Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I’m Doug Johnson.
VOICE TWO:
And I'm Barbara Klein. Today we play music from the new movie about teenagers
in the 1960s called “Hairspray.”
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
“Hairspray” opened in the United States last weekend. It is the movie version
of a popular musical play in New York City. That musical has been playing on
Broadway since 2002. It won several Tony Awards, including best musical, the
following year. Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman wrote the music for the play and
movie.
But "Hairspray" really began life in 1988 as a funny movie written and
directed by John Waters. It is about rock and roll music and relations between
black and white teenagers. It takes place in Baltimore, Maryland, during the
civil rights movement of the nineteen sixties.
“Hairspray” is a funny story about teenagers and their music. The main
character is a teenage girl named Tracy Turnblad. Tracy is a big girl. She is
overweight. She also has “big hair.” She wears her hair in a high hairstyle that
was popular back then. She keeps it in place using hairspray. Tracy loves music.
And she loves to dance. After school, she and her friends watch other teenagers
dance on a popular local television show, the "Corny Collins Show."
(MUSIC)
VOICE TWO:
Tracy’s dream comes true. She is chosen to be one of the dancers on the show.
She likes one of the male dancers, Link Larkin. Zac Efron, as Link, sings a love
song to Tracy called “It Takes Two.”
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
Tracy becomes very popular after appearing on the
television show. The owner of a clothing store for large women wants to make
Tracy a model for his clothing. Tracy wants her mother, Edna Turnblad, to help
her become famous. Edna is also a very large woman. She works at home washing
other people’s clothes. She does not like to leave her house. Tracy tells her
mother she must take part in all of the excitement of life. Nikki Blonsky, as
Tracy, sings “Welcome to the Sixties.”
(MUSIC)
VOICE TWO:
Edna Turnblad, Tracy’s mother, looks unusual. That is because she is played
by the famous actor John Travolta, dressed like a large woman. Listen as Edna
sings about her love for her husband, Wilbur.
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
All the dancers on the "Corny Collins Show" are white. However, once a month,
the show permits black teenagers to dance on the show. Motormouth Maybelle, who
owns a record store, organizes and leads that show. Tracy believes that black
teenagers and white teenagers should be able to dance together on the show all
the time. She and Maybelle organize a civil rights demonstration. But it turns
into a riot and the protesters are arrested. Later they are released from jail.
Maybelle tells about her own struggle for equal rights. Queen Latifah sings “I
Know Where I've Been.”
(MUSIC)
VOICE TWO:
The television show organizes a contest called “Miss Teenage Hairspray.” The
people at the event vote for the teenage girl they like best. The event is
broadcast on television across the country. The broadcast is paid for by a
company that makes hairspray. All of the girls in the contest use the product to
keep their large hairstyles in place. James Marsden as Corny Collins sings about
hairspray.
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
The “Miss Teenage Hairspray” contest includes a dance competition. All of the
teenagers, both black and white, join Tracy in the contest. They dance together
on nationwide television for the first time. And they all sing “You Can’t Stop
the Beat.”
(MUSIC)
VOICE TWO:
Our program was written by Shelley Gollust and produced by Caty Weaver. To
learn more about American life, and to download transcripts and audio archives
of our programs, go to voaspecialenglish.com. I’m Barbara Klein.
VOICE TWO:
And I'm Doug Johnson. Join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA
Special English.