Wow! Hairspray is back on tour and it has hit the Buxton Opera House stage running. A large audience was hugely entertained by this Broadway and West End hit and the cast was quite rightly awarded a standing ovation for a performance that truly hit the heights of the magic that musical theatre can bring.
Loosely based on The Buddy Deane Show that was highly popular among the teenage audiences of America in the early 1960s, Hairspray follows the story of Tracy Turnblad (Katie Brace) who has ambitions to be part of the phenomenon that is the Corny Collins Show – sponsored by a leading hairspray producer.
Tracy and her friend Penny Pingleton (Freya McMahon who is making an excellent professional debut) are desperate to become regulars on the show but both are held back by parental objections. Edna Turnblad (Neil Hurst) – who is no stick insect herself – is concerned that her daughter will be mocked because of her size but at least there is the encouragement from her father Wilbur (Dermot Canavan) but Penny has no such support from her strict and racist mother Prudy (Kirsty Sparks).
Hope springs when a vacancy occurs in the regular dance team and Tracy attends the audition where she catches the eye of presenter Corny (Declan Egan) and an unlikely romance begins with wannabe singing star Link Larkin (Olly Manley). All seems to be going well for Tracy but there is a massive obstacle in the form of show producer Velma Von Tussle (Joanne Clifton of Strictly fame) who has ambitions for her less talented daughter Amber (Allana Taylor).
Velma upsets Tracy when an excellent dancer in the form of Little Inez (Shaniquah Notice-Morris) is rejected on account of her colour and when she bumps into Seaweed (Reece Richards) who teaches her some special dance moves Tracy becomes highly involved in the local Civil Rights movement.
Seaweed is the son of Motormouth Maybelle (Michelle Ndegwa) who is the producer of the show when it is allowed to portray the talent in the black dancing community. As Tracy and Penny become closer to the “Negro Day” performers, they are drawn into taking part in the march to demonstrate against the non-integration of the show.
The Second Act plays out the consequences of a demonstration that has the potential to ruin both careers and relationships. These are serious issues but will they be resolved in the feelgood way that the audience wishes? The audience will be highly-entertained as it finds out the answers.
Hairspray has all of the ingredients required for audience satisfaction. The play may be set in the days of black and white television but the stage is a swirl of colour so there are many congratulations to Set and Costume Designer Takis. The band under Musical Director Richard Atkinson beautifully provides the music that gives Choreographer Drew Mconie everything needed to fill the stage with mesmerising movement and showcase the costumes to great effect.
A superb cast is always needed to pull everything together and, make no mistake, the cast are excellent. Brace should have Tracy as her middle name as she is such a natural in her role while there is real comedic chemistry between Hurst and Canavan who brought the house down with their rendition of You’re Timeless to Me. Clifton and Sparks play their pantomime villain parts to perfection. There is excellent support from other cast members and the look and sound of the early sixties is completely captured by Manley’s performance of It Takes Two and Dynamite in Welcome To The Sixties.
The score is memorable with Brace opening the show in grandstand style with Good Morning Baltimore and a dreamy performance of I Can Hear The Bells and there is a rousing finale with the show’s anthem You Can’t Stop The Beat. However, the standout musical scene has to be when Ndegwa performs I Know Where I’ve Been. This is an emotional and powerful song that encapsulates the struggle for integration and needs a performance to match the strength of the lyrics. It is difficult to believe that anyone could outperform Ndegwa. What a voice!!
Buxton Opera House must be very proud to have Paul Kerryson as its CEO. Alongside fellow Director Brenda Edwards, Kerryson has produced an excellent show that was well deserving of the prolonged applause at its conclusion. I would be very happy to say Good Morning to this show on a regular basis. And it is true. You can’t stop the beat in your head.
Hairspray has a running time of approximately 2 hours 45 minutes including interval. For Ticket information contact 01298 72190
