The movie “Hairspray” is a big-screen adaptation of the 2003 Tony Award-winning Best Musical and is an updated remake on the 1988 John Waters film about a young girl with big dreams in 1960s Baltimore. The film stars Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer, Queen Latifah, Christopher Walken, Amanda Bynes and introduces Nikki Blonksy as the heroine Tracy Turnblad. With the reemergence of musicals on screen, Lyricist and Executive Producer Scott Wittman feels the genre is now more widely accepted and that there’s more than enough room among the sequels and action movies for a toe-tapping, big and brassy musical.

Wittman, along with his partner, composer Marc Shaiman, won not only the Tony Award for Best Original Score for HAIRSPRAY but also the Grammy for Best Musical Show Album. His journey with HAIRSPRAY began when Shaiman insisted on writing the show with Wittman as lyricist. In order to land the Broadway gig, they essentially had to audition a few songs with producer Margo Lion which included “Welcome to the 60’s,” “Big, Blonde and Beautiful” and “Good Morning Baltimore” - all of which made it to the stage and now, the film.

On the movie set in Toronto, Wittman spent his time juggling multiple tasks including script revisions, reimagining the stage show for the screen and working with Director Adam Shankman, a close friend of 20 years. He was also involved in the casting process and says that when newcomer Blonsky entered her audition, he “knew it was her right when she walked in.” A fondness for the movie’s other mega-stars shines through when he talks about the cast. When asked to associate each with only a few words, he described Queen Latifah (matriarch Motormouth Maybelle) as having a “great soul,” Michelle Pfeiffer (Velma Von Tussle, the ultimate stage mother) as “gorgeous,” and Amanda Bynes (Tracy’s best bud Penny Pingleton) as “feisty.” For Travolta, Wittman muses, “He was great fun” and then chuckles thinking of Travolta’s transformation into Tracy’s mother Edna Turnblad and says, “Anita Ekberg”, a reference to the 1960s bombshell from “La Dolce Vita.”

Wittman got an opportunity to stretch his creative muscles by writing three new songs for the film with Shaiman including “Ladies Choice,” specifically to showcase popular “High School Musical” star, Zac Efron as heartthrob Link Larkin. “New songs gave us the opportunity to revisit moments in the (Broadway) show,” he explains. “‘Ladies Choice’ was written for Efron to give Link more of an Elvis quality.”

Film aside, the stage show of HAIRSPRAY is scheduled to have its London premiere later this year with British musical theatre star Michael Ball starring as Edna Turnblad. And, a little further down the road, an opening in South Africa is in the works. The same day “Hairspray” opens in theaters will be especially exciting for Wittman because the workshop of his newest musical project with Shaiman, CATCH ME IF YOU CAN (based on the 2002 Steven Spielberg film), begins.

“Everyone thinks they are Tracy,” says Wittman, which is why “Hairspray’s” themes of acceptance, perseverance and the joy of life lingers with audiences. From the looks of it, ‘Hairspray’ will be spreading a lot of smiles and a few shimmies when it opens nationwide July 20.

By: Heather Darrow