Then came the 1999 musical movieSouth Park: Bigger, Longer, & Uncut.
Lion wasn’t so sure.
“She was a little wary of an actual couple,” Shaiman explains.
Harvey Fierstein and Marissa Jaret Winokur in Broadway’s ‘Hairspray’.Credit: Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic
“Like, ‘What if they fight?'”
“I think it was because our sense of humor was so aligned withJohn Waters,” says Wittman.
“For ‘Good Morning Baltimore,’ I said to Marc, ‘I think it should open likeOklahoma.
Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman accepting their Grammy for the original Broadway cast recording of ‘Hairspray’.M. Caulfield/WireImage
Like, ‘Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin,’ only it’s Baltimore.
Everything was to make John laugh in a way.”
Though not everyone was confident about the show’s success.
Marissa Jaret Winokur and Harvey Fierstein in Broadway’s ‘Hairspray’.Mathew Imaging/WireImage
“It took us all around the world.
“It’s been the ultimate every-dream-come-true experience for years and years,” adds Shaiman.
“It was the kind of show we most wanted to write in our lives.
It represents the best part of who we are.
I can point toHairsprayand say, ‘That’s who I mean to be.
That’s me or at least me when I’m good.'”
note: A previous version of this story incorrectly attributed Weinstein’s quote to Hairspray star Harvey Fierstein.
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