Hair Apparent

It must be love…

When Baltimore bad boy John Waters decided to take the St Michael out of his hometown, he could never have imagined that his low-budget 1988 home movie would not only get an all-star remake in 2007 but also make it all the way to Broadway in 2002.

Still touring the world, the all-singing, all-dancing, all-jazz-hands Hairspray has also wooed such exotic locations as Vegas, Buenos Aires, Brazil, Brisbane, Tel Aviv and The Hollywood Bowl.

And last night, it played St David’s. In Greystones.

It’s a great choice for a school production, full of catchy songs, humour and, perhaps most importantly, insights into teenage outsider anxieties and sexual identity.

A perfect fit for the pupils of St David’s, in other words.

Having opened on Tuesday night, Hairspray will run nightly up to and include Friday, with tickets at €12 for adults and €8 for kids. It’s a great night out, and inspiring too. Our roving photographer, John McGowan, hasn’t come home yet. 

You can view – and download for free – over 80 John McGowan shots from the night here.