Stream: Hairspray
Having ditched last week’s Universal pictures version of ‘The Sound of Music’ as just too awful to watch I did not holdout too much hope for NBC’s Hairspray Live. How wrong I was! This updated version was a perfect Friday cheer up and perfectly relevant with the race riots taking place in the USA now. With its themes of racial integration and body shaming all wrapped up in the candy-coated 60’s vibe it truly hit the mark. Based on the 2003 Tony and Lawrence Olivier Award winning musical, set in Baltimore (of ‘The Wire’ fame), it tells the story of a plump teenager Tracy Turnblad who wins a place in a local TV dance show against all odds. She becomes a local celebrity, finds love with the shows’ heartthrob, and succeeds in integrating black and white teenagers together through dance. With original sixties’ songs every minute and slick dance routines, it brought fun and hope in these difficult times.
Every character cast with an array of musical and theatre favourites was a delight. The inimitable Harvey Fierstein reprising his Broadway performance, was his witty and outrageous self as Edna Turnblad Tracy’s mother (played in the 2007 movie by John Travolta). The fabulous Jennifer Hudson blew the vocals away as Maybelle Motormouth. Ariane Grande, ensuring the teenage audience, did a nice turn as Penny Lou Pingleton and Broadway legend Kristin Chenoweth, as the bitchy Velma von Tussle, brought as extra dimension to the story. What a pleasure it was to see Derek Haugh, amazing dancer from ‘Dancing with the Stars’ as Corny Collins, the TV show host. Martin Short as Wilbur and Rosie O’Donnell as the PE teacher were a bonus.
With stunning costumes and sets it was obvious that no expense was spared on production values. The finale played in front of a live TV audience was a terrific stroke. We danced around our living room. ‘You Can’t Stop the Beat’.
