I'm amazed that someone wrote an article about any version of Hairspray and didn't mention the original creator, national treasure John Waters. He wrote the screenplay and directed the original 1988 movie. Previously his films like Female Trouble and Pink Flamingoes had been rated X or unrated not so much for the sexual content, but because they were so disgusting and disturbing. The gentle and funny Hairspray made Waters a mainstream Hollywood director and certainly a very wealthy man, but he still deserves to be credited for coming up with that great story. The people that made the musical had it dropped in their lap.