HAIRSPRAY Student Study Guide

Southern
California’s
Premier
Musical
Theater
Company
Paul Garman, Executive Director/Producer • Steven Glaudini, Artistic Director
Created by Sari Rose Poll,
Education/Outreach Coordinator
LARRY RABEN, Director
LEE MARTINO, Choreographer
DENNIS CASTELLANO, Musical Director
Music by MARC SHAIMAN • Lyrics by SCOTT WITTMAN
Book by MARK O’DONNELL and THOMAS MEEHAN
2011-2012 Season Education/Outreach Programs sponsored by
Associate Producers
RICHARD NERI & KURT SCHULZMAN
Youth Performances Underwritten by
ARTS COUNCIL FOR LONG BEACH • MARI HOOPER
2011-2012 Season Honorary Producers ACKERMAN FAMILY/EVALYN M. BAUER FOUNDATION • KEN & DOTTIE REINER
The characters of HAIRSPRAY…………………………...….3
The Synopsis……………………………….………………...……..4
The 1960s…………………………….……………...…….………..6
The Civil Rights Movement……………..….………….……..7
The Dances………………………………..….…………….………8
Baltimore, Maryland…………………………...………..……..9
Themes...………………………………………..….………..……..10
Identify the Themes………………………..……..……..……...11
Problem-Solving………………………..……………..…..……..12
TRACY TURNBLAD: Teenager from Baltimore who isn’t afraid to be herself and stand up for what
she believes in. She has dreams to be a dancer on The Corny Collins Show.
EDNA TURNBLAD: Tracy’s mother (usually played by
a man in drag).
WILBUR TURNBLAD: Tracy’s father who encourages
his daughter to follow her heart.
LINK LARKIN: The teenage heartthrob on The Corny
Collins Show and the object of Tracy’s affection.
AMBER VON TUSSLE: The reigning teenage queen
on The Corny Collins Show and Link’s former
girlfriend.
VELMA VON TUSSLE: Amber’s mother and producer
of The Corny Collins Show.
SEAWEED J. STUBBS: Motormouth Maybelle’s son, a
“Negro Day” dancer who befriends Tracy in
detention, and Penny’s love interest.
MOTORMOUTH MAYBELLE: Seaweed’s mother and the host of “Negro Day” on The Corny Collins
Show.
PENNY PINGLETON: Tracy’s awkward best friend.
PRUDY PINGLETON: Penny’s mother.
CORNY COLLINS: Host of The Corny Collins Show who is a fan of Tracy and integration.
LITTLE INEZ: Seaweed’s little sister who can’t be on The Corny Collins Show because she is not white.
HARRIMAN F. SPRITZER: President of Ultra Clutch Hairspray and sponsor of The Corny Collins
Show.
THE DYNAMITES: Female singing trio.
MR. PINKY: Owner of Mr. Pinky’s Hefty Hideaway clothing store.
Dancers on The Corny Collins Show:
BRAD, TAMMY, FENDER, BRENDA, SKETCH, SHELLEY, IQ, and LOU ANN.
Friends of Seaweed:
DUANE, GILBERT, LORRAINE, and THAD.
Gym Teacher, Principal, Matron, Guard, Denizens of Baltimore
It's 7am on a Monday morning in Baltimore, 1962. Tracy Turnblad, a pleasantly plump teenager reflects
on how much she loves her city and she loves to dance. She dreams of being a star ("Good Morning Baltimore"). Later that day, Tracy and her friend Penny rush home from high school to catch the latest episode
of The Corny Collins Show, a teenage dance TV show ("The Nicest Kids in Town"). Meanwhile, Tracy's
mom, Edna, is ironing her neighbors' laundry to earn extra money. Penny's mom, Prudy, arrives to pick up
her laundry from Edna. Prudy objects to the girls watching "colored music" performed on the show.
The action shifts to the TV studio were the The Corny Collins Show broadcast has just gone to commercial
break. Hunky teen idol Link offers his Council Member ring to vapid teen queen dancer Amber (whose
overbearing mother, Velma, is the show's producer). When the show returns from the break, Corny
Collins announces an upcoming live prime-time special, where talent scouts will be on-hand and an election to crown Miss Teenage Hairspray will be held. Tracy, watching the show, is mortified to see that Amber is wearing Link's ring. Corny further announces that they're auditioning a new female dancer for the show. Tracy pleads with her
mother to let her audition. Tracy's father, Wilbur, arrives home from work at his novelty gag and joke shop. Edna fears that Tracy
will be ridiculed at the auditions, but Wilbur encourages Tracy. Meanwhile, Prudy berates Penny for listening to "race music" as
Velma criticizes Amber on her poor dancing. All three girls argue with their mothers ("I'm a Big Girl Now").
Tracy ultimately does attend the auditions, where she literally bumps into Link, initiating a romantic dream sequence ("I Can Hear
Bells"), which is interrupted when Tracy is called upon to audition. Velma rejects her due to her weight and because Tracy states that
she's in favor of racial integration ("Miss Baltimore Crabs").
The following day at school, Tracy is sent to detention because her monumentally teased hair is blocking other students' view of the
blackboard. In the detention hall, an African-American boy named Seaweed teaches Tracy some dance moves. Soon afterwards,
Corny Collins is the guest DJ at the school's sophomore hop ("The Madison"). Corny and Link are immediately impressed by Tracy's
dance moves. The next episode of The Corny Collins Show features a new cast member - Tracy ("The Nicest Kids in Town - Reprise"). During an interview with Corny, Tracy again comes out in favor of racial integration, impressing Corny but horrifying
Velma. Amber grows increasingly jealous of the attention Tracy is getting, and, to compound the situation, Corny invites Link to sing
a song to Tracy ("It Takes Two"). Tracy and Link kiss at the conclusion of the song.
Post-show, an argument breaks out between Corny, Velma and Mr. Spitzer, who represents the show's sponsor, Ultra Clutch hairspray. Spitzer objects to the casting of Tracy, whom he describes as "that chubby communist". Corny informs them that he plans to
introduce lots of changes to the show, so that the kids in the cast will more accurately reflect the kids in the audience. Corny threatens to take the show to another network if Velma interferes. After he departs, a seething Velma decides to ruin Tracy ("Velma's Revenge").
At the Turnblad apartment, Edna fields calls from Tracy's burgeoning fan base. When Tracy gets a call inviting her to become the
spokesperson for plus-size clothing outfitter Mr. Pinky, she asks Edna to represent her as her agent. Edna protests that she hasn't
even left the apartment in years, but Tracy insists and Edna receives an elaborate makeover ("Welcome to the 60s").
Tracy's popularity is skyrocketing at school. Amber spreads mean-spirited rumors about her. The students assemble in gym class for
a game of dodgeball. Penny and Seaweed meet and immediately hit it off. A violent game of dodgeball ensues, ending with Amber
snapping the ball into Tracy's head, knocking her cold. Link reprimands Amber and goes to Tracy's aid. Tracy introduces Link to
Seaweed and Penny. Seaweed invites them all to a party at his mom's record shop. When Link expresses concern that white people
may not be welcome in Seaweed's neighborhood, Seaweed reassures him ("Run and Tell That").
Seaweed's song carries them into Motormouth Maybelle's Record Shop, where Seaweed
introduces them to his sister, Little Inez, a dancer who was rejected at the Corny Collins
auditions for being black. Motormouth Maybelle makes a grand entrance. Amber, having
followed Link to the record shop, enters and is horrified at the proceedings. Velma, having
followed Amber, enters immediately afterwards and is similarly horrified. Edna and
Wilbur, having also been in the neighborhood, arrive as well and Velma and Edna immediately dislike each other. Velma and Amber storm out; Link refuses to leave with them.
Tracy hatches a plan to integrate dancing on the TV show. Motormouth is enthusiastic but
Link is reluctant to participate and departs. Edna is reluctant to participate as well, solely
because she is embarrassed to be seen on TV due to her weight, but Motormouth assures
her that she has nothing to be ashamed of ("Big, Blonde and Beautiful").
The protest at the studio is disrupted by the police (called by Velma). Link expresses his
support for Tracy as most of those present are arrested.
(ACT II continued…)
The entire female cast, with the exception of Prudy, are in jail ("The Big Dollhouse"). Due to Velma's political connections, Velma and Amber are soon released. Wilbur mortgages his store to post bail for the others. However, again
due to Velma's manipulations, Tracy remains incarcerated alone ("Baltimore Reprise"). Wilbur and Edna return home, only to find that Mr. Pinky has fired
Tracy as his spokesperson due to the scandal. Edna sadly recalls her own unrealized dream to design a line of queen-sized dress patterns. However, even in this
time of despair and crisis, Wilbur and Edna are comforted by their shared love
("You're Timeless to Me").
Link sneaks into the jail to find Tracy. He gives her his Council ring, explaining
that he took it back from Amber to give it to Tracy ("Without Love"). Meanwhile,
Seaweed rescues Penny, who has been tied to her bed by her mother as punishment for going to jail without permission. They declare their love for each other.
Simultaneously, Link helps Tracy escape from jail.
Seaweed and Penny take refuge at Motormouth Maybelle's Record Shop, where
Link and Tracy soon join them. By now, news of Tracy's escape from prison is being broadcast on TV. The friends are tempted to abandon their goal of integrating
The Corny Collins Show, but Motormouth convinces them to struggle on ("I Know
Where I've Been").
It's now the day of the live primetime spectacular broadcast of The
Corny Collins Show ("It's Hairspray!"). During a commercial
break, a disguised Wilbur wheels a
giant hairspray can onto the set.
Velma penetrates his disguise, but
Seaweed and Motormouth have
replaced the security guards. They
pretend to eject Wilbur at her behest. Despite Tracy's fugitive status,
Corny reports that she and Amber
are currently neck-and-neck in the voting for Miss Teenage Hairspray. Amber performs an unflattering dance dedicated to Tracy ("Cooties"). Just as
Amber seizes the crown, Tracy storms onto the set, accompanied by Link,
Penny, Seaweed, Little Inez, and company ("You Can't Stop the Beat - Part
1"). Penny has been re-styled and given a cool new look. The voting now
shows Tracy as the undisputed winner, and Corny crowns her Miss Teenage
Hairspray 1962. Tracy declares the show officially integrated. Spitzer arrives
and announces that the audience is thrilled with the show, the governor has
pardoned Tracy, and he wants Velma to serve as vice president of a new line
of hair products for women of color. Wilbur opens the giant hairspray can to
reveal Edna dressed in finery ("You Can't Stop the Beat - Part 2"). The company celebrates a brand new day for Baltimore.
-Synopsis provided by Music Theatre International
Beginning:
Middle:
End:
Write a one sentence description of
what happens in the beginning, middle,
and end after seeing the production.
Use this space to draw your
favorite hairstyle of today!
Jackie Kennedy, First Lady to
President John F. Kennedy,
made the Bouffant hairstyle
popular in the 1960s.
BIG HAIR WAS IN!!!
HEY MAMA HEY MAMA,
LOOK AROUND
EVERYBODY’S GROOVIN’ TO A BRAND NEW SOUND
HEY MAMA HEY MAMA,
FOLLOW ME
I KNOW SOMETHING’S IN YOU
THAT YOU WANNA SET FREE
Describe what you think life was like in the United States in the 1960s.
HAIRSPRAY takes place in 1962. The Civil Rights Movement was gather momentum and
racial tensions were at an all-time high. The country was split: some wanted integration and others
wanted to keep segregation between the blacks and whites.
1946
President Harry S. Truman establishes the President’s Committee on Civil
Rights due the rise of racial discrimination.
1947
Jackie Robinson becomes the first black Major League player in baseball.
1948
The US military becomes integrated by orders of President Truman.
1954
BROWN vs BOARD OF EDUCATION: The US Supreme Court orders that
students will be admitted to public schools without regard to race.
1955
Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat to a white passenger on a bus and was arrested. After the
bus boycott by 50,000 African-Americans, a court order declared buses were to be integrated.
1957
“The Buddy Deane Show” aired in Baltimore, MD from 1957-1964, but was taken off the air
because the TV station did not want to integrate black and white dancers. **This was the real-life
inspiration for The Corny Collins Show in HAIRSPRAY.
1960
Students in Greensboro, NC sat at a restaurant with blacks in protest of segregation. These sitins quickly spread across the south and brought national attention to the Civil Rights Movement
1963
250,000 people of all races attend the March on Washington to advocate civil rights laws,
integrated education, and the right to vote. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivers his “I have a Dream”
speech.
1964
The Civil Rights Act: Segregated schools and discrimination based on race, religion, or
national origin were made illegal in public places.
1. Stand in upright position with feet
apart, doing the frug movement.
2. Hitch-hike with right thumb on the
counts 1-2-3, to you right side.
3. Clap on the fourth beat on the right
side of your body.
4. Hitch-hike with the left thumb on
the count 1-2-3, back to the left side.
5. Clap on the fourth beat on the left
side of your body. Repeat over and
over.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Step left forward
Place right beside left (no weight) and clap
Step back on right
Move left foot back and across the right
Move left foot to the left
Move left foot back and across the right
Extend your left arm in front of your body as if you're
holding reins. Wave your right arm in a circular motion
above your head while galloping in place for two counts.
Bend slightly at the waist and stick out your rear. Make
the circular arm motion by your knees while continuing to gallop in place for two counts.
A teen dance TV show that
aired in Baltimore, MD from
1957-1964. The show was
canceled because the station
was unable to integrate black
and white dancers.
A teen dance TV show in
the musical HAIRSPRAY that successfully
integrates white and
black Baltimore teens.
1954
Baltimore becomes the first Southern city to integrate its schools after the Brown decision.
Public housing is integrated.
1955
7 % Black students attend integrated schools.
Department stores allow blacks to try on clothes.
1956
14 % Black students attend integrated schools
1957
26% Black students attend integrated schools.
The Buddy Deane Show first airs on WJZ-TV in Baltimore.
1958
Most movie theaters open to black customers.
Most Baltimore hotels accommodate black customers.
1960
Sit-ins start to occur all over Baltimore.
1963
Protest organized by white and black ministers against a Baltimore Amusement Park for excluding blacks with mass arrests.
1964
The Buddy Deane show is cancelled.
The Buddy Deane Show, a local Baltimore teen dance show, is memorialized in the John
Water's film and musical, Hairspray. The story revolves around the successful attempt by
white and black Baltimore teens in 1962 to integrate a teen dance show, The Corny
Collins Show. The truth is starker....The rise of teen dance shows in the late ‘50s and early
60s signaled a dramatic cultural shift in musical taste for teens from the big band sound
of the 1940s so popular with their parent, to rock and roll. More importantly, teen dance
shows introduced black music, musicians and singers to a white audience who were living
in an increasingly racially integrated world. Modified forms of dances popular with black
teens also slipped into these shows. Some die-hard segregationists were so distressed at
this development that they circulated flyers warning parents about saving the white youth
of America by not buying or even listening to race music - negro records.
--retrieved from Hairspray in Context: Race, Rock 'n Roll and Baltimore by Professor Taunya Banks
GOOD MORNING BALTIMORE / EVERY DAY’S LIKE AN OPEN DOOR
EVERY NIGHT IS A FANTASY / EVERY SOUND’S LIKE A SYMPHONY
Marissa Jaret Winokur, the original Tracy Turnblad, talks about confidence, body
image, and self-acceptance.
Hefty. Plus-sized. Dimple-kneed. Those are all from articles about Hairspray. They never want to
use the word “fat” so they find every other word there is. It’s like nobody can talk about it, or even
say it out loud. Why is that?
There are studies around that say girls who are five years old already have a bad self image.
They feel bad when they look in the mirror, and they’re five years old. That is really crazy!
Look at this — I still have my report card from kindergarten. It says “Marissa needs to learn to
control and lower her voice.” Well, I guess I didn’t really pay attention to that. I know they
probably meant well — “girls should be quiet and polite” — but through your whole life there are
people who want to tell you what you should do and who you should be. I don’t think you should
always listen to them.
I’ve been lucky, I guess. I always had a lot of self-confidence — that’s what got me into performing. And most of the time
nobody gave me too much trouble about my size. I’m short — just five feet tall — and I’m not a skinny little stick. But I had a
lot of friends, I was a cheerleader, I was in shows at school. I just ignored anyone who said I shouldn’t do those things, I
guess. Of course I would love to lose 10 pounds. I would never lie and say I don’t think about it, but I don’t think about it
every day. I love my body. I don’t like wearing clothes that hide or cover it. I love wearing costumes that show it off.
Whenever I would go out and audition for parts, I always decided I wouldn’t take the “poor fat girl” roles. That’s not who I
am. When I heard they were doing a musical of Hairspray I thought, yeah, that’s for me. I know that some people see my
weight first, but I don’t think of Tracy as a role model for all the heavy girls out there — she’s more than that. She’s an
individual. She doesn’t fit the mold. This show says that you can be whoever you really are, and not only that, you can win.
John Waters always likes to say that what he loves most about Hairspray is that when they do it in high schools, there will
finally be a part for “the fat girl and the drag queen.” It’s cool to be part of something like this, a show that really says
something.
Playing Tracy — well, it’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life just because of all the energy it takes, but it’s
also a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I’m doing my best to enjoy it — and trying not to lose too much weight.
Many people deal with issues regarding self-image. Brainstorm ways a person can reach out for help
if he/she feels depressed about body image or emotions that are difficult to express.
Act 1, Scene 3
AMBER: DO YOU DANCE LIKE YOU DRESS?
LINK: GIRLS, THERE’S NO NEED TO BE CRUEL!
VELMA: Would you swim in an integrated pool?
(The music stops dead and the COUNCIL gasps in shock)
TRACY: I’m sure I would. I’m all for integration. It’s the New Frontier?
VELMA: Not in Baltimore it isn’t.
TRACY: Um, where’s Corny? I’d love to dance for him.
VELMA: I’m the producer and may I be frank?
(Music back in, ominously building, building)
VELMA: FIRST IMPRESSIONS CAN BE TOUGH / AND WHEN I SAW YOU, I KNEW IT/ IF YOUR SIZE WEREN’T ENOUGH/
THE LAST ANSWER JUST BLEW IT! / AND SO, MY DEAR, SO SHORT AND STOUT / YOU’LL NEVER BE "IN"
VELMA AND THE COUNCIL MEMBERS: SO WE’RE KICKING YOU OUT!
VELMA: WITH YOUR FORM AND YOUR FACE / WELL, ISN’T YOUR FAULT / YOU’RE JUST CAUGHT IN A CASE OF / "MISS…
VELMA AND THE COUNCIL MEMBERS: BALTIMORE…
VELMA: …CRABS!" You’re free to go.
ACT 1, Scene 6
CORNY: Yeah! And that was our dance of the week – “Peyton Place After Midnight,” –
introduced to you by our brand new Council member, Miss Tracy Turnblad.
EDNA: Oh, my word! Tracy! Live in our own living room!
WILBUR: I think I’ve seen her here before.
PENNNY: And she’s going to be a regular.
EDNA: Imagine, my little girl, regular at last.
PENNY: Hi, Tracy. It’s me, Penny!
EDNA: She can’t hear you. (The phone rings and SHE answers it.) Hello?... Yes. This
is...her childhood home. No, I’m not her father.
CORNY: (Back to the show...) So let’s wave a wistful bye-bye to Brenda — see you next year.
COUNCIL MEMBERS: (waving to BRENDA as SHE exits) Awww...
CORNY:...and inaugurate the newest member of our Council, Tracy Turnblad! Cozy up to old Corny and tell us about yourself,
Trrrrace.
TRACY: Well, I go to Patterson Park High, I watch your show, and I do absolutely nothing else. (ALL applaud and cheer) But someday
I hope to be the first woman president of the world or a Rockette. You’ve got to think big to be big!
CORNY: And if you were president, what would your first official act be?
TRACY: I’d make every day Negro Day!
Identify current situations we face today in schools, in homes, and in the world
surrounding the following problems: racism, self-image, and bullying.
Brainstorm how we might be able to start tackling these problems.