The Set for Hairspray by Rockwellgroup
A young woman is lying in her bed. Except her bed is vertical, so she's facing us. The faces in posters come to life. A curtain of rubber strands becomes a hairstyle when it opens. Elaborate sight gags, fizzy colors and nifty lighting systems so fill the set for the hit musical "Hairspray" that it would all be too much if the musical itself wasn't a paean to excess. Architect David Rockwell understands pizzazz perhaps better than any living soul. He knows how to create it and what to do once you got it. In architecture, that can get tiring. In theater, it's showstopping. Rockwell says he doesn't like to do the same thing twice. But his work in theater (he previously did the Rocky Horror Picture Show set) so showcases his "Let's put on a show!" irrepressibility that it calls for an encore.