BWW Reviews: Belmont's HAIRSPRAY is a Shiny, Sparkling Musical Theater Triumph

Make no mistake about it: Belmont University Musical Theatre knows all about producing top-flight, Broadway-caliber musical comedies. And thanks to the creative collective that includes director David Shamburger, musical director Jo Lynn Burks and artistic director Marjorie Halbert, the notion that what you'll find onstage at the Nashville campus can be relegated to "academic theater" is blown completely out of the water.

In fact, if you take the opportunity to see a musical at Belmont, you will leave the theater humming a bouncy tune, a smile plastered across your face and your heart soaring because you've just witnessed a performance by a whole bunch of Tony Award-winners-in-the-making. It happens every time!

Case in point: This spring's sparkling, stellar production of Hairspray-the musical tale of one Tracy Turnblad, a "stout" girl who loves to dance and loves people no matter their shape, size, color or way of life-is as entertaining a production of the hit musical as you could ever hope to see. Led by a crazy talented bunch of youthful performers (if this were the 1930s, you can bet your bottom dollar they'd be requisitioning somebody's barn for a colorful musical spectacle) who perform their collective heart out for enthusiastic audiences, the production is satisfying on every level.

Shamburger directs his cast(s)-yep, there are two separate casts performing the show for two weekends at the Troutt Theatre (which is home to The First Night Honors, as well as the university's impressive theatre/dance program) with some cast members performing in all the shows-with confidence and focus, ensuring a magically theatrical ride for those in attendance. Whether you know Hairspray (since its triumphant Broadway run, the show has become a staple of regional and community theatres; in fact, there have been at least five productions in Middle Tennessee in just over a year) by heart or if it's your first time at the Corny Collins Show, you'll find yourself immediately drawn into the lighthearted, though socially relevant, storyline and falling in love with the iconic characters who first were introduced in John Waters' original film treatment (which marked his initial move into the mainstream of American cinema after a storied career in "avant garde" filmmaking).

The show's plot is sweetly nostalgic and great fun, but Waters and the musical's creators (music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Shaiman, and book by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan) have bigger fish to fry, giving the story a historical perspective by dealing with the social implications of integration and 1960s political realities. That the various storylines dovetail into one another so seamlessly and so effortlessly is due the creators' clear mission with Hairspray: Teach a valuable lesson of recent history leavened by good humor and a very genuine heart.

Providing the show's heart, of course, is Tracy Turnblad and her loving, if off-kilter parents and friends. Cast in the play's central role of Tracy is Belmont student Katie Ladner, whose broad smile and "golly gosh, gee whiz" demeanor provides the perfect template for her winning performance. Ladner's first onstage appearance-Tracy wakes up in bed to sing "Good Morning, Baltimore"-is enough to elicit raucous reactions from the audience and she continues to deliver the goods in fine fashion as the show progresses and Tracy joins The Corny Collins Show's Council (they're "The Nicest Kids in Town") and her ultimate role as an agent for social change and the integration of an afternoon teen sock hop type of television show.

As her mother Edna (tackling a role made famous by Divine on film and Harvey Fierstein on Broadway), Belmont senior Devin Clevenger shows his complete range as a musical theater performer, delivering the best performance of the character to date on a local stage. Clevenger has impeccable comic timing and he backs that up with a superb command of music and dance. More importantly, he (and, no doubt, director Shamburger) understands that Edna can't be played as a drag queen; instead, Edna should be played as a simple girl with a simple dream-and deep and abiding love for her family-if the character is to resonate with audiences. Clevenger's impressive performance is genuine and heartfelt, campy when it needs to be, but seated in a very real place.

Clevenger is paired with Douglas Waterbury-Tieman, who plays Wilbur Turnblad, and who gives a performance that is just as impressive, even if it is less showy. Waterbury-Tieman's portrayal is sweetly sincere and the chemistry he shares with Clevenger is palpable and hard to achieve; obviously, the two actors trust each other implicitly and that trust pays off in spades during the show.

Calvin Malone exudes 1960s era sexuality and bravado, artfully blending a sense of humor with adolescent sensuality. He commands the stage during his musical numbers, exhibiting a rich reserve of stage presence and moxie.

Caleigh Alessi very nearly steals the show out from under her castmates as the deliciously evil Velma Von Tussle (her "Miss Baltimore Crabs" is a highlight of the show's musical program) and somehow helps us suspend disbelief and to accept her in a role many years her senior. Beautifully clad in an array of gorgeous costumes (kudos to designer Rhiannon Guillet and her talented crew for the bevy of fashions on display throughout the show), Alessi demands attention every time she opens her mouth or strikes a pose.

As Amber Von Tussle, Emma Carpenter is nicely paired with Alessi, and the pair's mother/daughter act is believably vile. Carpenter's onstage petulance is matched by her confident performance as the spoiled pre-deb and she wields her power over the other girls on the Council with stylish aplomb. Belmont favorite Casey Hebbel, as expected, is a delight as Tracy's best pal Penny Pingleton and she's winningly paired with the handsome Rayvon Owen as Seaweed J. Stubbs. Together, they make a convincing couple and both young actors deliver the musical goods ("Without Love" is great) throughout the show.

But clearly, the production's most electrifying voice belongs to Belmont commercial voice senior Piper Jones, who brings her stunning talents to the role of Motormouth Maybelle. Jones is so at-home onstage that she may very well have been born there and her performance is richly colored and amazingly focused-not for one moment do you not believe she is matriarch to the burgeoning group of young people who are drawn to her. Jones' performance of "I Know Where I've Been" gives the number its powerfully moving basis and her ovation-worthy "Big, Blonde and Beautiful" still sings in my memory. (She's gonna be a star, y'all!)

Among the huge supporting ensemble onstage for opening night (each of its members singing their hearts out and performing with such enthusiasm that you can't help but be drawn into the show), there are other standouts, including the completely charming Tucker Hammock as Corny Colllins, Elizabeth Lombardino (in real life, she's the soon-to-be Mrs. Devin Clevenger) as prissy Prudy Pingleton, the perfectly cast Josiah Miller as Mr. Pinky (he of The Hefty Hideaway fame), the impossibly versatile Matthew Rosenbaum as Harriman F. Spritzer (the man behind Ultra Clutch hairspray), and the hard to overlook Laura Baronet, Anna Carroll, Jefferson Carson, Ryan Brennan, Caroline Simpson and Mary-Claire Lutz. And special attention must be paid to the four supreme Dynamites, who help bring "Welcome to the '60s" to the stage with just the right flavor: Keyanna Robinson, Haley Henderson, Mimi Ijir and Aeriel Scott. They're fab!

Heck, everybody is fab, not the least of whom are the 15 musicians onstage under the baton of music director Jo Lynn Burks, who puts her band through its paces with stylish glee and who provides the production with its strong musical underpinning.

Choreography is handled by a team of people-and while I understand it's handled that way to give aspiring choreographers the chance to be a part of the production, the show would benefit from having one individual taking on the duties (I'm talking about you, Emily Tello Speck, whose numbers fare most successfully)-and is terrific, if seemingly disconnected every once in a while.

Rick Stetson provides the perfect set design for the Troutt Theatre stage; it's colorful and all sparkly-shiny in the way we want our musical comedies to be-and Thom Roberts' lighting design effectively illuminates the stage proceedings.

- Hairspray. Book by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan. Music by Mark Shaiman. Lyrics by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman. Directed by David Shamburger. Musical direction by Jo Lynn Burks. Presented by Belmont University Musical Theatre at The Troutt Theatre, Nashville. Through March 25. For details, go to www.belmont.edu/music

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