Cast does well, but racial theme gets blurred in ‘Hairspray’

"Hairspray," Paliku Theatre’s fall musical, is a confection of revisionist history, all bright colors and cartoon characters.

Set in the early 1960s, "Hairspray" rose-colors the era’s violent turmoil, borrowing its look, musical style, and central conflict (racial discrimination) to send a message of pure optimism — the power of an innocent, naive young woman with a good and caring heart to change the world. It is ideal feel-good family entertainment.

Tracy Turnblad, the sweet young heroine, is the ’60s equivalent of Pollyanna from the early 20th century and Annie from the Depression. The story is a peculiarly American trope that draws on nostalgia to convey hope for the future.

As with previous productions directed by Ron Bright, Paliku has pulled out all the stops, delivering a large, enthusiastic local cast, over-the-top acting, gymnastics, dancing, candy-bright costumes, bouffant wigs, and a 10-piece orchestra tucked under the stage.

Although overmiked (bring ear protection if your ears are sensitive), the production had excellent lighting design and a versatile set that worked for Paliku’s tight space.

"Hairspray" must be played straight for its underlying tongue-in-cheek irony to work, and in general, Paliku’s cast did it well.

Pomai Lopez as Tracy Turnblad, with her wide-open eyes, exuberance and expressive face, fueled the whirlwind on stage, driving the plot and almost every scene. Tracy’s mother, Edna Turnblad, was played to perfection by Johnny Reed, whose lovely tenor translated smoothly into Edna’s husky contralto.

The two made a great central pair, with Tracy’s starry-eyed idealism enticing Edna out of her shell to pursue her dreams.

The young, very talented Emily Maldonado was absolute dynamite as Little Inez and rocked her solo.

Chris Gritti, as TV host Corny Collins, and Dani Yamamoto, as Tracy’s BFF Penny Pingleton, were precisely cast, both delightful in their roles. And Dani Yamamoto’s real-life mother, Tracy Yamamoto, provided outlandish hilarity in three roles, as Penny’s prudish mother (Prudy Pingleton); the dorky, raunchy gym teacher; and the sadistic prison matron.

In "Hairspray," the entire world of "bad" is concentrated in two characters, the third mother-daughter pair: the despicable, amorally ambitious Velma Von Tussle, played by Jaime Craycroft, and her evil-in-training daughter Amber Von Tussle, portrayed by Caitlin Cavarocchi.

Tellingly, the composer was not kind to these characters, giving Amber no solos (although Cavarocchi sang well and certainly looked the "pretty blonde" part) and giving Velma two of the weakest songs, both of which require a very specific vocal type. Craycroft and Cavarocchi put their hearts and souls into it, but were too nice for their roles.

"Hairspray" touches on several themes — prejudice against the overweight, mother-daughter relationships, materialism in advertising — but its focus is racial discrimination between blacks and whites.

That’s a harder topic in Hawaii, where casts are necessarily of mixed races and few are familiar with the extreme differences between white and black vocal and dance styles in the ’60s. Inevitably, "modern," which is a mix of the two, creeps in and the whole becomes rainbow — more of a squabbling ohana story.

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Ruth O. Bingham received her doctorate in musicology from Cornell University and has been reviewing the musical arts for more than 25 years.