The history of the musical Hairspray is a convoluted one. It's based on a 1988 film comedy by noted oddball John Waters (Pink Flamingos, Serial Mom), in which drag artist Divine plays mom to Ricki Lake. The young, pre-diet Lake plays Tracy Turnblad, a bright-eyed teen-age girl in 1962 Baltimore who just wants to dance on TV's Corny Collins Show and marry its featured dancer, Link. Along the way she manages to desegregate Baltimore TV.

Hairspray was adapted for Broadway in 2002, where it won eight Tony Awards including Best Musical after a tryout in Seattle. Harvey Fierstein played Edna Turnblad; though having listened to the CD, I can tell you he wasn't cast for his singing skills. He sounds like a baritone gem polisher. Hairspray returned to film in 2007, this time a filmed version of the musical starring John Travolta as Edna. If you haven't seen it, it's well worth the cost of a rental.

Paradise Theatre in Gig Harbor is the first Washington state company to perform the Hairspray musical, which puts enormous pressure on the director.  But if the fate of this production rests heaviest on any one person, it's Emileigh Kershaw, a CSTOCK (Central Stage Theatre in County Kitsap) regular whose day job is making retainers for an orthodontist.  Simply put, if Tracy isn't good, then Hairspray isn't good - there's just no way around it.  She's featured in eight songs.  Thankfully, Kershaw is absolutely winning as Tracy.  It's a star-making role, and she shines in every scene.  The only downside to casting her is she's thinner than the role usually demands. In the original, Tracy describes herself as "pleasantly plump," but Kershaw's beehive wig is the plumpest thing about her.

Speaking of wigs, they're everywhere in this show - to amusing effect. Top marks to costume designer Vicki Richards, who somehow found time to also choreograph this dance heavy show.  Her work allowed director Jeff Richards (yes, they're married) to make good use of the Paradise's wide stage. Not only is he the director, he's also the set designer.  When do these people sleep?

Jesse Smith is dynamite as Seaweed, the star of pre-integration Baltimore's monthly TV "Negro Day."  Grant Troyer sings well and makes a handsome Link.  Howard Knickerbocker and Eli Ghorley have fun as Tracy's mismatched parents. Peninsula High drama teacher Jonathan Bill makes a smooth Corny Collins, and Krista Curry is adorable as Tracy's best friend, Penny. Annette Seymour seemed flat in her first appearance as Motormouth Mabelle, but her singing blows the roof off the joint. Her rendition of "I Know Where I've Been" is downright thrilling.

Of course, none of this would be enough if the songs weren't so terrific.  We live in the era of jukebox musicals, so I dare anyone to find an original score half as melodic as this one.  From "Good Morning Baltimore" to "I Can Hear the Bells" (a lung punisher effortlessly nailed by Kershaw) to Smith's "Run and Tell That," Act I could be a greatest hits album. Tacoma Musical Playhouse opens its own production of the show this Friday, less than 10 miles away. Break a leg, TMP; the gauntlet has been thrown down.  The Paradise production is two and a half hours of pure entertainment.

Run and tell that!

Hairspray

Through Oct. 3, 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday, $10-$22
Paradise Theatre, 9911 Burnham Dr. N.W., Gig Harbor
253.851.7529