Hairspray

Say it ain't so, hon! Charm City won't even have a cameo role in the movie-musical version of Hairspray, John Waters' fable about racial desegregation and dance-floor equality set in early-1960s Baltimore. Instead, the film will be shot entirely in Toronto, one of the film's producers confirmed yesterday. No offense to Baltimore is intended, insisted producer Craig Zadan. Though financial incentives also swayed the filmmakers, the key factor in the Canadian city's selection was that the Baltimore area lacks large soundstages - buildings with spaces wide and tall enough to meet the demands of shooting a big-budget musical.

Two months after its Broadway opening, the musical Hairspray is doing so well, producer Margo Lion kids, "I can't wait to do it on ice!" Playing to standing-room-only audiences, the show is grossing about $1 million a week, according to Lion. Investors who were smart enough to put money into the musical have reason to hold their bouffants extra high. They've already received 20 percent of their investment back, and Lion said they can expect to recoup fully by late spring or early summer.

The whole concept of a party involves a certain amount of enthusiasm. The whole concept of anything associated with John Waters involves a certain "over-the-top" feel. Put the two together -- as in the post-screening party for Baltimore's movie premiere of the musical version of Hairspray -- and over-the-top enthusiasm just begins to scratch the surface. Hundreds of guests who had just seen the film packed the Tremont Grand ballroom to eat, drink, dance and maybe catch a glimpse of some of the movie's stars, such as Nikki Blonsky, Amanda Bynes, Elijah Kelley, James Marsden and Zac Efron.

To borrow the title of Hairspray's opening song, it was a "Good Morning Baltimore" in New York yesterday. The runaway Broadway musical hit based on John Waters' 1988 movie ran off with the largest number of Tony Award nominations, a total of 13, including best musical. "Thirteen's my lucky number. I was born on the 13th, and we started rehearsals on the 13th," said Hairspray's Baltimore-born producer, Margo Lion. The only show that came close to matching that number of nominations was Movin' Out - a dance-based production set to the pop songs of Billy Joel - which garnered 10 nominations.

Good morning, Baltimore! With its first song, a tribute to the rakish appeal of Charm City, a rousing national tour of Hairspray danced its way into the Mechanic Theatre last night. Tours seldom live up to the shows that spawned them. That's especially true when, as in this case, the original was the heavyweight champ of Broadway last season, snaring eight Tony Awards. But in many ways this Hairspray is the equal of the behemoth in the Big Apple. First, the musical's quirky sweetness remains intact.

If Hairspray the musical is a success, it is because every single person in the audience, even the beauty queens, can remember a moment when they have felt like its heroine, Tracy Turnblad: Fat. Loud. Fatally frowsy. At a cast party held Wednesday after the opening night performance, members of the production took a moment to ponder how the musical reflects their own lives. The party itself remained true to its Charm City roots and the musical's spirit. Technically, it was by invitation only.

It was the kiss seen 'round the country - and beyond. When songwriters Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman won the Tony Award for the score of the Broadway musical Hairspray, Shaiman declared his love and kissed his partner on the lips - and on national television. Shaiman and Wittman have been a couple for a quarter century, but it took the John Waters movie-inspired musical to bring the pair together as collaborators on a Broadway show. On Monday, the songwriters and filmmaker will share the Mechanic stage in a program titled An Evening With John Waters, Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman.

A lot of overweight teens dream of losing weight and becoming stars. Nineteen-year-old Carly Jibson is rapidly achieving stardom -- with the added bonus of being encouraged to keep her pleasingly round shape. Jibson heads the cast of the national touring company of Hairspray, in which she plays Tracy Turnblad, a rotund Baltimorean with her heart set on winning a spot on a local TV dance show. During her lengthy audition process for Hairspray, Jibson received some advice that would make most food-loving, would-be stars drool.

First things first: The name is pronounced "DU-wayne." Actor Eric Anthony -- the only bona fide Baltimore native in the cast of Hairspray, the hit Broadway musical set in 1960s Baltimore -- is discussing the fictitious biography he has invented for his character. In the program, that character, a member of the chorus, is identified merely as Duane. But engaging in a practice many actors find helpful, Anthony, a 1997 graduate of the Carver Center for Arts and Technology, has filled in the gaps in Duane's personal history.

NEW YORK - The spirits were higher than the bouffant hairdos Thursday night. While the New York newspapers were going to press with a raft of rave reviews for Hairspray, 1,500 elated partygoers celebrated Broadway's first big hit of the season. And indications are that Hairspray could be one of the bigger hits of many seasons to come. On Thursday, even before the reviews were out, a new block of tickets (through March 2) went on sale and the daily box-office total soared to $1.9 million.