If only we can all possess Tracy Turnblad’s unwavering optimism and enjoy this much dancing everyday in our own lives, the world may be a little happier.

‘I’ll eat some breakfast and change the world’ is just one of the self-assured declarations that Nora Sullivan makes as tenacious during Good Morning Baltimore while dreaming about dancing on television in 1962 Maryland. Sullivan was also Tracy in Sullivan Rep’s Hairspray last year. 

With glowing, innovative and multi-color television screens and a sparkling curtain in the background, The Umbrella Stage Company lights up The Corny Collins Show’s vinyl record dance floor with catchy beats and a spirited groove in Hairspray: The Broadway Musical, an upbeat 60s romantic musical comedy sure to brighten anyone’s spirits.

Boasting exuberant direction and choreography by Najee A. Brown and Jordan Oczkowski’s uplifting music direction, Umbrella Stage Company Hairspray: The Broadway Musical live and in person at the Umbrella Arts Center in Concord, Massachusetts through Sunday, May 17.  This engaging musical comedy delivers bold comical innuendos and runs approximately two hours with one intermission.  Click here for more information and for tickets.

Featuring a large and lively cast, Hairspray has always been an upbeat satire which infuses important messages about body positivity, bullying and racism with a hopeful and bubbly lead that believes anything is possible.  I had a marvelous time and could not help bopping my head several times to the musical’s joyous beat.  Hairspray picks up right away in constant motion as scenes unfold simultaneously on Cameron McEachern’s dual level set.  For example, Good Morning Baltimore unfolds with infectious rhythms and clever staging as Maggie Cavanaugh as Tracy’s best friend Penny and Tracy pour over an authentic retro television set alongside what they are seeing on the screen.

 Big and fluffy standout wigs by Cara Guappone tower over vivid 60s costumes in flowing crinoline with colorful patterns including polka dots, florals, plaids and shimmering gold lamé by Emerald City Theatricals. 

Another highlight is demonstrated in Big Doll House which elevates the comedy and the chemistry between the actors and teen rebellion takes charge as Cavanaugh’s Penny, Lisa Kate Joyce as Amber Von Tussle and Sullivan’s Tracy sound off in vivid intricate lighting by SeifAllah Salotto-Cristobal and sparkling harmony for Mama I’m a Big Girl Now.

Tracy dreams of performing on Baltimore’s teen dance TV show The Corny Collins Show and winning the heart of Link Larkin, a council member and heartthrob singer exhibiting the dreamy excitability of falling in love with Brown’s 360 degree choreography in I Can Hear the Bells.  Sullivan’s jovial performance exudes charm and an imaginative turn of phrase as Tracy’s pretty vocals expel spontaneous shrieks and endearing chuckles during various parts of the production. 

Sullivan’s Tracy gets into ambitious teen high jinks and Maggie Cavanaugh as best friend Penny is gleefully along for the ride.  Boasting hints of Elvis croons and inflections, Nick Corsi portrays heartthrob Link with a mix of openness and charisma while sharing some amusing scenes with Tracy especially for the endearing ballad, It Takes Two.  Christian David is easygoing and suave delivering smooth and distinctive vocals as Seaweed J Stubbs, especially for the catchy number Run and Tell That. With a broad and winsome smile, Joshua Lapierre as Corny Collins certainly lives up to Corny’s name and is shows off his sharp comedic chops while cutting a rug in Nicest Kids in Town. 

Brutal, poised and snarky, villainy lives in Aimee Doherty who revels in her role as Velma Von Tussle bathed in ruthless red lighting.  Lisa Kate Joyce as Velma’s coiffed and obnoxious daughter Amber Von Tussle is an appropriate mini-me striding onstage with a flashy smile.  The duo makes an impressively egotistical, calculating, manipulative and often unhinged pair.  Only second to an array of comical tantrums bellowed on a staircase, Joyce is brashly pitch perfect when she exclaims, ‘What happened to the bland and spineless guy I fell in love with?’  Joyce also delivers sharp comedic timing and over the top vocals for Cooties.

Robert Saoud infuses dry humor and a dazzled smile as Tracy’s once aspiring designer mother Edna and Chip Phillips lovably depict Tracy’s plucky and optimistic inventor father Wilbur for a humorous rendition of You’re Timeless to Me. 

Whether delivering the playful and bluesy Big Blonde and Beautiful or a moving rendition of I Know Where I’ve Been, Barbara Pierre offers frank, unflappable and soaring vocals as Motormouth Maybelle.  Whether depicting a principal at the end of his proverbial rope, a wild bailiff, gym teacher, a camera shy advertiser or taking control of a TV shoot, Nick Miller and Meryl Galaid manage to make each of their multiple roles amusingly memorable.

No time but now to see Hairspray:  The Broadway Musical continuing live and in person at Umbrella Arts Center in Concord, Massachusetts through Sunday, May 17.  Click here for more information and for tickets.