The look of loud - Courant

Second in an occasional seriesNEW YORK -- No doubt John Waters meant it fondly when he quipped: "Come to Baltimore and be shocked." Now his vision of 1960s Baltimore is headed to Broadway, where, with the help of a team of designers, the musical theater version of Waters' 1988 movie Hairspray will show Charm City in all front lace wigs its delightfully excessive glory -- complete with big hair, fake Formstone and fabrics with more florals than a florist's shop. Sign Up For Traffic Text Alerts What will Baltimore look like on Broadway? Right now, only Tony Award-winning costume designer William Ivey Long, set designer David Rockwell and -- most crucial for a show called Hairspray -- Paul Huntley, Broadway's top wig designer, know for sure.Their efforts go on public view for the first time Thursday, when Hairspray -- the story of a chubby Baltimore teen who finds fame on a local TV dance show and, in the process, brings integration to the airwaves -- begins its pre-Broadway engagement at Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre.But before Hairspray wows (or should we say appalls?) its lace wigs first paying audience, three of its designers sat down with The Sun to discuss their craft, and offer a sneak peek of Waters' Baltimore on Broadway.Enter: Hairspray. Exit: Quiet good taste.The costumesHere's a William Ivey Long rule for designing costumes for the stage:Avoid splashy prints. They detract from the actor's face.Here's a William Ivey Long rule for designing costumes for Hairspray:Go wild with florals.And checks.And stripes.And polka dots.A three-time Tony Award winner, Long knew from the start how he'd capture 1960s Baltimore fashion on stage. "I'm going to dive right in on this one," the preppy-looking, bespectacled designer says."Nothing succeeds like excess. That's Oscar Wilde, I think, and I'm sure he came to Baltimore."That explains the plethora of patterns appearing in the musical adaptation of John Waters' movie. The heroine's mother, Edna Turnblad, a middle-aged Baltimore housewife played by Harvey Fierstein, will wear "Baltimore Chanel -- a floral Chanel with feather hair extension ruffles." And when Edna and her daughter, Tracy, played by Marissa Jaret Winokur, get a makeover, they'll sport matching feather-trimmed mother-daughter outfits.Though he was raised in Raleigh, N.C., Long is no stranger to Baltimore. His mother grew up in Bolton Hill, and he frequently visited relatives there. "I was a difficult child to adore because I was weird as all get-out. I bring that to this piece," he says. "That's why Baltimore has a big halo around it for me, because I was accepted there and it really meant a lot."