Thursday, December 08, 2016

reducing "hairspray" to a limp, joyless spritz

The bad timing and general pointlessness of NBC's unnecessary live production of the musical comedy "Hairspray" was exacerbated by arch, curiously lax staging.  More about the bad timing later.  More about the show's lethargy now.  This "Hairspray" was as middle-aged as the extras hired to play high-school students in the background and the dances.

It takes a lot of dubious, misguided decisions to level what should be a surefire show but NBC managed to check off just about all of them. Which is odd, given that the network got off to such a spectacular start with its 2013 staging of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "The Sound of Music," a production which honored the show as originally written, restoring two fine numbers that were excised from the Disney-fied 1965 TODD-AO film.

But the success of "The Sound of Music" cornered the network into a rather rigid "family friendly" formula - musicals that appeal to kids, teens and their parents exclusively.  There's no place here for something like "Sweet Charity" or a Sondheim work.  Instead, we got the deadly "Peter Pan" in 2014 (a production that, seemingly, has impacted the career of its miscast star, Allison Williams) and a forgettable version of "The Wiz" in 2015.  What's next for the kids?  "Oliver!"? Yet another "Annie"?

Predictably, the announced production for 2017 will be "Bye Bye Birdie," a (teen-driven) show that has already been the basis of an inferior but wildly popular 1963 film version and an especially terrific 1995 TV version.

There's an expression for this - can you say creative bankruptcy?

In the meantime, the Fox network entered the picture earlier this year and raised the bar considerably with a jaw-droppingly excellent version of "Grease" performed before a live audience (a conceit that NBC appropriated for "Hairspray") and with a youthful enthusiasm that's been glaringly absent from the (again, middle-aged) NBC musicals.

If the consummate, immediate goal is to attract young audiences, a degree of youthfulness is an obvious necessity.  Instead, "Hairspray Live" (as it is officially titled) delivered about 2¼ hours of forced fun.

I can't readily comprehend the reason for NBC's "Hairspray," as the material was the basis of Adam Shankman's exceptionally good film version (the definitive "Hairspray") which played cineplexes as recently as 2007 - a production that benefited strongly from Leslie Dixon's textbook example of exactly how to adapt a cartoon-like play into a credible movie.

Adhering close to the stage book, "Hairspray Live" seemed rickety, devoid of the kind of solid foundation that supported the '07 film, something which affected its performances which were scattered all over the place.

On paper, the peerless Kristen Chenoweth (a musical comedy treasure) and the ever-reliable Martin Short (who can do anything) both seemed letter-perfect for their roles, but performances which should have worked with ease were undermind by either the TV script or simply bad direction.

Jennifer Hudson, strangely cast as the mother of a high-school student (she looked younger than her TV son), has a knockout singing voice but precious little "presence"in this production and even less of the kind of powerhouse personality that her role required.  She also has the disadvantage of being compared to Queen Latifah who nailed the role in the Shankman film. Whatever, her performance lacked a necessary heft.

Having seen Harvey Fierstein in the stage version of "Hairspray" - and having a rocking good time watching him - I anticipated the same fun.  But it became clear that the kind of broad playing that marked Fierstein's stage performance works well only in the artificial setting of a theater.  It can't hold up under the close, relentless scrutiny of a camera.

There's a reason why Carol Channing was never considered for the films of "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" and 'Hello, Dolly!" or Ethel Merman for the movie version of "Gypsy." It would have been too much.  (Full Disclosure: I'm seriously dating myself here, but as a kid, I saw Merman in the original production and, yes, even on stage, she was too much.)

Anyway, in retrospect, John Travolta's decision to eschew even a hint of camp in his performance in the theatrical film was an astute one.

Then there's Maddie Baillio, the newcomer selected for the lead role that was played with such effortless pluck and sincerity by Nikki Blonsky opposite Travolta.  Baillio has a fine voice but, as an actress, she is (how can I put this?) - well - fairly vacant.  And while Hudson seemed too young for her role, Baillio looked too old to play a teenager.  But then just about every teenager in this production looked too old.  I have to ask: Why not cast the show with real teenagers?  There are certainly plenty of them out there.

An unctous Darren Criss was brought in to serve as on-screen host, an assignment that Mario Lopez pulled off so handily for Fox's "Grease Live."  Despite his yelping and fawning, Criss was an unconvincing cheerleader.

On the plus side, there was Ariana Grande who exhibited impressive restraint, grace and a sense of team spirit in a good but frankly supporting role; Garrett Clayton, who brought a fascinating sexual ambiguity to the role of a high-school heart-throb, and best of all, Dove Cameron, who managed to make her mean girl both loathsome and button-cute.

Cameron is a naturally witty actress. Get this woman a lead role already!

On the production side, the choreography by the estimable Jerry Mitchell was a decided disappointment, surprisingly rigid and jerky, rather than what the show's breezy score would inspire - liberating and free-flowing.

As for NBC's timing in airing "Hairspray," that was unavoidable, since these shows are announced and go into pre-production a full year before airing. For all its frivolity, "Hairspray" is an ardent plea for diversity, with the dance floor used as a level playing field for people of all color.  It indicts the racism which has been revived in recent years and has become disturbingly rampant in the past few months.  Compared to the racist venom and bile that have become routine in society and regularly covered by the media (always in lip-smacking detail), the crucial message behind "Hairspray" now seems weak, facile and, sadly, a little futile.  It's like using a pretty little pink Band-Aid to try and cover an ugly, festering sore.

That said, I have to admit that I was amused by the ads for some vintage products (Nilla Wafers!) that are rarely advertised on TV these days. A very clever touch. Also, the telecast restored a familiar line borrowed from another show, "Gypsy," that wasn't used in the Shankman-Dixon film - "I'm a pretty girl, Momma," given a famously iconic reading by Natalie Wood in the 1962 film of "Gypsy" and spoken in this production by Ariana Grande. (There's another "Gypsy" line quoted in one of "Hairspray's" lyrics - "Momma's gotta let go!," from the rousing "Rose's Turn" finale).

Note in Passing: During the telecast, NBC promoted its next live musical - "Bye Bye Birdie," starring Jennifer Lopez (although it sounded like it used Ann-Margret's voice singing the title song written for the awful '63 movie).  This seemed way too premature.  Anything can happen in a year. It reminded me of the 2004 Tony Awards telecast.  Nicole Kidman was a presenter and the announcer introduced her as "the star of the upcoming film of 'The Producers'."  Well, when "The Producers" went into production a few months later, it was without Nicole Kidman.  She dropped out and Universal lost one of its big selling/marketing points.  Uma Thurman, almost as big a star as Kidman, came in and took over the role.

25 comments:

Charlotte said...

Joe- This is an excellent analysis, not just of the show but of the Live Musical format in general. I've a hunch that the show's diehard fans will strongly disagree with you. I'm sure it will score big in terms of ratings and that's all the network and its advertisers care about. Still, it had no really big name in it, unlike "The Sound of Music," which had an extremely popular recording star with crossover appeal. It will be interesting to see how it goes.

Brian Lucas said...

agree -- was so looking forward to this and was supremely disappointed. There was just no youthful energy. as you commented it was a weird dichotomy to watch a show that espouses what one would call liberal values in this new Trump era.

Deb said...

Joe! I wouldn't necessarily say that the extras and dancers in "Hairspray Live" were middle-aged, but they certainly didn't look like high school students either. I'd say that they were in their late 20s-early30s - still way too old.

steve said...

Forget about the adults playing kids. What about the older actors? Harvey, Martin and Andrea Martin look more like grandparents than parents. The whole production was cast too old.

Ellen Shaw said...

I agree. Dove Cameron was excellent. I've seen "Hairspray" several times in its carious forms and Cameron made the best Amber. -Ellen Shaw

Maryann said...

I love Harvey! He not only starred in the show but wrote the script. I see that he will also do the script for "Bye Bye Birdie." I hope he stars in that, too. He can play the role of the nagging mother. He'd be perfect!

joe baltake said...

Maryann- Who doesn't love Harvey? And, yes, I like your idea of him playing Albert's mother in "Birdie." Endless possibilities there.

Alex said...

I also noticed that all these musicals are produced for family audiences. I'd love to see what the network would do with "Sweeney Todd" or "Cabaret." I guess we'll never know.

Kiki said...

The Hairspray TV version (agghghg!)- didn't bother watching. The one with Travolta and Walken and Michele Pf. was terrific but enough already. Now, ANOTHER Bye Bye Birdie?!?!? Wasn't there a made for TV one not too long ago? Is Jennifer L going to play ... oh no, not the long-suffering secretary role! Or maybe the part of Dick Van Dyke's mother? Or better yet, why bother in the first place?

joe baltake said...

Yeah, I reference the 1995 "Birdie," a TV production that was much closer to the Broadway original than the truncated, insipid theatrical film. Columbia made so many silly changes for the '63 film that one wonders why the studio bothered to purchase the rights to it. Gene Saks directed the TV version, fresh from staging a revival of it, and Ann Reinking did the choreography, with Jason Alexander and Vanessa Williams in the lead roles. Best of all, it restored some of the shows best songs that were dripped in '63 - "Talk to Me," "All-American Boy" and the show's particularly good opening number, "An English Teacher." When Columbia filmed it, it was seemingly interested only the songs for the younger cast members, Ann-Margaret in particular. The movie made her a star, even though she was grotesquely miscast in her role.

Neil T. said...

Responding to Steve's comment, yes, the kids were played by adults and the adults were played by old people. Good way to attract the young demographic so coveted by advertisers.

Tracy said...

I see where the show was a ratings bummer. I think it needed one, big solid star to carry it. I love Harvey Fierstein, too, but he's not one to bring in a wide audience. There must have been someone among the young comic actors today who could have pulled off the role and also put asses in the seats.

joe baltake said...

I agree. There are shows that are old or not necessarily new that could get a new lease on life with a current actor/actress in the lead. In this case, I could see Seth Rogen pulling off the role of Edna with some flair and perhaps even a little new business. Rogen came to mind a few years ago when Neil Simon's "The Odd Couple" was revived with the usual suspects in the lead roles - Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick. I thought, why not Seth Rogen and Jonah Hill? Or Seth Rogen and Paul Rudd. Well, a person can dream, right?

Neil T. said...

Love the idea of Rogen in the role but I highly doubt he would have done it. And he would be great as Oscar in The Odd Couple. These are the kinds of stars who could breathe new life into old shows and bring in new audiences.

Brian Lucas said...

Knowing Rogen, he probably would have wanted to have a hand in rewriting both "Hairspray" and "The Odd Couple." He generally works with original material.

Johnny said...

You can get away with having grown people play teenagers on stage but not on film - or, in this case, TV - whicch most people watch on big screens now. What on earth were they thinking????

Deb said...

Re the planned "Bye Bye Birdie," I predict that Matthew Morrison will be offered - and will accept - the part of Albert. I don't know if he will be offered it or will be interested but I think Zak Efron would be a hoot as Birdie

Suzanne said...

The only way to do these shows and to save musicals and to introduce a new audience to them is to cast them with currently popular (i.e., trendy) actors. That's why "La La Land" has attracted such huge interest and will probably do well at the box office - because of Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone. Yes, "Hairspray" should have starred someone like Rogen. "Peter Pan" would have done better with Mylie Cyrus who, I believe, the network originally wanted for the role. Jennifer Hudson should have been the star of "The Wiz." You need a star. The reason "The Sound of Music" did so well was because it had Carrie Underwood. You need currently popular stars to get people to watch these things. Viewers had no interest in Harvey Fierstein, sad to say - at least, not young viewers.

Johnny said...

Your readers have some good ideas about how to cast musicals nowadays. Seth Rogen has been mmenioned for "Hairspray," but he would also do fine as Albert in "Birdie." But so would Paul Rudd and Jason Bateman. Mathew Morrison is a little too obvious a choice and doesn't have the kind of following that would attract an unlikely audience. And I like the idea of Efron as Conrad Birdie himself.

Patty said...

I agree the 2007 movie was sooo much better!

Gwen said...

Too bad that the networks want to do only family-friendly musicals. I'd love to see Kristen Cheoweth as Miss Mona in "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas," maybe with John Goodman as Ed Earl, the sheriff!

Jane said...

Patrick Wilson should play Albert in "Birdie." No contest!

Tish said...

I loved it that the producers managed to include both Rickie Lake and Marissa Jaret Winokur in their show but where was Nikki Blonsky from the film? Was she unavailable? Or was she not invited to participate? I ask that if you can't get all of the former Tracy Turnblads, don't invite any of them. Bad form.

Phil Checchia said...

Joe
Been a long time since I've seen you and spoke to you. However last week a friend of my son who is a huge John Wayne fan asked if he could see the column you wrote about me guarding Wayne when he came to Philly in 1976. Since I have several copies of the small magazine you published about Wayne when he died, I sent him a copy. That brought back many good memories of the previews you so graciously invited me to. Am glad to see you are still active and now that I've discovered this blog I will be an ardent follower. Hope you are well. I now live in Orlando. If you ever plan on coming I would love to hookup and reminisce.

joe baltake said...

Phil! It’s so great to hear from you. You bring back lovely memories of Wayne. I assume you were assigned to him when he came to Philly to promote his final film, “The Shootist,” right? My meeting with him is etched in my mind. Paramount staged a luncheon for him in the Wanamakers’ Crystal Tea Room and Linda Goldenberg, the studio’s PR rep, sat me next to him. Anyway, John Wanamaker (the grandson of the original John Wanamaker, was now running the business and he came up to me and insisted that I move so that he could sit by Wayne. I refused. Told him that Paramount placed me there and Wayne backed me up. When Wanamaker left, Wayne pat me on the hand, smiled and said well done. He was very soft-spoken, I remember. That day, I took a copy of Cosmopolitan with me because Molly Haskell had written an essay on him for the magazine. I asked Wayne to autograph if for my editor at the time, who detested Wayne. I often wonder if she kept the magazine.