Rediscover the original musical glory of ‘Hairspray’ at the Waterbury Palace

Caroline Eiseman was just a toddler when “Hairspray” had its Broadway debut in 2002, becoming one of the biggest hit musicals of that decade.

“I grew up watching the John Travolta and Zach Efron movie,” which was released in 2007, Eiseman said. She’s since become a fan of the earlier movie the musical is based on from 1988. “There’s such a special nuance in John Waters’ film.”

Eiseman first saw a production of the live show when she was in high school and knew that rebellious Baltimore teen Tracy Turnblad was a role she had to play. Shortly after graduating from Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, she joined a new national tour of the show. The show comes to the Waterbury Palace for three performances Jan. 16-18.

The musical is based on the 1988 Waters movie about Turnbladd, a teen who becomes politically active around civil rights issues when the local Baltimore TV dance show she’s become the star of won’t integrate. Tracy and her mother Edna also fight class bias, bullying, body-shaming and the withering looks of buffoonish authority figures.

Eiseman joined this “Hairspray” tour originally as the understudy for Tracy (getting to play it at least once a week) then took over the role when the cast changed recently. The actor playing Tracy’s effusive mom Edna, Greg Kalafatas, also went from being the role’s stand-by to doing it full time. “We had a pretty big turnover this year,” Eiseman said of the tour, which is now in its third year. “Eight people returned.”

On Jan. 5, Eiseman played Tracy for the 100th time. “I love how real and grounded Tracy’s story is,” she said, despite the comic chaos of the show in general. “She’s a passionate 16-year-old girl.” She also calls Tracy’s scenes with Enda “such a beautiful mother/daughter story.”

She also enjoys all the dancing. “It’s amazing how aerobic this show can be. It’s like running a marathon every night.” To prepare before a show, she listens to a playlist she made of hits by the Temptations, the Four Seasons, the Ronettes and other 1960s groups.

This tour honors the original Broadway production, which won Tony awards for Best Musical, Best Original Score (by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman), Best Direction, Best Book (Mark O’Donnell and Thomas Meehan) and several acting awards. It is directed by Matt Lenz, who was the assistant director to Jack O’Brien in the original production. O’Brien, a longtime Connecticut resident, has written about his experiences directing “Hairspray” in two memoirs and has held book signing events more than once at the Waterbury Palace. O’Brien is still actively directing oddball comedy musicals and is currently represented on Broadway with “Shucked.”

The tour also follows the original choreography by Jerry Mitchell. The tour choreographer is Robbie Roby, who was involved with the original production as the dance captain for the Broadway and Las Vegas companies.

“There’s so much historic choreography,” Eiseman said. “It’s rooted in six dances from the ‘60s” like the Twist, the Mashed Potato and the Madison.

“It’s all bright, colorful and fun,” she added. “There’s something for everybody. We all have a little Tracy Turnblad in us.”

“Hairspray” has three performances Jan. 16-18 at the Palace Theater, 110 E. Main St., Waterbury: Tuesday at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. and Thursday at 7:30 p.m. $47-$87. palacetheaterct.org.