Morning Report - News from July 17, 2002

THEATER

Big Hopes for Broadway’s ‘Hairspray’

Previews of “Hairspray,” the ‘60s-tinged, fat-liberation-themed musical based on the 1988 John Waters film, begin on Thursday. And its life, thus far, has been charmed.

After rave reviews in its out-of-town Seattle tryout, theater Web sites are filling with positive buzz about Marc Shaiman’s score and the cast--most notably Harvey Fierstein (“Torch Song Trilogy”) as a big-hearted housewife.

Though advance sales for the show fall short of the $14 million racked up by “The Producers,” they’re creeping up to the $5-million mark, New York magazine reports. Bloomingdale’s will be filling its windows with “Hairspray”-themed merchandise. Shoshanna Lonstein, former girlfriend of Jerry Seinfeld, is among the designers who’ve created a line of narrow-waisted, full-skirted dresses for the store’s “Hairspray” boutique.

Staged by Jack O’Brien, artistic director of San Diego’s Old Globe Theatre, the musical revolves around an overweight girl who snags a spot on a TV dance show, winning the affections of the local heartthrob along the way. Call it whatever you will, says Waters--just don’t call it “camp.”

“Camp is two older gentleman talking about Rita Hayworth as they hang their Tiffany lamps,” said the director, a paid consultant on the show. “Camp is something that’s so bad it’s good. But I think ‘Hairspray’s’ so good, it’s great.”

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TELEVISION

HMOs Often Villains on Hospital Dramas

TV’s hospital dramas regularly address important health policy issues such as patients’ rights, managed care and the right to die, according to a study of the 2000 television season just released by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Other hotly debated topics such as prescription drug coverage for the elderly or the uninsured, however, were found to be missing from the airwaves.

The findings were discussed Tuesday in a Washington, D.C., forum titled “John Q Goes to Washington: Health Policy Issues in Popular Culture.” Representatives from Hollywood, including the medical supervisors of “ER” and “Third Watch,” joined members of the health policy community.

Researchers found that medical dramas feature an average of one scene per episode tackling public policy on health care. While 48% of these scenes presented both sides of the issues in an evenhanded manner, they said, the rest were evenly split between positions favoring the current policy and those attacking the status quo.

The only health care figures consistently portrayed more negatively than positively were insurance companies, lawyers and HMOs--the last “still the bad guys as far as TV is concerned,” according to Vicky Rideout, a vice president of the foundation.

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THE ARTS

Greek Government Accused of ‘Vandalism’

Greece has been trying for years to get the British Museum to return the fifth century Elgin marbles, statues that have been in the possession of the institution since 1816. To turn up the heat, the country is building a lavish museum at the base of the Parthenon that will house the treasures, assuming the issue is resolved.

Not everyone, however, is in favor of the idea. In building the edifice, critics say, authorities are destroying a valuable archeological site--one containing the remains of an ancient Christian city and Roman baths dating from the late Neolithic era to the post-Byzantine period.

Last week, conservative Parliament member Petros Tatoulid launched a lawsuit in Greece’s Supreme Court against “those destroying our cultural heritage.” And on Monday, 300 Greek archeologists and architects denounced the “cultural vandalism” in a petition, as bulldozers razed the site.

“How can we ask for the Elgin marbles back when, in effect, we are destroying other marbles to house them?” asked Professor Giorgos Dontas, president of Athens’ renowned archeological society.

Greek culture minister Evangelos Venizelos delayed the laying of the building’s foundation stone last week. But he rejected the accusation that the findings were significant enough to delay construction. “Wherever you excavate in Athens you come across antiquities, and research has shown that these are not valuable,” he said, adding that the museum will be built by 2004--when the city is hosting the Olympics.

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QUICK TAKES

Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, a GOP activist, told about 15 Republican governors attending the National Governors Assn. conference Monday that he’s still considering a run for the governorship of California. He mulled a challenge against California Democratic Gov. Gray Davis last year, he said, but declined because of his movie contracts.... “Donahue,” MSNBC’s new nightly series hosted by veteran talk-show host Phil Donahue, drew about 1.1 million viewers between 8 and 9 p.m. Monday, beating CNN’s “Connie Chung Tonight,” with 801,000 viewers. Fox News Channel’s “The O’Reilly Factor,” with 2,329,000 viewers, beat out both shows combined.... “Topdog/Underdog,” the Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Suzan-Lori Parks, starring Jeffrey Wright and rapper Mos Def, will end its Broadway run on Aug. 11.... Jim Carrey and Garry Shandling will make their feature animation debuts doing voice-overs for DreamWorks’ “Over the Hedge,” based on the popular comic strip.... Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment will release “Spider-Man” on video and DVD on Nov. 1.

Elaine Dutka