Norma Jean Roy photo

Big hair, big tunes — and big laughs
Portland Ovations will bring the national tour of “Hairspray,” a splashy musical that became an immediate Broadway smash, to Portland’s Merrill Auditorium on Thursday and Friday, Jan. 28-29. Based on the 1988 John Waters film that starred Divine and a then-unknown Ricki Lake, the play premiered at the Neil Simon Theatre in the summer of 2002. It went on to win eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical. This Broadway musical-comedy takes audiences back to 1962, where 16-year-old Tracy Turnblad of Baltimore sets out to dance her way onto TV’s most popular show. A family-friendly production, “Hairspray” features such tuneful songs as “Good Morning Baltimore,” “The Nicest Kids in Town,” “Mama, I’m a Big Girl Now,” and “You Can’t Stop the Beat.” Tickets to the 8 p.m. performances are $60, $52 and $45. For tickets, call PortTix at 842-0800 or visit www.portlandovations.org.

Big hair, big tunes — and big laughs
Portland Ovations will bring the national tour of “Hairspray,” a splashy musical that became an immediate Broadway smash, to Portland’s Merrill Auditorium on Thursday and Friday, Jan. 28-29. Based on the 1988 John Waters film that starred Divine and a then-unknown Ricki Lake, the play premiered at the Neil Simon Theatre in the summer of 2002. It went on to win eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical. This Broadway musical-comedy takes audiences back to 1962, where 16-year-old Tracy Turnblad of Baltimore sets out to dance her way onto TV’s most popular show. A family-friendly production, “Hairspray” features such tuneful songs as “Good Morning Baltimore,” “The Nicest Kids in Town,” “Mama, I’m a Big Girl Now,” and “You Can’t Stop the Beat.” Tickets to the 8 p.m. performances are $60, $52 and $45. For tickets, call PortTix at 842-0800 or visit www.portlandovations.org.