Celebrating the 35th Anniversary of John Water’s smash hit ‘Hairspray’, we revisit a time when JFK was in The White House….John Glenn was in orbit…..Cadillacs had fins….Beehives were in….And girls really knew how to tease!

In Baltimore, Maryland in the year 1962, Tracy Turnblad (Ricki Lake), an overweight teen, auditions for a spot on a popular teen dance show, she beats out the spiteful Amber von Tussle (Colleen Fitzpatrick), winning over Amber’s boyfriend (Michael St. Gerard) in the process.

After meeting some black students at her school, Tracy begins to push for more racial integration on the dance show.

This gets her into trouble on many sides, especially with Amber’s pushy parents (Sonny Bono, Deborah Harry).

REVIEWS
★★★★ Peter Bradshaw – The Guardian
The original 1988 bubblegum musical comedy, starring Ricki Lake, satirises racism and body-conformism with left-field flair