Hairspray’s Maybelle perfect fit for ‘gentle giant’
Ebullient Kiwi diva says big, blonde and beautiful musical role suits her to a tee
‘Why did I want to play Motormouth Maybelle? Because it’s me, darling, it’s me to a tee.” And with that the ebullient Lavina Williams — one-third of the singing trio Ma-V-Elle, former Austra
lian Idol contestant and musical theatre star — embarks on another entertaining tale. Williams, 35, stars in the musical
Hairspray, the 50th anniversary show of North Shore Music Theatre, as mother and record-store owner “big, blonde and beautiful” Motormouth Maybelle. It’s a role played by Queen Latifah in the 2007 film and, on Broadway, by the likes of Jenifer Lewis and Darlene Love.
Describing herself as a gentle giant — she is 1.79m — Williams is every bit the big, blonde and beautiful diva the role requires. Since leaving New Zealand 10 years ago, she’s travelled the world with the musical The Lion King, shot to fame on the 2006 Australian
Idol, worked in Germany producing music for other recording artists, toured with the stage production
Dream Girls and had her own show on a European cruise ship.
Before those adventures, Williams had already tasted fame as part of the girl group Ma-V-Elle she formed with her James Cook High School friends Marina Davis and Maybelle Galuvao.
Her music, her look and her sassy can-do attitude have always been inspired by the likes of Aretha Franklin, Chaka Khan, Patti LaBelle and Tina Turner. Williams admits she was “being the full-on diva” when she heard about Hairspray — and the Motormouth Maybelle role being up for grabs — but refused to audition.
“Auditions had already started, but I was like, ‘I don’t audition — just check out my credentials and look at my clips on YouTube’ but my friend [singer/actor] Jackie Clarke kept saying I would be perfect and talked me into at least having a meeting with the production team.
“When I arrived, I thought, ‘ this is an audition’, especially when they asked me if I was ready to warm up so I did the warm up like it was the real deal and got offered the role on the spot. I’m loving it because it’s been a while since I did a stage show and I can’t wait to be back on stage.
“When you do a long-running show, to be honest it does get to a point where you could do the role in your sleep and it becomes not challenging enough.
I’m loving it because it’s been a while since I did a stage show and I can’t wait to be back on stage.
Lavina Williams
‘‘But it’s been a while since I was doing musical theatre and I am so excited to be back on stage in such an amazing show with a fantastic cast whose talent just blows me away.”
Set in 1962, Hairspray tells the story of “pleasantly plump” Tracy Turnblad who launches a campaign against the segregation rule preventing African American teens from dancing on the fictional The Corny Collins Show. Once a month, African American teens get to strut their stuff under the supervision of Motormouth Maybelle who becomes Tracy’s friend and mentor.
“I’ve always had a strong motherly side . . . which is hardly surprising seeing I’m the eldest of five,” says Williams. “If you watched Australian
Idol when I was on it, you would have seen me in the ‘Idol house’ as the one all the young ones turned to when they were down.’’
In the original John Waters film, which inspired the Tony awardwinning musical, Tracy’s mother Edna was portrayed by transgender cult star Divine and, in the later film version, John Travolta. Because it’s tradition to cast a male in the role, Russell Dixon, who’s been appearing in the West End productions of Top
Hat and Blood Brothers, has come home to play Edna Turnblad.