CONTACTStaffCAREER OPPORTUNITIESADVERTISE WITH USPRIVACY POLICYPRIVACY PREFERENCESTERMS OF USELEGAL NOTICE
© 2024 Pride Publishing Inc.
All Rights reserved
All Rights reserved
By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Private Policy and Terms of Use.
John Travolta didn't show up for the premiere of Hairspray in the city that inspired it. Neither did Michelle Pfeiffer, Queen Latifah, or Christopher Walken.
No matter. Most of the hundreds of screaming fans crammed behind barricades surrounding the red carpet Wednesday night weren't waiting for those A-listers anyway. They were more interested in a new generation of stars: Zac Efron of High School Musical, and Amanda Bynes of What I Like About You and, beginning her teens, Nickelodeon's The Amanda Show.
''It's very flattering,'' Efron said above the earsplitting shrieks. ''It feels great to be bringing this movie back to Baltimore.''
Before Bynes and Efron made their appearances, John Waters, the creator of Hairspray and a big star by Baltimore standards, soaked up the adulation.
Asked if he'd ever heard so many teenage girls screaming his name, Waters said: ''I look over there and many of them could be arrested if they saw my other movies, so times have changed.''
Waters was resplendent in a black sport coat, shirt, and tie, accented by lime-green pants and matching patent leather shoes.
''I try to always wear puke-green when I'm in Baltimore because that's my favorite color,'' said the venerable ''Pope of Trash,'' who hadn't made a PG-rated movie before Hairspray--or since.
Waters wrote the original Hairspray in the mid 1980s--before several stars of the new version were born--in the bedroom of his threadbare northwest Baltimore apartment.
Now the musical adaptation has been running on Broadway for five years, and the $75 million movie-musical version opens Friday.
Waters is thrilled with the transformation. The first time he saw the newest Hairspray, he insisted on being alone in case he hated it.
''It's better than I expected it to be,'' he said. ''I think they reinvented it. They made it new. That's the point, isn't it?''
A few minutes later Bynes, Efron, and Elijah Kelley, a lesser-known performer who radiates charisma as the character Seaweed, greeted Waters like an elder statesman. Newcomer Nikki Blonsky, who stars as the pleasantly plump dance-crazy Baltimore teenager Tracy Turnblad, referred to him as ''Mr. Waters.''
''This is a classic piece of John Waters material,'' said Bynes, who plays Tracy's best friend, Penny Pingleton. ''How could I not want to be a part of it? I think any young actress in their right mind would have wanted this part.''
Producers Neil Meron and Craig Zadan clearly knew what they were doing when they went after Bynes and Efron. While recent big-ticket musicals like Chicago and Dreamgirls have fared well at the box office, Hairspray, with its young fans, could have a broader appeal.
Efron is ''not only right for the role, but God bless him, he brings with him all of teen idol-dom,'' Meron said.
Autograph seeker Kellsey Pieples, 13, of Indiana, Pa., said she probably wouldn't have been interested in Hairspray if not for Efron's involvement. ''Zac drew my attention to Hairspray,'' she said. Asked why she adored him so much, she pointed to his picture: ''Just look at him!''
Director Adam Shankman felt privileged to work with two generations of stars.
''All the actors were my first choices, which is remarkable,'' Shankman said. ''Chris Walken was the last one to commit. I said, 'You get to play John Travolta's husband.' He was like, 'That's funny. That, I've never been offered before.' '' (AP)
Want more breaking equality news & trending entertainment stories?
Check out our NEW 24/7 streaming service: the Advocate Channel!
Download the Advocate Channel App for your mobile phone and your favorite streaming device!
From our Sponsors
Most Popular
Here Are Our 2024 Election Predictions. Will They Come True?
November 07 2023 1:46 PM
17 Celebs Who Are Out & Proud of Their Trans & Nonbinary Kids
November 30 2023 10:41 AM
Here Are the 15 Most LGBTQ-Friendly Cities in the U.S.
November 01 2023 5:09 PM
Which State Is the Queerest? These Are the States With the Most LGBTQ+ People
December 11 2023 10:00 AM
These 27 Senate Hearing Room Gay Sex Jokes Are Truly Exquisite
December 17 2023 3:33 PM
30 Steamy Photos of Folsom Street Fair 2023 Debauchery
October 15 2023 11:06 PM
10 Cheeky and Homoerotic Photos From Bob Mizer's Nude Films
November 18 2023 10:05 PM
42 Flaming Hot Photos From 2024's Australian Firefighters Calendar
November 10 2023 6:08 PM
These Are the 5 States With the Smallest Percentage of LGBTQ+ People
December 13 2023 9:15 AM
Here are the 15 gayest travel destinations in the world: report
March 26 2024 9:23 AM
Watch Now: Advocate Channel
Trending Stories & News
For more news and videos on advocatechannel.com, click here.
Trending Stories & News
For more news and videos on advocatechannel.com, click here.
Latest Stories
White House announces new rules on background checks for firearms sales in America
April 11 2024 5:00 AM
'Florida has a First Amendment problem' — judge rules trans teacher can use 'Ms.'
April 10 2024 6:33 PM
Here's why soccer fans are booing USWNT player Korbin Albert
April 10 2024 6:26 PM
Trans and nonbinary migrants file complaint over treatment at ICE detention facility
April 10 2024 6:00 PM
X likely profited from promoted post calling for LGBTQ+ death penalty
April 10 2024 3:11 PM
Giselle Byrd is taking center stage — and helping others do the same
April 10 2024 2:15 PM
How Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter advances equality
April 10 2024 1:39 PM
The North Face faces conservative boycott for sponsoring a queer summer camp (exclusive)
April 10 2024 8:26 AM