Hairspray The Musical At The Hippodrome, Birmingham Review

Reviewed by Lindsay Burton

“I can hear the bells…” Hairspray the Musical is currently at the Hippodrome in Birmingham and we’ve fallen head over heels in love with this cast and production!

Hairspray is one of great pop-rock musical of all-time! This happy-go-lucky story is so sweet it melts your heart. This production is big, colourful and filled with all the bells and whistles that make true musicals come alive. It looks fabulous with striking outfits, bright lights; the songs are wonderfully appealing, the script is luxuriously funny and all the cast dance up a storm. Under Paul Kerrson’s fab direction, this superb cast makes this show a true dance joy. It is another Hippodrome Theatre triumph!

Based on the 1988 John Waters camp film designed for Devine, Hairspray takes place in 1962 – the 50’s are over and the time for change is here but innocence still abounds. Baltimore’s Tracy Tumblad (Katie Brace), a big girl with even bigger hair (and lots of hairspray) and an even larger heart, and completely obsessed with dancing on the “Corny Collins Show”. She wins a spot on this local TV dance program and very quickly transforms from geek girl to local teen superstar. This plus size teenager tries to win the heart of famous hottie Link Larkin (Ross Clifton) and integrate the TV show and defeat the reigning nasty princess and her even nastier mother. The product is an evening of fun, laughter and fantastic show-stopping dance numbers.

This show appeals to everyone. My 8 year old daughter watched it with me and even though the adult humour is there and is very funny, it’s included with such subtlety that she didn’t even realise that she wasn’t getting the jokes! It is a toe-tapping recreation of the virtuousness of the early 1960’s. Every single member of the cast absolutely wowed me! Even if it was just a dance number or back up singing, it was done with such talent and precision, I was simply mesmerised with every single detail!

Mark O’Donnell and Thomas Meehan cleverly picked the best of what made the film a popular classic and incorporated in new ideas to make a story that is timeless about wanting to fit in, not using vulgarity to create cheap laughs and tackling the social issues of prejudice based on both race and body type – romantic and the perfect balance of reality and camp.

The score by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman contains songs uniformly possessing infectiously invigorating melodies, cleverly constructed lyrics complete with humorous double connotations, and toe-tapping rhythms that are plain and simple just pure brilliance. With rock based songs sung so as to understand the lyrics, the songs reflect the musical flairs of the period, comprising of rock-n’-roll, R & B, gospel and good old fashioned Broadway thrown into the mix.

Similarly to the movie, the show opens with “Good Morning Baltimore”  where we first meet Tracey, played by Katie Brace who sings exquisitely, dances delightfully and she possesses enough charm and cuteness to capture the audience attention from the very first second they meet her. Her energy is contagious and she knows how to create a giggle, her talent for maintaining the faultless singing while dancing up a storm is superb and I truly enjoyed her performance!

Alex Bourne does a smashing job as Tracey’s mother. Bourne delivers several effective moments, especially in his duet with Wilbur (Norman Pace), the spectacular love song duet “Timeless To Me” —a tribute to old-time vaudevillian tradition and definitely one where there were MANY belly laughs.

In Hairspray, dance is at the absolute centre of everything. It has been a while since the stage experienced more buzzing and high-voltage dance numbers.

Phenomenal choreography from Drew McOnie allows for precise routines performed artistically and magnificently by a model ensemble led by Akeem Ellis-Hyman, as Seaweed J. Stubbs, and Ross Clifton, as Link, the pretty boy who sings and dances his way into Tracy’s heart. There are so many show-stoppers in Hairspray, my hands hurt from clapping and my throat is sore from singing out loud!

Brenda Edwards as Motormouth Maybelle performs powerfully with her dynamic and emotional song “I Know Where I’ve Been.” The “Welcome to the 60’s” number is MoTown revisited. “Without Love” is a classic rock ballad and the finale, “You Can Stop the Beat” instantly became our favourite song of the whole night! The audience felt the same and soon were clapping along, creating a fantastic atmosphere! The terrifically talented cast features Rebecca Jayne-Davies (Penny Pingleton), Richard Meek (Corny Collins), Rebecca Thornhill (Velma Von Tussle) and Jessica Croll (Amber Von Tussle).

Hairspray is without a doubt a plus size beehive of entertainment with a profound message, an innocent heart that stands up for what she believes in and sees it through, no matter what the cost. Full of laugh out loud lines, do-it-yourself messages and sunny characters, Hairspray is a show for all and leaves you with a smile on your face and a song in your heart as you dance down the aisle. The cherry-pop sweetness of Hairspray is old-fashion at heart, something that makes me fall in love with this musical every time I watch it! Hairspray proves that the theatre musicals are alive and flourishing. The upbeat ending will leave you breathless. Birmingham Hippodrome’s production is first–class in every way. Very rarely do I find a musical theatre show that incorporates the entire feel that the movie created in my heart and soul but this show completely transported me! I was there, it was real and it was b**** (editor’s note – word removed) brilliant!

Rating: 5/5 for this show!  Do NOT miss this production, you will be disappointed! (editor’s note – I think the reviewer’s opinion is that you will be disappointed if you miss it)

Hairspray is on until Saturday 2nd October.

Tickets start from £26.50 and can be purchased from https://www.birminghamhippodrome.com/calendar/hairspray-2/#performances.