There was colour, there was pizazz, there was fizz, there were squeals of delight, there was dancing, and that was just the audience getting excited before the curtain went up. This was a Hairspray crowd and they were out out, writes Michael Holland.
I’ve known of this multi-award-winning musical for years but never realised it had such a following. Many people came dressed up as Tracy (Lizzie Bea) and Edna Turnblad (Michael Ball), others in outfits from the early 60s, and I only discovered I had unknowingly come as Mr Turnblad when I was complimented on my ‘Wilbur’. Oops!
Like the audience, the show is hi-energy from start to finish and tells of big girl Tracy Turnblad who wants to audition for a dance spot on The Corny Collins Show. Her mother Edna, doesn’t want her daughter to fall victim to nasty body-shaming so refuses to let her go. Cue the song, Mama, I’m a Big Girl Now. Just around the corner her best friend Penny has a similar argument with her mother who is more worried about the ‘race music’ played there.
Wilbur (Les Dennis), however, grants Tracy permission but when she gets there, Velma Von Tussle, the racist producer of the show, rejects her because of her size.
Back in school, Tracy gets detention for her big hairdo but gets to meet the black kids, who are also in trouble, who show her some cool dance moves that she consequently uses to bypass Ms Von Tussle and go straight to Corny Collins. He likes what he sees and gives her a place on the show where she is a big hit, which is not to the Von Tussles’ liking… And as if that isn’t enough trouble, Tracy discovers that her new black friends are only allowed on the show once a month on Negro Day. Yikes!
And all these years I thought Hairspray was a piece of candy floss confection where girl meets boy, loses boy, gets boy back while singing about it. Not at all. Then there is a march organised to protest the colour segregation, which ends up in a riot and they all end up in jail. I stepped outside at the interval to check that I was at the right theatre watching the right show…
So many issues were addressed and conquered here that it gave me back hope for a brighter future. Then I remembered that Hairspray is set in 1962 and 50 years on we are still fighting for equality and a nicer, fairer society.
Up to this point I had witnessed sizeism, racism, joyous interracial relationships and two men kissing. I was stunned. This is not the musical I was expecting to experience and I had the time of my life.
Hairspray is a great show and I now fully understand why it has won so many Tony and Olivier Awards.
And in case I forget, the songs by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman are stupendous. They come thick and fast and in all shapes and sizes, just like the amazing cast.
London Coliseum, St Martin’s Lane, WC2N 4ES until 29th September. Times: Tues – Sat 7.30pm; Wed & Sat matinees 3pm; Sun 4.pm. Admission: £20 – £175
Box office: www.hairspraythemusical.co.uk – 020 7845 9300
