Scott Purvis-Armour reviews a modern classic ‘which constantly delights’.
Hairspray is probably the closest Broadway has ever come to producing a pantomime. Like Beauty and the Beast, it teaches us that we should look for the beauty in a person’s heart, not in their appearance, and it features a comic villain that makes Cruella De Ville look like a spokesperson for the Dogs’ Trust and gives beloved British actors the chance to slip into a bra that could double up as a four-man tent.
Perfect for a post-Christmas night out and set against the growth of the Civil Rights movement, this witty and bitingly satirical show asks its audience not to judge anyone by their looks but by the content of their character, paralleling the minor comedy of overweight schoolgirl Tracy Turnblad with the great social evil of institutional racism.
Teasing its audience as freely as Tracy teases her ratted hairdo, Mark O’Donnell and Thomas Meehan’s Tony Award-winning script plays with the modern notion of political correctness, contrasting 1960s prejudices with contemporary ones. Fast paced and fun, this is a show which constantly delights.
Marc Shaiman’s musical arrangements and Scott Whitman’s lyrics are an excellent coupling. Shaiman has composed a witty and insightful score that slowly evolves from the bubble gum pinks of Connie Francis to the midnight blues of Motown, subtly referencing sixties standards such as The Ronettes’ “Be My Baby” and eleven o’clock numbers from Gypsy. Every song in the show is instantly loveable and performed with fire by an incredible ensemble.
The excellent Katie Brace leads the cast with fun and feistiness, her voice two-stepping playfully before Crystal-clean clarity to a Ronette roughness, swooning to Solomon Davy’s Link Larkin as he croons nicely. Neil Hurst, too, steps into Edna Turnblad’s slippers with ease, finding the caricature in the character without losing an ounce of her dignity whilst Strictly Come Dancing favourite Joanne Clifton brings an Eartha Kitt purr to her performance as Velma von Tussle.
Drew McOnie’s excellent and exhausting fifties choreography sees girls bop-she-bop in the grubby streets of Baltimore, twist splendidly in the record shops of North Avenue, with each movement flavoured with the dance floor rhythms of the era. Less sure-footed is the set and costume design by Takis: the Technicolor comic-book design that defined the original production seems sadly diminished, especially in the use of flat, uninspiring projections.
Still, Hairspray is an excellent musical with spirit and sass. It is what happened whilst Sandy and Danny were off brushing their teeth, a fun and feisty picture of a world in flux which is endlessly entertaining from beginning to end. It is the perfect combination of music, movement and ensemble, a massive Broadway score with a heart bigger than Edna Turnblad’s unmentionables.
Hairspray has completed its run at Glasgow’s Kings Theatre. It continues its UK tour.
Photo by Ellie Kurttz.