Ahhhh... Hairspray. Everybody needs a little hairspray in their life. On December 7th, NBC had aired Hairspray Live! Can I actually say how much I enjoy seeing musicals live? Being a theater kid in high school, I definitely know how much work, blood, sweat and tears go into producing a live musical. What's really cool is that my old high school actually just performed Hairspray a few weeks ago and it was done so beautifully for a high school musical. So of course, whenever a musical is done live and shown on TV all theater kids come out of their caves (like we're not already out and singing songs from Hamilton or Wicked) and have to judge for ourselves (and recast roles in our head or on twitter).
I watched the whole show on FaceBook live because I couldn't get it on my TV (bummer) but this gave me more behind the scenes of the set changes, costume changes and basically everything that wasn't shown on TV (which being a former stage manager I enjoy behind the scenes kinda stuff). For me the whole show was fantastic and loved every minute of it! I've even gone back to the live broadcast to re-watch it even though I saw it live. I also feel that putting on that production was perfect timing, especially with everything that has happened this year.
NOW CAN WE TALK ABOUT JENNIFER HUDSON. She absolutely killed it. I thought I was in tears when Queen Latifah sung "I know where I've been" I was bawling like a baby. And then watching them behind the scenes, after it was off air, the cast and crew all hugging each other and teared up it was just so empowering. Maddie Baillio, who played Tracy Turnblad, was absolutely amazing. I felt like she really displayed the character of Tracy perfectly. She really brought Tracy to life. I also felt that Dove Cameron did an excellent portrayal of mean girl Amber Von Tussle. It was so fun to watch her be in character as a mean girl and then watch her come off the set and be super sweet.
Now, Ariana Grande I was kinda skeptical at first about her playing Penny Pingleton because her voice is so strong but her voice actually fit the character because she didn't over do it. After seeing her in concert when she came to Alabama, I knew what her voice was capable of. Also having her albums on my phone too but never mind that. Overall I was really impressed with her performance.
Harvey Fierstein as Edna was different for me. I'm used to a more feminine portrayal of Edna and Harvey didn't come off like that. But I enjoyed his performance anyway. He hit all the funny parts where is voice got more manlier and he definitely slayed his dancing bits! I really enjoyed Martin Short as Wilbur Turnblad and Ephraim Sykes as Seaweed. And Derek Hough as Corny (insert heart eyes emoji here) I think every movie or TV show should have Derek Hough just randomly appear on the screen.
The only character I wasn't feeling was Link who was played by Garrett Clayton. He has too much of a baby face and I didn't believe the connection between Link and Tracy at all (and it made me feel awkward). Now don't get me wrong, the guy has got an amazing voice, but I just wasn't feeling it. Overall, it was an amazing performance and have watched it several times since it has aired. I highly recommend watching it if you haven't (it's on Hulu) and then form your own thoughts about it! And try not to dent your do while dancing to "You Can't Stop the Beat".
