Hairspray

Transgressive filmmaker John Waters infiltrated the mainstream with 1988’s Hairspray, the sweet story of a plus-sized, dance-obsessed teenager in racially segregated 1960s Baltimore. Waters’ story was resurrected in 2002, when it was adapted into a Tony Award-dominating musical, then found even greater exposure with a 2007 film adaptation of that musical, which cast John Travolta in the role Waters conceived for his drag queen muse, Divine. Now Waters’ unlikely hit is a staple of community theaters around the country, and remains a popular touring draw. The latest touring production of Hairspray stops at the Milwaukee Theatre for three performances this weekend, tonight at 8 p.m. and Saturday at 2 and 8 p.m.