Big Hair in America, April 22, 1997

by Peter Anthony Ryan

Universal Theatre 1, April to May 1997

Reviewed by Kate Herbert around April 21, 1997

Everything's bigger, badder and weirder in America - and that includes revenge. So don't y'all even think about crossing a Texas Momma with big hair 'cos she'll shore ‘nuff wanna snuff y'all out like a little ol' candle.

And so goes the plot of Peter Anthony Ryan's hilarious new play, Big Hair in America. It would be totally unbelievable if it were not true. Remember? Texas, a few years ago? Hopeful cheerleader's mum tries literally to eliminate the competition by putting a contract out on daughter's rival and her mother. 

Wanda (Gina Riley) has pinned her own faded hopes and lost dreams on her 16-year old daughter, Alana (Kristy Andruszko) becoming the new Freshman cheer-leader. In Malcolm Robertson's stylish, snappily directed production, the bizarre small-town behaviour is heightened by broad cartoonish characterisations, a lurid, hot-pink set (Victus Hobday) and fabulously trashy costumes (Jenny Bannister).

But most significantly it features a set of wigs that win gold in the big hair stakes. This is "hair to withstand harsh criticism and high winds"; hair with a "blondeness ratio" to make your roots curl. Wanda's worst punishment is flat hair.

Ryan's dialogue is slick and witty, peppered with scathing social observations of hick Americana and lots of "white trash" gags.

Supporting Ryan’s script is a cast with some exceptional comic talent. Gina Riley, as the increasingly unhinged and deluded Wanda, has impeccable delivery and perfect comic timing rivalled only by her comrade-in- comedy, Jane Turner.

Turner dashes on and off stage switching characters, wigs and costumes in a wink of an eye. Her cheerleader is the epitome of the sparkling-toothed American high-kicker and Reba the hairdresser is the tackiest tart in town. Kristy Andruszko is adorably cute as Wanda's squeaky-clean daughter and Jane Badler as the rival's naive Yankee mum is a good foil for Riley.

This is not an in-depth study of the socio-economic conditions that gave rise to such a warped crime but I did want more about what actually happened, the court case and Wanda's conviction. A final scene contriving a present day meeting between the two girls seemed extraneous - but perhaps I'm quibbling.

Ryan saves the biggest gag for his finale. Only in America could the psychotic mother, Wanda become a –  but that'd be tellin' now, wouldn't it honey?

KATE HERBERT