Hairspray at Courthouse Center For The Arts

Have you seen Hairspray? It’s so good, it’s been a  movie, then a Broadway play, and then another movie. It started with a 1988 John Waters flick that put Ricki Lake on the map and featured Divine in drag. In 2002 it hit Broadway, and in 2007 Zac Efron, Michelle Pfeiffer, John Travolta and Christopher Walken signed on for their own 50s-style waltz around a script that addresses race, weight discrimination, teen angst and the importance of a good boogaloo.
And now, a chance to see this wackily wonderful musical on stage right here in Rhode Island. Courthouse Center For The Arts opened the show Friday, and it’s playing Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m.  through April 23. A friend saw it yesterday and it made her cry; she reports that it’s smart and funny and sweet and that no one should miss it. Tickets start at $19, and if that isn’t enough, check out Kendra Alati as Tracy Turnblad in a wonderful preview performance on The Rhode Show, singing the rousing opening number, Good Morning Baltimore. She kills it.