Entertainment

SIMPLY DIVINE – JOHN WATERS’ ‘HAIRSPRAY’ THE NEW ‘PRODUCERS’

HAIRSPRAY []

At the Neil Simon Theatre, 250 W. 52nd St.; (212) 757-8646.

——–

YEP, it’s a hit – a great big fat gorgeous hit. For the second time in recent years, a new musical has roared into town and justified its advance glitz, glitter and hype.

The first, of course, was “The Producers” – and now, opening last night, there’s “Hairspray.”

From the moment an imperiously frumpy Harvey Fierstein appears, divine in the hausfrau role that was originally Divine’s, you can sit back comfortably, knowing that something bizarrely dazzling is about to unfold.

Broadway has a new star in Marissa Jaret Winokur (never diet, honey) and a new hot composing team, Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman.

John Waters’ 1988 sharp, fun movie, set in 1962 Baltimore, told the Cinderella fable of a cute little fat girl who manages to get her man, become a national poster girl for a hairspray and integrate the local TV station. Don’t ask why, but it worked.

The movie was gentler than Waters’ usual shock schlock, and the adept writers of the musical’s book, Mark O’Donnell and Thomas (“The Producers”) Meehan, have rendered it gentler still, making the musical irresistibly sweet and honest while retaining that touch of insider naughtiness.

From the skillfully schematic scenery by David Rockwell to the naughty authenticity of William Ivey Long’s costumes, Jerry Mitchell’s time-capsule-perfect choreography and the apiary-inspired hairdos of Paul Huntley, “Hairspray” is a triumph on all levels – one of those rare Broadway shows that clicks into place and space with classic abandon.

Shaiman’s music is a marvel of reinvention. It reconstructs neolithic rock – pre-Beatles, from Bill Haley to early Beach Boys – taking in the Motown sound, a little gospel and paying homage to “American Bandstand,” the whole rainbow jukebox of the period.

At times you think you’ve heard it before – the first number “Good Morning Baltimore” is oddly reminiscent of “Good Morning Starshine” from “Hair” – but then Shaiman takes off on a different riff, aided by Harold Wheeler’s brilliant orchestrations.

Director Jack O’Brien has gotten wonderfully unaffected and gorgeously silly period performances from the exceptional cast. It’s a joy to see actors (especially when some of them are fairly new to the game) going through what they sense is about to become a Broadway hit – they have a gleam behind their glitter.

Winokur did the stepping-out-a-youngster bit with bubbling aplomb. She has a lovely voice, a breathless, cuddly personality and the ability to twist a stage round her little finger.

And talking of voices, listen to Mary Bond Davis, a large lady with a larger voice, pinning your soul back as a pillar of Baltimore’s black community, and the owner of a hangout record shop.

As the ugly sisters in this Cinderella myth (they’re actually mother and daughter), Laura Bell Bundy and Linda Hart are vicious delights; a powerhouse named Corey Reynolds and a nicely perky Kerry Butler prove adorable as young black/white lovers, while Matthew Morrison, putting his best profile forward, scores as a wannabe rocker.

But the performance of the night is still Fierstein’s.

Marvelously aided and abetted by the anxiously wry Dick Latessa as her adoring husband, Fierstein’s Edna Turnblad breezes through the show like a galleon in full sail.

Unlike Divine’s original, this not a drag performance as such. This Edna is totally feminine – and when she and Latessa stop the show with a big vaudeville duet, we see her through his eyes as a loving woman.

Just one question: When Tony time comes, is Fierstein to be nominated as Best Actress or Best Actor?