Hello fellow musical fans, hope all
is well and everyone is experiencing a healthy spring 2016. It has been nearly
a month since I last posted and much has been going on. Yesterday (Tuesday 29th March) evening I drove
and met my lovely Beezie (Kayleigh) in Norwich for a night of swinging 60’s. First
I have to tell you that I got lost in Norwich, I am actually quite embarrassed to
share this anecdote but it is worth my pain for you to hear. I was meeting
Beezie at Zizzi’s in Norwich. Well I knew the restaurant was in the Tombland
area of Norwich, somewhere I have been many times in my drinking years; so you
would think I would be able to find it. I was already anxious due to excess traffic,
road closures and the dreaded thought I always have when going to the theatre, “I’M
GOING TO BE LATE!!!” So I am trying to find this bloody restaurant, in the end
Beezie has to order my carbonara and small Pinot Grigio as I am in serious
panic mode; stomping down these cobbled streets, onlookers thinking where has
that lunatic escaped from. Just to clarify I found Zizzi’s eventually, having
plenty of time for a coffee and still ten minutes sitting in the auditorium of
Norwich Theatre Royal waiting for Hairspray to start, why don’t I learn.
So yes, Hairspray 2015-16 UK Tour
arrived at Norwich Theatre Royal last night, after much anticipation from
theatre staff, me and Beezie as well as other audience members I assume. I can
assure you this anticipation was well worth the wait and it was a great night
had by all. I first saw Hairspray on stage three years ago on its second UK
tour and I loved it then. The current tour embarked on its nationwide journey
in August last year and is due to close in May of this year – see below for
further details. I have loved Hairspray since seeing the film when it was first
released in 2007 with its star studied cast. The 2013 UK tour also had a few
famous faces including Mark Benton, Lucy Benjamin and Marcus Collins. So when I
saw that another UK tour had been announced I was extremely excited, again with
a few well known faces dropped in the mix.
Hairspray is based on the 1988 film,
by John Waters, of the same name; again with a great cast (I have to admit I
have not seen the original film – it is on my to do list). Hairspray was
created into a musical in 2002 in the US with a Seattle try out before moving
to Broadway later in the same year; with book by Mark O’Donnell and Thomas Meehan.
Hairspray sees young Tracy Turnblad audition and make it onto a dance show, The
Corny Collins Show, in the 1960’s. This being in Baltimore during the 60’s there
were some quite strong views of how white and black folk should mix. Tracy, a
larger than life girl, struggles to fit into a size zero world filled with
narrow minded beliefs. Tracy fights for her beliefs and works hard to change
those of others. Tracy aims to show Baltimore that white and black people can
dance and be together without problem. Although the title of the musical (and
film) suggests the themes regard beauty, hair and make-up the heart and soul of
the musical is far from this. I love the fact that this musical shouts about being
different is not a setback, as Tracy quite clearly tells us throughout. The musical
supports and inspires bigger girls to realise they can have what they want and
reach their dreams without being stick thin. The musical also tackles racial
issues which are held by many still today. I love the fact that the protagonist
in Hairspray is a young girl shouting out for what she thinks is right, as so
many do not do today and just follow the crowd. I hope for anyone (who the hell
are you) who hasn’t see Hairspray (any version) can find time to watch the
films and be inspired too if you cannot make it to the theatre.
Wow, three paragraphs and you still
don’t know much about my night; these blogs are getting too long. The current
production is jointly produced by Mark Goucher, Laurence Myers, Tulchin Bartner
Productions, Gale King Productions, Tom O’Connell Productions, Gary Brown, Just
for Laughs Theatricals and Curve Theatre (phew! Got through it!). Costumes are
a massive part of Hairspray with most actors having costume changes between
scenes (and in some cases during). Takis was costume designer for the new
production of Hairspray and he did a fantastic job. Sticking mostly to the previous
tour I saw and videos I have seen of West End productions (which I think is
very important not to stray too far from originals), the fashion of the 60’s
comes alive on the stage. The creative role Takis has is to portray 1960’s
white people, 1960’s black people, the racists, the pro-integration bunch and
all the small scenes in-between (such as the prison scene, which even then I
saw at least 6 different prison black and white stripes); a gigantic task fully
achieved. Philip Gladwell is lighting designer and I specifically remember while
sitting in the auditorium was that the lighting effects in this performance
were awesome. With the show flipping from homes to filming studios, streets to
shops and schools to prisons a lot of work has to go into making sure the
lighting reflects these environments. This leads nicely into set design, by
Paul Moore. The set for this performance was pretty remarkable. Staging and décor
were of high standards, the different vast environments were portrayed well and
transitioning between was flawless (thank you director Paul Kerryon). One thing
I loved about the set for this performance was that the 8-piece orchestra were
on stage, high above for all to see. As I have countlessly said sticking the
orchestra on stage is a winner for me each time. One issue I did have with set design was that I
saw the people you shouldn’t see on stage, on stage during the finale which was
so disappointing.
Drew McOnie takes on choreography
and I was pleased with what I saw however there were some differences in
certain scenes. ‘Mama, I’m a Big Girl’ scene does not have the dance move that
I absolutely love, try to replicate in my car while listening to the soundtrack
(please remember safe driving at all times, this blog is not liable for your
driving) so this was upsetting. However the 60’s dance moves, of both black and
white, and the more loveable scenes such as Wilbur and Edna are well crafted. With
original music and lyrics by Marc Shaiman and original lyrics by Scott Wittman Hairspray
has an amazing score which makes one of the most perfect driving musical
soundtracks to listen to. Shaiman and Wittman, more recently well-known for
their original score for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (I am seeing it this
year thank god), they have had some massive hits and I have no space to tell
you all of them. This classic score has one of the biggest musical hits in
recent years ‘You Can’t Stop the Beat’ which is often heard in non-musical
arenas. The song is fan-tas-tic and allows the audience to have a dance at
curtain call and ends the performance on a well-deserved high. Other classics
of Hairspray, and biasedly my favourites, include ‘Good Morning Baltimore’, ‘Mama,
I’m a Big Girl Now’ (not featured in the 2007 film), ‘Welcome to the 60’s’, and
‘You’re Timeless to Me’. I highly recommend getting this soundtrack for any
budding musical theatre fan (anyone else an addict yet?).
The whole cast are amazing and I
always feel so bad writing a review about a show as posts typically mention the
leading ladies and men, those that catch my eye just a little and then those
that flop. I can never mention each ensemble member and any swing that gets
involved (unfortunately). However one comment that I did have for this cast was
that everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves and that was clear from the
seat I was sat in. This is really important to audience members who pay good
money to see shows on tours and in the West End. If the cast are having the
best time you can damn right bet the audience are too. Claire Sweeney leads the
way with her portrayal as meanie Velma Von Tussle, a tough woman who has her
views cemented and will do anything to get where she needs. I was very much
looking forward to seeing Sweeney in a musical, never seeing her live but hearing
high expectations. Sweeney has a huge CV in musical theatre (and other acting
roles) including some of my favourite shows. Velma does not have loads of
singing in hairspray and I have to admit I was not blown away by ‘Miss Baltimore
Crabs’. However she pulled it back with her reprise of the song and made me
chuckle in the finale so I am glad I got to see Sweeney on stage. Matt Rixon
plays Edna Turnblad and I have to say before anything, stick a man in a dress
and I’m already on board. Rixon again has a huge rėsumė for the theatre and
although I had not heard of him before (sorry Matt) I was hugely impressed with
his portrayal of Edna. Both funny and able to hold a note was great, he took on
the role with 110% and made the scene with his on-stage husband both hilarious
and tender (I think my favourite scene of the night). Sharing this possible
favourite scene [I have not yet decided typing my first draft late at night
after the show with another Pinot, I will edit laterJ] with Rixon was Peter Duncan
playing Wilbur Turnblad. Duncan has been working in the industry for over 40
years and this is just one more addition to that ever growing list in the
programme (nearly three columns Peter, calm down). Well known for his Blue
Peter days and being a self-confessed adventurer he certainly made Hairspray
into an adventure, especially with his Timeless to Me scene [OK it’s my
favourite of the night, decided].
Freya Sutton reprises her 2013 UK
Tour role of Tracy Turnblad. I honestly think Sutton’s singing has gotten
better and definitely thought that her solo songs were of higher quality than
three years previously. I also think in this new production she was able to be
funnier which suited her and the character. Brenda Edwards stars as Motormouth
Maybelle and boy does that woman have a set of lungs on her. Her soulful and
powerful voice was by far the best singing on stage tonight and blew everyone
else out of the way. After entering the X-factor in 2005 Edwards has made a
name for herself in the musical theatre world playing some booming characters
such as Killer Queen in We Will Rock You (I was meant to see you in this Brenda
but you weren’t on the day I went L), Mama
Morton in Chicago (fantastic role) and in Carmen Jones. Edwards is a fantastic
Motormouth and I reckon she would be fabulous in the new West End musical –
Motown the Musical. Jon Tsouras plays Corny Collins, Seaweed is played by Dex
Lee (loved him and pretty god damn hot), Ashley Gilmour plays Link Larkin,
Amber Von Tussle is played by Lauren Stroud and Monique Young gives a great
funny performance as Penny Pingleton. Again the rest of the cast were amazing
but I just can’t write everyone down. One person that I thought was comically
great was Tracey Penn who played Female Authority Figure (an essentially ensemble
cast member who plays multiple re-occurring characters, particularly Penny’s
mother, police guard and PE teacher). I was watching Penn and thought you
remind me of someone I saw in Made in Dagenham (Adelphi Theatre, West End) and
it turns out she was in that. Penn works tremendously hard in this production,
changing roles quickly and with ease and really gives the audience a giggle;
loved her!
Hairspray is a multi-award winning
musical and I think it will continue to be a show that is seen across the UK,
West End and Worldwide. The original 2012 Broadway production won 8 Tony’s
including Best Musical, Best Original Score (totally deserved as described
above), Best Direction, Best Book, Best Leading Actor (and actress and featured
actor) and of course Best Costume Design (as me and the Beez said many times I definitely
needed some of those sparkly suits and the dress wouldn’t be wasted either).
The 2008 original West End production also won the Olivier’s for Best New
Musical, Michael Ball winning Best Actor for his portrayal of Edna (some
amazing YouTube videos if like me you didn’t get to see Ball), Best Actress for
Leanne Jones as Tracy and Best Performance in a Supporting Role for Tracie Bennett
as Velma (Bennett is currently starring in Mrs Henderson Presents in London
which me and Nanny Cora are booking soon!). The current production is at
Norwich Theatre Royal until Saturday 2nd April, tickets have sold
superfast and every performance only has a few seats left so to ensure your
chance to see this amazing show get booking. Following its run at Norwich,
Hairspray visits Milton Keynes, Wales, Plymouth, Stoke and Southend finishing
on 21st May 2016. According to London Theatre Direct due to the
amazing success of the current tour Hairspray will return to another UK tour at
the end of summer 2017 so keep your eyes peeled.
Thanks again for reading. If you haven’t
already check out the Norwich Theatre Royal new season which runs until December
2016, some great shows arriving in the big Norfolk City including Chicago, Mary
Poppins, Rocky Horror Show, Guys and Dolls, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, The Commitments
and The Sound of Music – get your tickets at the Box Office.
Please get in touch on Twitter
@AaronBurgess89 I would love to hear from you and make contacts. Until next
time be safe, be careful and of course be musical.
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