Charlotte, known to her friends as "So-Low-Charlow-Crossfire," happens to be a Taurus with her moon in Leo and a lot of Leo rising. Born and raised in Chicago, she is a member of Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism and has appeared in such stunning productions as Hair, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Paul Sills Story Theatre. You may have also encountered her vivacious personality in Metamorphosis at the Spoleto Festival - 73 or in the original Broadway cast of Tricks. Finally, she replaced Melissa Manchester as a Harlette, and has been a pal of The Divine for a number of years now. Charlotte, who loves Broadway but hates the road, says that she's been influenced by Dorothy Dandridge and Dionne Warwicke - I think she has a style all her own. 

Interview With Charlotte Crossley (Motormouth Maybelle) from Hairspray

She was one of Bette Midler's Harlettes for seven years, appearing all over the country with the Divine Miss M and on Broadway in Midler's "Clams on the Half-Shell Revue." 

But Charlotte (pronounced "Charlo") Crossley was working as a teacher's assistant at her 11-year-old-son Steven Fortier's Los Angeles school when the call went out for replacements for Motormouth Maybelle, who runs the Baltimore record shop in "Hairspray" and finds a kindred, revolutionary spirit in teenage Tracy Turnblad. 

"I hadn't done theater in years," she said, "but my friend Rusty Calvo, 'hairdresser to the stars,' told me I had to do it. I actually did it on a dare, because getting back onstage was like steppin' out into space for me, but all the 8th-graders said they'd pray for me and when I got it, Ruth Brown, who originated the part in the movie, called and gave me her blessing. It was so thrilling. 

"When we played Los Angeles, Bette, Lily Tomlin and Toni Basil came to see me and they said Bette -- who's brought so much joy and love and laughter to people -- cried all through the show. It's amazing all the full circles this show represents to me. I'm very close to Linda Hart, the original Velma Von Tussle on Broadway in 'Hairspray.' She was once a Harlette and I sang gospel in her act. Marc Shaiman . . . was the musical director on the movie 'Sister Act,' which I did, and we all knew each other from New York. It's like the Lord has been guiding me back to the stage with this show." 

While still very young, in the '70s, Crossley toured in the road companies of "Hair" and "Jesus Christ Superstar." Then she and her fellow Bette back-up girls formed a group called Formerly the Harlettes and had their own Columbia album ("Now on eBay and in rare record shops," says her bio). On her own in Los Angeles, she recorded with Luther Vandross, Chaka Khan and Barry Manilow. She started doing episodic TV, such as "Married ... With Children" "with Katey Sagal, who was a Harlette before I was." 

When she married Steven Fortier and Steve Jr. was born, "I basically stayed home and raised my son." Her family travels with her on "Hairspray," which reunited her with Bruce Vilanch ("I knew him before Bette did in Chicago"). She says that "Harvey Fierstein defined Edna, Bruce was the zaniest Edna, but John Pinette is the cutest of the Ednas, plus he's hilarious. He's a comedian, a comic actor and he's really made the part his own, plus I just love him, we're laughing all the time. 

"We do some cuttin' up on the stage and the audience loves the comedy and the way the music revs 'em up. We've had some dead spots, like Phoenix, where honey, I swear you could hear crickets in the theater. That's why we're lookin' forward to New Orleans, cause I know y'all cut up some bad. 

"You've got to remember," Crossley said, "that I come from the era this show's about, the '60s, where it was a big event when you had a 'colored couple' dancing on 'American Bandstand.' This is a fun show, but it does have a sociological context, which is the civil rights era. 

"I have a song in the show, 'I Know Where I've Been,' that's become my anthem. Because this woman is not just telling these children to integrate that TV dance show, she's testifyin'!"