Hairspray the Musical, set in 1960s Baltimore, follows the journey of Tracy Turnblad, a plucky teenager with big dreams and even bigger hair! She has dreams on being on ‘The Corny Collins Show’, a local TV production. The show follows her rise to fame, and tackles important social issues like racial integration and body positivity, as Tracy and her friends challenge societal norms and fight for equality on and off the dance floor. Hairspray is a feel-good celebration of individuality, love, and the power of standing up for what’s right.
We first saw Hairspray back in 2018 as part of it’s UK tour. We fell in love with the show and ended up following the tour all the way from Eden Court Inverness to Swansea Grand Theatre in Wales, losing track of the number of times we saw the show in total! With Hairspray being notably absent from UK theatres for the past couple of years, it’s made it’s triumphant comeback with a new UK tour, which we were both ecstatic to see again. We were under the impression this new UK tour had made some major alterations to the original script, however we were pleased to see the show primarily stuck in it’s original format, with a few minor changes to dialogue and songs.
The 25 strong cast were full of talent and were an absolute joy to watch on stage. We particularly adored Katie Brace’s portrayal of Tracy Turnblad, our favourite performance we’ve seen of Tracy. Brace delivered a performance that was both high energy, witty and emotional, encapsulating Tracy’s determined spirit and loving personality. We also loved watching the on stage relationship between Neil Hurst and Dermot Canavan playing Edna and Wilbur. They both portrayed their characters with warmth, charm and brought lots of laughter to the audience. The show felt very well cast all round, with no cast member under delivering and all giving standout performances.
Hairspray consists of a fast moving plot, with never a dull moment in sight. The show is both witty, with genuine laugh out loud moments, but also conveys an important story of acceptance and equality. The show is choreographed perfectly, with a great mix of dancing that captures the spirit of the era. Our favourite dance number was “You can’t stop the beat”, such a great song to finish off the show!
Hairspray features 17 original orchestrations that had a great range of upbeat, catchy and emotional songs. The band were based on stage and were cleverly revealed intermittently throughout the show during the Corny Collins scenes, which added authenticity and a fullness to the performance. Every song in the show is memorable, with not one song in the score we’d skip when listening at home. Some of our personal favourites are “Welcome to the 60s”, “Mamma, I’m a big girl now” and “Good Morning Baltimore”. A true feel good score to match the high energy of the show.
The costumes in this production were a standout element to us, perfectly complementing the wonderful performances from the cast. The costumes were stunningly patterned, colourful and very glittery – fitting for such a colourful and bold musical! We particularly loved the costumes for the “Miss Teenage Hairspray” scenes towards the end of the show. The costumes captured the vibrant energy of the 1960’s and were a key element to the shows visual language.
The backdrop consisted of a large digital projection screen, with a couple of smaller projection screens moving throughout the performance. We personally weren’t a fan of this setup, having digital screens back in the 60’s didn’t feel very authentic, and the animations at times came across quite cheap. The projections were also often washed out by the brilliant stage lighting, it felt like a projector bulb was in need of replacement! We feel traditional backdrops would’ve worked much better for this show.
The set consisted of two large house pieces at both sides of the stage. Each house ingeniously opened which was used to replicate different locations such as Tracey and Penny’s homes as well as Motormouth Maybelle’s studio. This was a very clever use of staging and worked especially well in the “Mamma, I’m a big girl now” scene. The most impressive set piece was the large ‘Ultra Clutch’ hairspray can, which is used for the big reveal at the end of the show. There was also other smaller set pieces used throughout the show which were aesthetically pleasing. We did note however a few set pieces were looking a bit tired, and could do with some TLC or replacements.
Hairspray is a brilliant feel good musical for all ages, and we’d highly recommend seeing the UK tour. With its infectious energy, toe-tapping tunes, and a cast that brings boundless charisma to the stage, the show delivers a night of pure entertainment that leaves you smiling from ear to ear. Whether you’re a lifelong fan or discovering Hairspray for the first time, this production is a dazzling reminder that “You Can’t Stop the Beat” of progress, hope, and the magic of musical theatre.
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