Factual error: In the opening "Good Morning Baltimore" scenes you can see yellow center lines in the streets. This was supposed to be 1962, but yellow lines weren't used in the U.S. until after 1971. (01:00:00 - 04:00:00)
Factual error: The movie is set in 1962, but when Tracy misses her bus, she catches a ride on an International-Harvester truck that wasn't introduced until 1969.
Factual error: During "good morning Baltimore" number, streetcars are seen passing behind several times. However, they wear the red and cream livery of Toronto (where it was filmed), when they should be yellow.
Answer: First I need to explain that the Apollo Theater, an amazing music venue, is in upper Manhattan (NYC), in the predominantly black neighborhood of Harlem. The movie 'Hairspray' takes place in 1962, and at that point in time very few white musical artists had performed at the Apollo (between 1950s and early 60s), and those who did were famous rock-and-roll musicians, such as Buddy Holly and the Crickets (1957). Now as for Doris Day, by 1962 she was a lovely popular American actress/singer, who, as the saying goes, was "as white as white bread", and to imagine someone like Doris Day appearing on stage at the Apollo Theater is an amusing incongruity and just not quite right. So the words "without love, life is Doris Day at the Apollo," means life would just not be right at all without love.
Super Grover ★
Thank you. My director is making our cast look up stuff we don't know. So as Penny I felt like I needed to know so thank you for cleaning that up for me.
I hope you have fun playing Penny, and that your entire cast and crew enjoy putting on your stage production of Hairspray. Break a leg, sweetie.
Super Grover ★