Doomed to be eclipsed by 2002’s Tony Award—winning musical and the forthcoming movie musical starring John Travolta, 1988’s original Hairspray is nevertheless a stone-cold classic—a meticulously executed comic fantasia and the best work of art John Waters has produced. Tonight kicks off a five-night run of the film at the charming Central Cinema, and if you aren’t lucky enough to have tickets to tonight’s totally sold-out This American Life Live! show at the Paramount, you should console yourself with the magic of Hairspray. (Central Cinema, 1411 21st Ave, 686-MOVIE. 7 and 9:30 pm, $5, late show 21+.)

David Schmader—former weed columnist and Stranger associate editor—is the author of the solo plays Straight and Letter to Axl, which he’s performed in Seattle and across the US. His latest...