You Can't Stop the (Live) Beat!
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Over the past few weeks, there has been a lot of hype over social media, partly due to the big-name cast who were taking on these much-loved roles.
Did it live up to it? Well, I'm not too sure - let's go into it shall we:
I'd better start with the biggest mixed bag, which is the cast; as some worked, some really didn't and some surprised me.
Starting with the good, the standout performances were mainly in the adult cast, which included original Broadway Edna Harvey Fierstein doing his THING, Kristen Chenoweth as a perfectly-casted Velma Von Tussle (though I wish she had a bit more to do), and, of course, Jennifer Hudson as record store owner and DJ Motormouth Maybelle. The song I Know Where I've Been has always given me goosebumps, and Hudson's version proved to be no exception; the emotion she put into it was just incredible! I think whatever you think of the show, you should definitely check out her version of that song on YouTube, it is well worth a watch. Finally, I need to mention Ephriam Sykes, who played Maybelle's son Seaweed; it was a bit of a risky move, as the biggest thing Sykes had before this was as part of the ensemble in Hamilton, and I hope this gets him more gigs, as his Seaweed his version of Run and Tell That were fantastic!
On to the cast who didn't really work, and the one I have to unfortunately mention is Ariana Grande, who played Tracy's best friend Penny. I tried, I really tried (especially as she did a bit of Broadway when she was younger) but Penny was not the right role for her. She can sing, but it was the wrong voice to fit in with a piece set in the 60s and I couldn't tell a lot of what she was singing (DICTION PEOPLE, DICTION!). She could have also been a lot dorkier for me and have had a lot more chemistry with Seaweed. In short, she was grossly miscast.
On to the surprise, and I think this might throw a couple of people off; but I really enjoyed Garrett Clayton's Link Larkin! Ok, he may not be the best Link I've seen (I've not seen one that can beat Zac Efron for me), but he does have a gorgeous voice and I did find myself swooning over his It Takes Two. Well done Mr Clayton, not a bad job at all.
The show, as you can plainly see, was a bit of a mixed bag. To add into this was that there were a few sound problems as microphones cut out a few things every so often; there was the nice little addition of Ladies Choice ( a song introduced in the 2007 film version, this time sung by Derek Hough's Corny Collins instead of Link), but no room made for Big Doll House; while Maddie Ballio made didn't make a bad Tracy, I have seen plenty of better interpretations who have connected with me personally better than she did.
I wouldn't say Hairspray Live! was bad; but it hasn't blown me away in the same way that the film did when I originally saw it - or either of the two touring productions I have seen of the show. No one could deny that 2016 was definitely the right time to do Hairspray Live! (what with everything that's going on at the moment), and there were certainly some good moments; but it is a shame it just missed its mark, and didn't have enough of the POP that it needs.
I'd better start with the biggest mixed bag, which is the cast; as some worked, some really didn't and some surprised me.
Starting with the good, the standout performances were mainly in the adult cast, which included original Broadway Edna Harvey Fierstein doing his THING, Kristen Chenoweth as a perfectly-casted Velma Von Tussle (though I wish she had a bit more to do), and, of course, Jennifer Hudson as record store owner and DJ Motormouth Maybelle. The song I Know Where I've Been has always given me goosebumps, and Hudson's version proved to be no exception; the emotion she put into it was just incredible! I think whatever you think of the show, you should definitely check out her version of that song on YouTube, it is well worth a watch. Finally, I need to mention Ephriam Sykes, who played Maybelle's son Seaweed; it was a bit of a risky move, as the biggest thing Sykes had before this was as part of the ensemble in Hamilton, and I hope this gets him more gigs, as his Seaweed his version of Run and Tell That were fantastic!
On to the cast who didn't really work, and the one I have to unfortunately mention is Ariana Grande, who played Tracy's best friend Penny. I tried, I really tried (especially as she did a bit of Broadway when she was younger) but Penny was not the right role for her. She can sing, but it was the wrong voice to fit in with a piece set in the 60s and I couldn't tell a lot of what she was singing (DICTION PEOPLE, DICTION!). She could have also been a lot dorkier for me and have had a lot more chemistry with Seaweed. In short, she was grossly miscast.
On to the surprise, and I think this might throw a couple of people off; but I really enjoyed Garrett Clayton's Link Larkin! Ok, he may not be the best Link I've seen (I've not seen one that can beat Zac Efron for me), but he does have a gorgeous voice and I did find myself swooning over his It Takes Two. Well done Mr Clayton, not a bad job at all.
The show, as you can plainly see, was a bit of a mixed bag. To add into this was that there were a few sound problems as microphones cut out a few things every so often; there was the nice little addition of Ladies Choice ( a song introduced in the 2007 film version, this time sung by Derek Hough's Corny Collins instead of Link), but no room made for Big Doll House; while Maddie Ballio made didn't make a bad Tracy, I have seen plenty of better interpretations who have connected with me personally better than she did.
I wouldn't say Hairspray Live! was bad; but it hasn't blown me away in the same way that the film did when I originally saw it - or either of the two touring productions I have seen of the show. No one could deny that 2016 was definitely the right time to do Hairspray Live! (what with everything that's going on at the moment), and there were certainly some good moments; but it is a shame it just missed its mark, and didn't have enough of the POP that it needs.
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