This role has always been played by a man, but John Travolta. Ohmigod!
Isn’t Hairspray a movie already?
It was originally. This is a movie of the Broadway musical.
It’s not working for me. I realize this is a candid shot, but he isn’t nearly impressive enough. His Edna doesn’t look campy, just shlumpy (if that’s a word). Besides, shouldn’t that be a blonde wig?
Nobody … NOBODY should play Edna Turnblad except for Harvey Fierstein.
Or Divine.
He’s dead, Jim.
Yes. The point being (speaking for Cervaise here, who I assume will correct me if I misinterpret his meaning) that you could just as easily say the same thing about Divine’s performance; that the ground Fierstein trod was at least as sacred as the ground Travolta treads.
What, you’ve never seen a movie based on a musical based on a movie before? As far as I know, there has been a grand total of one so far- The Producers.
Edna is schlumpy for about the first half of the first act.
Divine started out in the film as a brunette, and Fierstein on Broadway was a redhead.
That said, while I suppose Travolta will do an OK job in the part and while I suppose the participation of a star of his magnitude was required to get the financing I really wish the producers would’ve done the right thing and cast Harvey.
You forgot Little Shop of Horrors.
And Phantom of the Opera, sort of. (It depends on whether you think the musical draws on the movie, or just on the novel.)
Little Shop was a non-musical movie first, then an off-broadway musical, then a musical movie and then a Broadway musical. Next it will be a straight horror film again.
Um, yeah, so it was a movie based on a musical based on a movie.
:: touches finger to nose ::