In case you don’t have the faintest idea who that is, Elijah Kelley is the young man who plays “Seaweed” in the latest film incarnation of “Hairspray.” Kath and I saw it last night and, just as was the case when I saw it on Broadway, I sat there with a stupid smile on my face watching cast members clearly having such a good time that it just rubs off on you. I still believe that they should have cast Harvey Fierstein as Edna, because his performance simply adds far more dimension (and, frankly, subtext) to the film than John Travolta could hope to approach. But if you never saw Harvey’s brilliance in the role, then you’ll probably be satisfied. The rest of the cast is absolutely standout, including newcomer Nikki Blonsky as Tracy and, in a particularly brilliant piece of casting, Allison Janney as the repressive mother of Tracy’s best friend, Penny. (Although they did cut my favorite moment with that character: As a disciplinary measure, Penny’s mom forces Penny to wear a scarlet “P” on her shirt, declaring with misplaced confidence, “Now when everyone sees that ‘P’, Penny Pingleton, they’ll know that it stands for ‘Punished’!”)
As for Elijah Kelley (the subject of my heading) I think that someone should do an adaptation of Sammy Davis Junior’s brilliant autobiography, “Yes I Can!” and cast Kelley as Davis. He can sing, dance, and his general features are evocative of Davis’. He’d be brilliant.
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