and working with an actor’s own hair?

Miller: The biggest difference is the wig won’t complain. A wig won’t want its money back if the style looks bad. I can just redo it until I like it. I am not licensed to cut hair in a salon setting, but I hope to be able to get my cosmetology license one day. If the men in the show need a haircut or color, I will set up an appointment with a local stylist that I trust. As far as the show is concerned, the more natural the wig looks the better. We often still use actor’s natural hair in some shows, particularly for the men and in modern shows. Most female actors don’t want to use their own hair because frequent styling and curling can cause damage.  If a wig is used it will always look the same for every show. 

BWW: What is your favorite wig you’ve designed for a show prior to Hairspray?

Miller: This is a hard question, but I would have to say Eliza’s updo that she wears to the ball in My Fair Lady. I remember watching the scene when Eliza enters the study completely transformed in the film. That scene stuck with me for a long time. Then I got to create my own version of the famous updo transformation, and I was thrilled! I really loved the way her “hair” journey played out in that show. From street person to refined royalty, the wigs told a story just by themselves.

BWW: What wig stands out as being the most challenging that you’ve had to design? What made it a challenge?

Miller: Any time I have to do a wig for a male actor it is very challenging. To get the wig to look natural you have to invest some money and time. For example, last year’s production of “Elvis” offered up a huge challenge. Our Elvis had to go from a “young Elvis black hair look” to a buzz cut when he went into the army. What we ended up doing was having the actor’s hair buzzed, and he wore a wig. The hard part was making the wig look as real as possible for an icon everyone knows. So, I purchased a short human hair wig that had a great front hairline. Then I plucked out more hairs to make the hairline look like a man’s hairline and styled in the iconic young Elvis look. When we came to the part in the show where he got his hair cut, we choreographed a moment with a towel to remove the wig, revealing the actor’s hair in a buzz cut. It turned out pretty successful.

BWW: Here’s a question I always hear audience members ask—what’s the secret to making a wig look natural and to keeping it in place during performance?

Miller: Before, if you wanted to have a wig that looked the most natural you would have a custom wig built to a certain actor’s head size. Then, someone would go through and hand-tie all of the individual strands of hair onto the lace wig base. The resulting wig would be what we call a “lace front human hair wig”. The lace in the front would disappear into the forehead of the wearer (it would match their skin tone) and the wig hair in the front would appear to be coming out of the person’s scalp. These wigs were made of human hair, took a long time to create, and were ridiculously expensive. Nowadays, a lot of synthetic fiber wigs are lace front and done by a machine so they look more natural and are very affordable. I will usually pluck a few more hairs out of the front hairline to make it look as natural as possible. For styling I use a lot of pins that are hidden. With a great hairspray and some creativity, I can create all kinds of looks. The actors will pin curl or braid their hair and then wear a wig cap over it. Then the wig is pinned into their pin curls creating a sturdy connection so the wig won’t come off.

BWW: Tell us a little about the wig design process for Hairspray. Appropriately for a show called Hairspray, I understand over 60 different wigs are used in this production.

Miller: For Hairspray, the process was a little different than usual. Our company had the national tour out last year, so I was tasked with using the wigs from the tour and adapting them to our director’s vision. What I ended up doing is fixing and using some of the wigs originally designed by the late great Paul Huntley (Broadway Wig Designer) and by Bernie Ardia (National Tour Wig Designer). I switched some wigs around replaced some with my original designs and made a more manageable amount of work for myself and for the actors who wear them. As a whole package, I think it looks great! I was very much inspired by the brilliant work of those two designers. Yes, there are 60 wigs, not counting all of the understudy wigs. It is the most we have had in a show in a long time. I even have one of the actresses in the show helping me with maintaining the wigs—that’s how many there are! 

BWW: Other than the fantastic wigs, why should audiences come see this production of Hairspray?

Miller: This cast is incredible! I had a great time at our wig fittings with the wonderful actors in this company. They are so talented and full of energy. Also, I think the message of this show is very important right now. Love is love, and everyone deserves to be loved. Being a plus sized person myself, I have always identified with the lead character, Tracy, and her outlook towards life and love. 

BWW: Is there anything else you’d like our readers to know?

Miller: Please keep supporting live theatre! It is so important to have the arts in your life! And come visit me in the pit at the Dutch Apple and say hi! I love meeting our patrons.

Audiences are sure to flip over Dutch Apple Dinner Theatre’s production of Hairspray! Visit dutchapple.com/shows/hairspray/ for more information.

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