Hairspray UK/Ireland Tour - Review

I went to see the UK and Ireland touring production of Hairspray on Saturday while it was in Dublin and I've been debating with myself since about whether or not I was going to post a review of it on my blog. While overall I liked the production, I didn't like it anywhere near as much as I was hoping to and had some very big issues with it. And because of that I was unsure of whether or not I was going to post a review as I want to keep this blog as positive as I can. However, I ultimately decided to give me honest opinion on the show for two reasons, one because I couldn't possibly talk about just the positives and pretend like the show is perfect, and two because I don't think I would have been as disappointed if I had read a review beforehand that prepared me for what I found lacking in the production and therefore someone who is reading my blog might be better prepared if they decide to go see the show. So enough with all that babble, on with the review:

To start I have to admit that while I do enjoy Hairspray it isn't anywhere near the top ofmy list of favourites so I was never going to love this production. I find the plot a little cringey and lackluster at times. And I really don't like the way the show ends. I'm going to assume most of you have seen the movie and know that during the Teenage Miss Hairspray competition Little Inez comes out and dances and gets enough votes to make her the winner and thus making the Corny Collins Show forever integrated. (SPOILER ALERT) Well in the stage version Little Inez doesn't dance and Tracy wins and just declares that the show is officially integrated which I always had a problem with as I find it just lazy writing to try and find a way to wrap everything up. Why does Tracy just saying this make it so? There's a few other moments in the show that I find a little bit unbelievable and make for some very cringey moments on stage in my opinion.

But while I find the plot of Hairspray lacking, I think the soundtrack is amazing! It's such a feel good soundtrack and no matter what mood I'm in I simply can't help but sing and bop along to it. It never fails to cheer me up. Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman did a fantastic job with this musical. My favourite song by far in the show is 'I Know Where I've Been' sang by Motormouth Maybelle and in this production Brenda Edwards does such an amazing job. She has such an amazing voice and puts so much emotion into the song! And overall I found the cast of this production to be pretty strong vocally.

When I saw the show Courtney Brogan Smalley was on as Tracy Turnblad and my god she was fantastic! She wonderfully embodied the character, her acting was spectacular and her singing was on a whole new level. But the thing that baffled me the most about Courtney was that I later found out she only made her debut as Tracy the night before! I could have sworn she was playing the role for years because she was just so amazing! Would happily pay to see her perform the show again! And rounding out the Turnblad Family was Matt Rixon as Edna and Graham MacDuff as Wilbur. These two smashed it! Right before 'You're Timeless To Me' there was a technical difficulty with one of the props but the way these two handled it and were able to ad lib and improvise made this scene the best one in the show for me. They were both hilarious and quick witted and managed to keep it up through the entire scene. This was by far the best improv I've seen in a show ever!

As a whole the casting of this production is pretty great and they didnt do anything to make me dislike the show, in fact the casting was the saving grace. For me the set was the downfall of the show and really underwhelmed me. The set was very minimal which personally I found really disappointing as I think Hairspray is the kind of show that has such an amazing potential when it comes to the set. Apart from two side areas with extendable platforms, which served as the Turnblad home, Motormouth's record shop, Penny's bedroom and the Har De Har Hut, and a screen at the back of stage there wasn't much in terms of set design. Because of this a lot of the reveals and entrances throughout the show, especially Edna's transformation in 'Welcome to the 60's' and Tracy crashing the stage at Teenage Miss Hairspray, were very anticlimactic as the actors/actresses just walked in from the wings and it wasn't a big spectacle which is what I've come to expect from Hairspray. I have to admit that I've watched bootlegs of previous productions as well as high school and amdram production with far better set designs. This was the biggest problem I had with the production and as someone who loves and appreciates set design I was extremely disappointed.

Rating:

Plot: 6/10

Cast: 8/10

Music: 9/10

Choreography: 8/10

Set/Costume/Lighting: 5/10

Total Rating:7/10

I saw this production in the Bord Gais Energy Theatre in Dublin which is one of my favourite theatres. I have seen countless productions in this theatre and sat in a number of different seats from the front row right to the very back row and I have to say that this theatre is amazing for views. There isn't a single restricted view seat in the entire theatre and you can see the stage perfectly no matter where you sit. The only issue I've ever had with the seating in this theatre is that in some productions if they have a raised set design it might be cut off if you're sitting in the upper circle. For this production I sat in Row M Seat 49 of the Circle and as you can see I had a very clear view of the stage and would happily sit here again. The staff in the Bord Gais Energy Theatre are also very friendly and I have never had a bad experience with any of them.