Hairspray was one of those musicals that embodied that old cliched line, “It's a crazy idea, but it just might work.” The Broadway adaptation of an unusually sweet John Waters movie was a hit, and then its movie version was another hit last summer; everyone left with their pockets full of cash and seemed satisfied.
Until, that is, they convinced Waters to give it one more go. So now we're facing a Hairspray sequel, with Variety reporting that director-choreographer Adam Shankman, producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, and composers and lyricists Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman are all returning for the sequel, which will be based on a new story from Waters. None of the cast signed sequel deals when working on the first film, because, come on, who the hell ever thought this would happen? The producers are doing their best, though, to track down the cast and get them back in those 60s wigs in time for a summer 2010 release date.
OK. I get that John Waters' whole thing with turning Hairspray into a musical to begin with was that it was the last thing people would expect. The guy loves shocking and horrifying people, and since you can disembowel people and still get an R rating these days, Waters is just playing up his out-there image and then surprising everyone by working on something candy-colored and fun. And the first Hairspray really and truly was a delight, effortlessly bouncy where Mamma Mia! just couldn't quite make it.
But something this fragile and happy on its own just doesn't need a sequel. In fact, a sequel seems likely to kill it, putting in stark relief what wasn't all that great about the original to begin with. We all set aside our intellectual selves for two hours last summer and danced along to Hairspray, but I'm just not sure if that many people are going to be willing to do it one more time. Then again, even more people paid to see Mamma Mia! this weekend, which is an inferior musical by every measure. So if Shankman and company end up making a pale imitation of the original, they'll have people starved enough for musicals that they'll see it anyway. Myself, sadly, included.
