Hairspray the Musical (Review)

I went to see Hairspray the Musical last year when it was on it's UK Tour in Nottingham. I'm a little late in sharing my review as I had all my USA and Canada 2024 travel posts to share, but it's still on tour until the end of April 2025 so if you're interested, have a look at some of the dates here. They still include Scotland, Ireland and England locations. 


The story follows teenage Tracy Turnblad's dream to dance on The Corny Collins Show, a local TV dance program. When Tracy wins a role on the show, she becomes a celebrity overnight, leading to social change as Tracy campaigns for the show's integration. The songs include 1960s-style dance music and "downtown" rhythm and blues. 

I love that the casting was diverse. Whilst, yes that is the story, I'm glad they stay true to that and didn't pick celebrities or different cultures. They made sure to keep it diverse with plus sized cast members and ethnicities of relevance, ensuring the need for acceptance without discrimination.

My biggest critic was the staging. I always sit in the same seat and whilst yes it is advertised as "potentially restricted view" it rarely affects my viewing pleasure. For this show however it was really impacted. In fact, I didn't even see Tracey's mum until the second act because the scenes were always in the back far left which was then cut off by speakers for me. I found it really difficult to follow in part because of this. 
Unlike other musicals, the company also seemed to want to gatekeep the show in it's entirety. There was little insight into the staging or production from the opening staging, interval staging or closing staging. Even the merchandise is basic and simple, which I actually thought was a shame. 

Overall, I did enjoy the musical and the cast were phenomenal at times. The characters were very similar to both the film Hairspray and the live action version from a few years ago, however it would have been nice to have had something new brought to the story. Similarly, the lack of view at times and the staging was a little disappointing. It's worth a watch, but not one of my favourites. 

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