Reviewed by Jenny Seymour
I love the style of music in Hairspray, so it didn’t take long to have me foot-tapping along. Brenda Edwards was absolutely amazing as Motormouth Maybelle: a real soul diva. However, this new version of the hit musical is so well cast that it is hard to pick out just one outstanding performance – they were all amazing. The quality of the voices was just phenomenal and the surprise performance of the night for me was Norman Pace, as Wilbur: as one half of comedy duo Hale and Pace, you would expect him to play the comedy part well, but his singing and dancing was also great. His love duet “You’re timeless to me” with his on-screen wife Edna (played by Matthew Kelly’s son, Matt Rixon) had the audience hollering for more.
Set in 1962, whilst the events of this musical are fictional, they actually closely follow events in Baltimore in 1963 when the first mixed race “dance-in” was broadcast by accident when a mixed bunch of teens stormed the studio. We join Tracy Turnblad (a rather plump lover of the Corney Collins dance show who is often in trouble at school due to the size of her hairsprayed beehive hairstyle), desperate to be part of the dance show, but due to her body shape is not accepted by the college “council” white kids. Through their joint love of dance (and ability to find themselves in detention every day) Tracy quickly bonds with her fellow outcasts – the negro kids, but she soon realises that their forced segregation is not right, and she becomes the unlikely hero in her fight for equality for all.
The quality of the music was sensational and the balance of that with each of the amazing voices was superb. The duets between each of the lead girls and their mamas was superb in “Mama I’m a big girl now” – each girl had their issues with their mama not wanting them to grow up and it made you perhaps soften towards the Von Tussles (slightly!). I also love “I can hear the bells” – every girl has a dream to marry her pop idol and Tracy’s dream scene in which she gets to marry Link Larkin was hilarious.
The dancing was also so professional. I would love to be able to dance and sing like that – such rhythm and groove! At this time of year when we all cosy up to watch our strictly celebs, we’ll all be coming out and practising “the Madison” safely in our bathrooms am sure….!?
Gina Murray’s voice was amazing in Velma’s Revenge and she was a very believable pushy mother, not wanting to embrace the revolutionary change that the 60s brought to the “American dream” of the 50s. Tracy, however, manages to convince her mother that she should leave the comfort of her own four walls and move into the new era – Edna’s transformation in Welcome to the 60s again got the audience tapping their feet. I actually think that the first act could well have finished at that point – it would have left everyone on a high ready for the action and racial fight of the second act. The first act goes on perhaps a little bit too long (my leg was a bit cramped and was in need of a stretch at this point!). Brenda Edward’s soul diva rendition of “Big, Blonde and Beautiful” soon made you forget about that though – incredible!
One slight negative would be the set – the use of the backdrop to depict the change in scene was great and avoided many big set changes. However, it lost a bit of its effect when it began to blow a bit with the breeze on stage. The bright lights of the Corney Collins show were also a bit of a distraction – they shone out on the audience every now and again, but because the Buxton Opera House is not a huge theatre, it often shone in our eyes. These were two slight negatives though – the overall show was fabulous, and the audience were engaged from the very beginning.
With the exception of perhaps Brenda Edwards and Norman Pace, the rest of the new cast are not perhaps the household names that you would expect, and the two lead characters of Tracy and Link are played by relative newcomers: Rebecca Mendoza and Teddy Chitticks, but you would not know that at all. The whole cast (from the swing dancers to the lead characters) played each of their parts so well, it was like they’d been together as a cast for ages. The Dynamite trio are also worth a mention. The voices of these 3 were amazing, as was that of Monifa James as Little Inez.
So, having said I wouldn’t pick out individual performances as they were all great, I have done that – sorry I couldn’t help myself!
With world events as they are today, I think theatre has a duty to educate audiences and it would do many world leaders to take a close look at recent history to see that it was only in the 60s that America put an end to racial segregation. It’s hard to believe that in our parent’s generation segregation like this actually existed – please don’t take a step backwards people!
An uplifting night out! Literally had my foot tapping from the start to the end of the encore! You definitely can’t stop the beat with this hit musical!
Rating: 5/5
Tickets cost from £26 to £42 (booking fees may apply).
Hairspray the musical is at the Buxton Opera House from 23-28 October 2017, for more information or to book tickets visit buxtonoperahouse.org.uk or call the box office on 0845 127 2190.
Buxton Opera House, Water Street, Buxton, Derbyshire, SK17 6XN | 0845 127 2190
