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Hairspray, like many other plays and musicals, holds a lot of its meaning and themes between the lines. Often, that subtext and greater meaning is lost in the complexities of a large production. Dramaturgy is the act of working to make sure that doesn’t happen. Dramaturgy is, at its core, contextualization, which means looking at the surrounding ideas, culture, and human experiences of a show to see its meaning and themes in a more informed light while making sure that those themes and meaning are adequately communicated to the audience.

The musical Hairspray is based on John Waters’ 1988 film of the same name. Although the musical deviates a bit, it mostly follows Waters’ original plot while telling the same story and messages. In both the musical and the film, the self-proclaimed “pleasantly plump” Tracy Turnblad chases stardom on a Baltimore teen dance television show. Over the course of Hairspray, Tracy gains learning and career opportunities from her experience with her Black peers at school which ultimately leads her to rally against the local television station in support of racial integration.

Hairspray is based on a true story – the real story of the fight for integration and representation on a local TV show in Baltimore in the 1960s, called “The Buddy Deane Show”, hosted by WJZ-TV. The Buddy Deane show, like the Corny Collins show in Hairspray, also was highly segregated and only allowed Black dancers at certain times. On the real Buddy Deane show, these days were called “Special Guest Days.” Black teens in Baltimore called them “Black Mondays.” Just like in Hairspray, a group of students rallied for racial integration on the Buddy Deane show, but that is where history and fiction start to separate. In Hairspray, Tracy is snuck into the studio along with other Black dancers as they infiltrate the pageant that is being held. Hairspray has the happy ending expected in most iconic Broadway musicals - the barriers are lowered, the show is integrated, and everyone is happy - but that is not true with the real-life Buddy Deane show.

In the real-life storming of the Buddy Deane show, a group of white and Black students stormed the WJZ-TV studio on a Black Monday while they were on live TV, forcing the studio to air desegregated dancing. Due to protests from many white residents of Baltimore, the show was shut down very soon after the studio was stormed. 

History did not share the happy ending of Hairspray; instead of the show continuing to air integrated dancing, the entire show was cancelled shortly after.

Those differences may seem minor and inconsequential, but they shift the narrative from a group of Black students working to integrate the show and losing to systemic pressure to a white teenager sneaking onto the show and winning despite the odds. It changes the real-life story of segregation and racism into a white savior narrative where the day is won as soon as the young white student steps in. While the story of Hairspray is an important one, the shift in focus should be on the actions and experiences of Black students at the time. However, Hairspray is what it is: a good start. Bringing awareness to topics of racial issues, personal expression, body positivity, and representation is valuable. Showing a fight for equality is important. These are only an early step in the fight towards equity and representation in theater – and they do not absolve a story from criticism, either.

John Waters and Glenn Milstead – Divine’s offstage name – were both born and raised in Baltimore and watched the Buddy Deane show religiously. In fact, Milstead attended Towson High School – this very school. And, given that this is a historic building, these are the very same halls the famous drag queen walked in high school. Milstead’s time at Towson High, however, was not entirely positive. He was bullied throughout his time here for being gay and overweight, and he eventually required medical intervention due to the severity of the bullying. This experience got several students expelled, but also made the bullying worse from both students and teachers.

Milstead was miserable at Towson High, which makes a production of Hairspray, a show written specifically to star Milstead, much more important and impactful. It’s up to us to educate and inform the school community to ensure that nobody ever again has to deal with what Milstead handled on a daily basis. Performing Hairspray at Towson High School in Baltimore, of all places, is where Hairspray has to be handled with the most care. The victims and perpetrators of the violence and discrimination that was featured (and not featured) in Hairspray are still living all around us, relics of a broken past that still isn’t quite fixed. Hairspray is a fantastic first step, but the struggle, the fight for equity, is far from over in Baltimore.