The lively new production of the Broadway musical "Hairspray" at Cockpit in Court Summer Theatre is another opportunity to consider the deep local roots of this show — and to ponder your preference for it in one medium or another.
My own vote for best version has to go to the original 1988 movie, directed by John Waters. How can anyone ever surpass the late Divine as that plus-sized Baltimore housewife and icon, Edna Turnblad?
The Broadway musical is great fun too, of course, and there have been several memorable actors playing Edna, as well as her similarly hefty daughter, Tracy, who undertakes a fight for civil rights and social justice on several fronts.
Then there was the movie version of the Broadway adaptation, which featured a so-so turn by John Travolta, of all people, as the indomitable Edna.
Do you have a favorite among the various "Hairspray" iterations? As a Maryland insider, it would be interesting to hear your reasons for which version you consider the rightful representative of this unique slice of Baltimore cultural history.
By the way, the Cockpit in Court staging of "Hairspray" runs through Aug. 7 at the Essex campus of the Community College of Baltimore County, 7201 Rossville Blvd. Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 3 p.m. There is also a Thursday performance, Aug. 4 at 8 p.m.