You Can’t Stop The Beat at Bridge Players Theatre Company’s Hairspray!

by Laura Duffy

Hairspray is one of those musicals that I think everyone who loves theatre has some sort of relationship with – whether you’ve seen or performed in a live production, watched the original 1988 film, the 2007 musical version, or the 2016 televised event Hairspray Live!...or maybe just witnessed Nikki Blonsky’s downfall via Twitter…Hairspray is and forever will be an iconic addition to the musical theatre canon. I have my own personal connections to the musical, including many viewings of all of its filmed iterations, as well as past participation in two different staged productions. With all of these fond memories in mind, I was curious to witness yet another version, this time at Bridge Players Theatre Company in Burlington, NJ.

For anyone who doesn’t know the story, Hairspray, set in 1962 Baltimore, follows Patterson Park High School student Tracy Turnblad as she chases her dream of dancing on The Corny Collins Show and fights to integrate the TV network. Starring in Bridge Players’ production was Megan Moyers – undoubtedly the perfect Tracy. Full of heart and infectious energy, her performance featured impressive vocal prowess and bold, unique character choices – all around, she was a delight to watch.

Stephen Jackson delivered my favorite performance of the evening as Tracy’s mother, Edna. His excellent comedic timing allowed every joke to land perfectly, and his Act Two duet “You’re Timeless to Me” with Daniel Impallomeni, who brought Tracy’s father Wilbur to life, had me smiling in my seat. Usually, I’d consider that number one you could skip past on the cast recording, but these two actors made it a delightful addition to the production.

After Tracy’s opening number, we’re introduced to the council members on The Corny Collins Show (Danielle Campay, Aubrey Colbert, Anneliese DeFinizio, Danielle Houpt, James Kaminski, Rebecca Lynn, Jessi Meisel, Macy Morozin, Caroline Piotrowski, and Felix Ramos) – in particular, teen heartthrob Link Larkin (Riley Newman), who Tracy dreams of being with, and his snotty dance partner Amber Von Tussle (Juliana Citrone), whose mother Velma (Amber Stolarski) produces the show, and both of whom serve as our story’s antagonists, ruthlessly bullying Tracy and trying to prevent the network from integrating. 

Newman was immediately likeable and suave as Link, who struggles to make the choice between sticking to the status quo with Amber, or fighting for a worthy cause alongside Tracy. Their duet with Moyers in “Without Love” was particularly fun to watch – I was really rooting for the two of them by the end of the night. Newman’s solo number, “It Takes Two”, was also a standout.

Citrone and Stolarski were a formidably villainous mother-daughter duo. Both of their solo numbers (“Cooties” for Citrone and “Miss Baltimore Crabs” for Stolarski) featured strong vocals and just the right amount of venom. The rest of the council were all energetic and danced well, led by host Corny Collins (Vincent Sisley). I especially enjoyed Sisley’s performance in his scene with Stolarski – watching him threaten to take the show to another studio, rather than agree to Velma’s plan, was really very satisfying.

As the story progresses, we meet other friends of Tracy’s, including Penny Pingleton (Meg Bryan) and Seaweed J. Stubbs (Camryn Ragland), who eventually fall for each other, despite Penny’s mother Prudy’s (Shannon Reed) bigoted ideologies. Bryan was charming and zany as Penny, contributing stunning vocals to the production. Ragland was entertaining to watch as Seaweed – with strong dancing abilities and likable personality, they brought all the necessary elements to the role.

Seaweed’s mother, Motormouth Maybelle, was brought to life by Deitra Oliver, whose rendition of “Big, Blonde, and Beautiful” was especially fun to watch. She was often accompanied by Kayla Bethea as her daughter, Little Inez (who I still think should’ve won the Miss Hairspray competition like she does in the 2007 film…but that’s an issue to take up with Thomas Meehan, Mark O’Donnell, and the lot). I really appreciated the choice to have Bethea perform the “Mama, I’m A Big Girl Now” playoff, as it gave her another nice feature and foreshadowed her later appearance in the story. 

The rest of the ensemble was rounded out by Paige Bates, Aja Brown Feliciano, Moe Copeland, Jean Martinez, Mariah Scott, Toni Smith-Tabasco, Joe Tabasco, Marissa DiPilla-Clendaniel, and Allyssa Winkelpect. Bates, Brown Feliciano, and Scott had a nice feature as the Dynamites, a Black girl group who appear during multiple songs. Each ensemble member appeared to be having lots of fun on stage, which is always heartwarming.

This performance featured a live pit, which was fantastic! Dave Atkinson, David Bohn, Tim Brown, Julia Kane, Rob McNamara, Shawon Sarker, and Jim Sheffer all contributed to the excellent sound, which was balanced by Audio Tech Jack Szabo.

Unfortunately, the performance I attended struggled mightily with microphone and balance issues – during quiet scenes, all the actors could be heard perfectly, but once the pit orchestra started each song, or even began underscoring the dialogue, it was hard to make out any specific lyrics being sung or lines being spoken. The issue was partially resolved at intermission, and it became somewhat easier to hear, but there were still moments that were difficult to understand. I applaud the crew and pit both for their efforts to fix the issues and soften their playing so that all the actors could be heard better. The singing that I was able to hear sounded lovely, so hopefully, this is a temporary issue that can be solved for future performances!

Juggling roles as Director, Choreographer, Set Designer, and even appearing on stage as a Council Member, Jessi Meisel took on a behemoth workload in order to make this production successful, which I applaud. Luckily, they had the help of Assistant Director Gwen Ricks-Spencer, and Assistant Choreographer Nicole Manning, who I imagine eased the load a bit. The direction and choreography were simple and effective, easily translating the story for the audience. The choice was often made to have cast members enter through the center aisle before coming on stage, drawing the audience in to the world of the show a bit more. It happened so frequently, though, that I think the novelty of the choice was lost. The set was simple, featuring only small set pieces to identify various locations around Baltimore. Much more interest was added to the set by Tech Director/Lighting Designer Bob Beaucheane, who infused the plain space with pops of color in all the right moments. 

Music Director Kristin Hingstman did an excellent job preparing each vocalist for performance. All of the voices sounded healthy, strong, and the ensemble blended well. Costumes and wigs were done by Rebecca Sisley and Jackie Reinhart respectively - I especially enjoyed the designs for “Welcome to the 60s”. Chrissy Wick sourced props for the show, which were simple and fit nicely within the world of the show.

The production team also included Stage Manager Julia Greenberg, Fight/Intimacy Director Terri J. Mcintyre, Spot Operators Ken Kauker and Sam Middleton, and Production Assistant Eric Baker, who all enhanced the production with their myriad skills and talents. It is also worth noting that the night I attended the production, there was an ASL interpreter present. I appreciated the opportunity that this accessibility service provided for deaf/hard of hearing folks to enjoy the show as well!

It’s hard to leave a performance of Hairspray without feeling uplifted and energized, and this production was no exception. Check it out before it closes next weekend! Final performances of Hairspray run on May 11 at 3pm, and May 16 and 17 at 8 pm. For tickets: https://www.tix.com/ticket-sales/BridgePlayers/7570