Edna Turnblad is a fictional character from the 1988 film Hairspray and its stage musical adaption of the same name, as well as its film and television adaptations.
Edna is a laundress living in Baltimore with her husband Wilbur and mother of Tracy, the plot's protagonist. She comments heavily on her insecurities related to her weight, even bringing up her diet pills several times throughout the musical adaptation. The character is most well-known for being portrayed by a man in drag, with Edna's originator being Harris Glenn Milstead, a drag queen best known by his stage name "Divine."
Character description
Music Theatre International, the licensing company that holds the rights for the musical, describes Edna as "Tracy's loving mother who doesn't spend much time outside the house. She works days and nights as a laundress in her home, and her lack of social interaction has made her a bundle of nerves."
The chapter "Embracing excess: The queer feminist power of musical theatre diva roles," in Michelle Dvoskin's Studies in Musical Theatre notes that Edna's drag portrayal "...adds queerness to the musical, which has no gay characters" and that the traditional standards of femininity, as well as Diva in theatre, are challenged by the portrayal and eventual acceptance of the character's body type and size.[Dvoskin, Michelle. "Embracing excess: The queer feminist power of musical theatre diva roles." Studies In Musical Theatre vol. 10, no. 1 (2016): 93–103.]
Portrayals
Original film
In
Hairspray's first iteration, the 1988 comedy film written and directed by
John Waters, Edna was played by drag queen, actor, and singer, Divine. Originally, Waters had plans for Divine to play both Edna and Tracy, though eventually the idea was scrapped.
However, Divine does also play Arvin Hodgepile, the racist television station manager out of drag. When describing the role, Divine noted that with this character he could not be accurately described as a drag queen, proclaiming "What drag queen would allow herself to look like this? I look like half the women from Baltimore."
Hairspray was Divine's last feature film, as he died three weeks after its premiere and only nine days after its theatrical release. He received widespread acclaim for the role, with critics proposing that with Hairspray, Divine finally broke into the mainstream world of film. He later received a posthumous nomination for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male.
Musical adaptation
Edna was originated on
Broadway theatre in
Hairspray's 2002 musical adaptation by actor and playwright
Harvey Fierstein after premiering the role in the show's out-of-town tryout at the 5th Avenue Theatre in
Seattle. Fierstein is known for his distinctly gravelly
baritone voice type, adding another level of humor to his portrayal. Fierstein did not play the role for the entirety of its over six year Broadway run, but he, as well as Marissa Jaret Winokur who originated the role of Tracy, returned to the show for its last months of performances at the Neil Simon Theatre.
Fierstein's performance was highly praised by critics, with the Daily News' Howard Kissel noting that "With this role, Fierstein places himself in the great line of Broadway divas."[Kissel, Howard. "This Show Has Body And Bounce", Daily News (New York), August 16, 2002, p. 55] His performance also earned him the 2003 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical, as well as the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical.
Other notable portrayals of Edna onstage include Michael Ball in the show's West End premiere, as well as Michael McKean, Bruce Vilanch, John Pinette, Paul C. Vogt, George Wendt, Brian Conley, Phill Jupitus, Trevor Ashley, Nina West, and Shane Jacobson.
Musical film
From the early developmental stages of the 2007
musical film adaptation of
Hairspray,
John Travolta was in talks to play Edna on screen by executive producers
Craig Zadan and
Neil Meron.
Once Travolta was confirmed in the role, Tory Gardner and his company Alterian, Inc. were hired to design and create Edna's look (including a fat suit consisting of layered pads and
silicone, used from the chest upwards and foam latex arms and legs),
collaborating with costume designer
Rita Ryack, who shared Travolta's wishes to put Edna into several revealing outfits and give her body a defined figure.
Travolta's interpretation of the role had a heavy Baltimore accent (also fought for by the actor) and was an overall lighter portrayal of Edna. He received mixed reviews for his portrayal, with Slate's Dana Stevens going as far to say that "How you feel about Hairspray will depend entirely on your reaction to this performance..."
Live musical television film
Fierstein returned to the role of Edna in the 2016
Live television of the musical,
Hairspray Live!, broadcast by
NBC. The network's head of entertainment, Robert Greenblatt, stated that Fierstein's performance is "The iconic Edna Turnblad. We should memorialize that performance on film," and that his involvement with the production made it "come full circle".
Though Greenblatt had also expressed interest in having Travolta reprise his role from the musical film.
Fierstein also wrote the
teleplay, adapting Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan's
Libretto of the musical.
Variety's Sonia Saraiya highlighted Fierstein's performance as "Predictably great",
Works cited
