Hairspray

For the past 4-5 years Jen and I have held season tickets for touring Broadway musicals at the Capitol Theatre. Some years we have been rather disappointed, and have come close to not renewing our tickets. Some of the shows have had leads with weak voices, and others have just been absolutely stupid (read "Cats").

Well tonight we saw Hairspray. I wasn't sure how I would like it, as it almost seemed a little too happy for me. But I went, and was glad I did. This show probably saved the season for me this year. Was it too happy? Yeah, but it didn't try to take itself seriously. It knew it was a happy, if not campy, musical and had fun with it. All of the voices were clear and strong. Each complimented the other principals well, and none seemed to overshadow or overpower the others. It was an incredibly well balanced cast. In my opinion it was one of the best I had seen (though the first act seemed a little long, with the second act ending too quickly).

The musical is about (according to wikipedia.org) a "a girl named Tracy Turnblad whose dream is to dance on the Corny Collins Show, a local TV dance program based on the real-life Buddy Dean Show in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. She gets a chance on the show and becomes a celebrity overnight. She then launches a campaign to racially integrate the Corny Collins Show." You would think that this would be an odd premise for a musical, but it actually works.

The highlight of the show is the performance of "Timeless to Me" by Wilbur and Edna Turnblad, played by Jim J. Bullock and J. P. Dougherty. It had me nearly in tears from laughter.

If you get a chance to see it, I recommend it, and hopefully the performances will be as good as they were when I saw it.