HAIRSPRAY LIVE! (TV)
Summary
This live televised special is a production of the comedy musical about social outcasts in 1960s Baltimore, based on the 1988 motion picture and the subsequent 2002 Broadway show. The program begins as plus-sized teenager Tracy Turnblad awakens to a "Good Morning Baltimore" and, after receiving yet another detention at school, races home with her best friend Penny Pingleton to watch "The Corny Collins Show," a local teen dance program featuring "The Nicest Kids in Town." On the set, bigoted producer Velma Van Tussle reprimands Collins for celebrating "that Detroit sound," and heartthrob Link Larkin gives Amber, Velma's daughter, his class ring. Collins announces that Miss Teenage Hairspray 1962 will be crowned during a live-broadcast performance, adding that, thanks to dancer Brenda's nine-month "absence," they will be holding auditions for a new performer. Tracy immediately decides to try out, though her shy housewife mother Edna worries that she will be laughed at for her size. Elsewhere, Penny's mother berates her for listening to "race music" and Velma critiques Amber's dancing, prompting all three girls to protest that "Mama, I'm A Big Girl Now." At the auditions, Tracy bumps into Link and finds that "I Can Hear the Bells," indulging in a romantic fantasy about the two of them. Amber recognizes her classmate and scorns her dancing skills, though Velma is distracted by her memories of being "(The Legend of) Miss Baltimore Crabs." When Tracy states that the show should be integrated, she is hurriedly rushed off the stage.
At school, Tracy is again reprimanded for her bouffant hairstyle and is condemned to "special ed," where she befriends several black students, including Seaweed J. Stubbs, son of local DJ Motormouth Maybelle. Annoyed that they cannot dance together, as black teens are only allowed on the show during the monthly "Negro Day," Tracy learns some steps from her new friends. Later, Corny hosts the "Ladies' Choice" at the Spring Fling, and he is immediately impressed by Tracy's new moves. Penny, Edna and Wilbur are soon amazed to find that Tracy has joined "The Nicest Kids in Town (Reprise)" and landed a permanent spot on TV. At Corny's prompting, Link serenades Tracy with "It Takes Two" and she kisses him, but sponsor Mr. Spritzer is outraged by her "Communist" views. Corny urges him to diversify the show, but Velma, seeing Tracy as a rival to Amber, vows "Velma's Revenge." Tracy hurries home and happily tells Edna that she is in love, and they soon receive a call from Mr. Pinky, who runs a plus-sized dress shop, and Edna receives a "Welcome to the '60s" as she finally leaves her home and is given a glamorous makeover, with Tracy becoming the store's spokesmodel. At school, Amber is angered to notice Tracy's burgeoning popularity and ends up knocking her out during dodgeball. Link realizes that he too can "hear the bells" and assists her, and Seaweed invites the two of them, plus Penny, to "Run and Tell That" at a platter party at his mother's record shop.
Tracy is thrilled to meet Motormouth, though Amber and Velma soon join them, furious to find Link on the "bad" side of town. Edna and Wilbur join them, and Tracy urges the black dancers to crash the "Corny Collins" set and force them to integrate on Mother-Daughter Day, though Link frets that her plan will ruin his career prospects. Edna demurs that she is too overweight to appear on television with her daughter, but Motormouth urges her to embrace her "Big, Blonde and Beautiful" appearance. The dancers launch a protest, but the cops then arrive and Tracy is arrested. Edna frets that her daughter's dream is ruined, just as she herself is now too old to pursue her dream of fashion design, but Wilbur assures her that "(You're) Timeless to Me." She visits Tracy, who is facing a "Good Morning Baltimore (Reprise)" in jail, but Link soon arrives to beg Tracy's forgiveness, and he declares his affections for her, saying that he cannot live "Without Love." He helps her to escape, while elsewhere Seaweed frees Penny from her mother's clutches, much to Prudy's horror. The two couples hide out in Motormouth's store, and though Tracy offers to turn herself in to protect her friends, Motormouth reminds her that the struggle is "not about dancing" and that they must continue to fight for equal rights everywhere, saying that "I Know Where I've Been."
At the live show, Collins promotes their sponsorship product "(It's) Hairspray," and Wilbur attempts to sneak a giant spray can prop onto the set, though Velma catches him. Amber, determined to beat Tracy for the Miss Teenage Hairspray crown, declares that her still-absent rival has "Cooties," but Tracy bursts in with Link, Penny, Seaweed and the rest of Motormouth's crew, announcing that "You Can't Stop the Beat." Everyone is thrilled with the interracial performance and Tracy is declared the winner of the contest with Link by her side, but she is more excited to learn that she has been pardoned by the governor and has received a full scholarship to cosmetology school. Thanks to the publicity, Velma is given a promotion – selling beauty products for black women – and even Purdy is forced to abandon her prejudices when she sees her daughter's happiness with Seaweed. Edna bursts out of the giant can in a dazzling gown of her own design, and Motormouth too joins in the festivities. Finally, Penny and Motormouth declares that they have "Come So Far (Got So Far to Go)". Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: NBC
- DATE: November 30, 1999 8:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:53:12
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 129586
- GENRE: Musical
- SUBJECT HEADING: Musical; Comedy; Specials; Women's Collection - Music
- SERIES RUN: NBC - TV, 2016
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Craig Zadan … Executive Producer
- Neil Meron … Executive Producer
- Alex Rudzinski … Co-Executive Producer, Director
- Javier Winnik … Supervising Producer
- Robert Norris Catto … Producer
- Kenny Leon … Producer, Director
- John Waters … Associate Producer
- Jerry Mitchell … Associate Producer
- Barclay Deveau … Associate Producer
- Marc Shaiman … Associate Producer, Music by, Lyrics
- Scott Wittman … Associate Producer, Lyrics
- Richard Bakewell … BTS Producer
- Ashley Shea Landers … Bumper Producer
- Scott M. Riesett … Music Producer
- Lizz Zanin … Segment Producer
- Harvey Fierstein … Writer
- Mark O'Donnell … Librettist
- Thomas Meehan … Librettist
- Jerry Mitchell … Choreographer
- Greg Graham … Associate Choreographer
- Brooke Engen … Associate Choreographer
- Unissa Cruse-Ferguson … Dancer
- Zack Everhart … Dancer
- Annie Gratton … Dancer
- Thomasina E. Gross … Dancer
- Drew Hoffman … Dancer
- Allie Meixner … Dancer
- Eliotte Nicole … Dancer
- Tyler Parks … Dancer
- Andrew Pirozzi … Dancer
- Joy Marie Thomas … Dancer
- Keenan D. Washington … Dancer
- Jason Williams … Dancer
- Maddie Baillio … Cast, Tracy Turnblad
- Dove Cameron … Cast, Amber Von Tussle
- Kristin Chenoweth … Cast, Velma Von Tussle
- Garrett Clayton … Cast, Link Larkin
- Harvey Fierstein … Cast, Edna Turnblad
- Ariana Grande … Cast, Penny Pingleton
- Derek Hough … Cast, Corny Collins
- Jennifer Hudson … Cast, Motormouth Maybelle
- Martin Short … Cast, Wilbur Turnblad
- Ephraim Sykes … Cast, Seaweed J. Stubbs
- Paul Vogt … Cast, Mr. Spritzer
- Shahadi Wright Joseph … Cast, Little Inez
- Billy Eichner … Cast, Rob Barker
- Sean Hayes … Cast, Mr. Pinky
- Andrea Martin … Cast, Prudy Pingleton
- Rosie O'Donnell … Cast, The Gym Teacher
- Joshua Alexander … Cast, Ensemble
- Will B. Bell … Cast, Ensemble
- Helene Britany … Cast, Ensemble
- Riley Costello … Cast, Ensemble
- Kelli Erdmann … Cast, Ensemble
- Sam Faulkner … Cast, Ensemble
- Marissa Heart … Cast, Ensemble
- Joanna Jones … Cast, Ensemble
- Jacque LeWarne … Cast, Ensemble
- Kamilah Marshall … Cast, Ensemble
- Tommy Martinez … Cast, Ensemble
- Tiana Okoye … Cast, Ensemble
- Amos Oliver III … Cast, Ensemble
- Re'Sean Pates … Cast, Ensemble
- Katherine Roarty … Cast, Ensemble
- Rhon Saunders … Cast, Ensemble
- Ricky A. Schroeder … Cast, Ensemble
- Judine Somerville … Cast, Ensemble
- Shayna Steele … Cast, Ensemble
- Heather Tepe … Cast, Ensemble
- Mason Trueblood … Cast, Ensemble
- Karl Skyler Urban … Cast, Ensemble
- Ricki Lake … Cast, Pinky's Girl
- Marissa Jaret Winokur … Cast, Pinky's Girl
- Mary Faber … Cast, Understudy Velma / Prudy / Health Ed Teacher