Did anyone go tonight? Just wondering if anyone was there, also anyone know anything about teh new ensemble members? Haven;t been able to find anything anywhere and they've still got the old ensembe on the website!

I am going on wednesday night to see Hairspray, quite looking forward to it....

I have seen some pics of some of the new cast (Amber and Little Inez) and they certainly look the parts!

Lisa

New Cast: [not all of them]

Liz Roberton is Velma
Raquel Jones is Inez
Zoe Rainey is Amber

the dynamites:
Scarlette Douglas is Pearl
Keisha Atwell Is Peaches
Nadine Higgins is Cindy

Nicest Kids:
Corrie Mac is Shelly
Steve Hutchinton is Fender
Michael Jaycock is Sketch
James Bennett is IQ

Detention Kids:
[not too sure]

http://www.akauk.com/digital/hairspray/website/new/cast/

new cast.

Its all on the new website now: www.hairspraythemusical.co.uk under cast.
They all look great.

I managed to bear it and watch the new cast. Charlotte Riby was on as Tracy, she now does a thursday matinee for those who didnt know. And as usual was Amazing, team riby!!
Sandra was also on as Motormouth and with the most phenominal voice, easily stole the show.

From the new cast, Zoe as Amber was really good. We really liked her, thought her vocals were amazing and with time and getting used to the role will be fantastic.
Racquel as Little Inez was also amazing, she is the cutest thing everr and her voice is soo good!!
Liz as Velma was also really good, played it very differently from Tracie Bennett but it really worked.

New female ensemble i wasnt that impressed with. The girls, you can obviously tell that 2 have been there longer and shone above the new 2. But again with time i'll expect them to get better as they settle in.
The new white guys were really good though and there harmonies sounded great.
The new black guy was good, but its always hard when everyone else on stage is the old cast and obviously know it like the back of their hand!

The dynamites i wasnt very impressed with. They've switched the tracks and costumes around which makes it very confusing for those of you who have seen it a few times! Vocally they were ok, thy sounded good at the beginning of welcome to the 60's but by the end i wasnt to impressed.
Although i think that is partly a personal thing and that the standards the old dynamites set was so high.

Overall a good show, a few of the newbies showed great potential and i'm sure with time the others will all settle in. They have after all only been doing it for 5 days!!

Zoe Rainey was absolutely fantastic, loved her.
Raquel Jones is incredible for a girl who turned 17 two days ago.
Keisha Atwell shone throughout, her energy is incredible.
Catherine Greeney was very good.
And I was very impressed with the new ensemble guys. That was about it. I wasn't very impressed with other new cast members, but as they're only a few days into it and still finding their feet I'll wait for them to settle properly before I go back and see it again.

I saw the new cast on Wed and Saturday last week and they are really coming into their own...

Raquel as little Inez is AMAZING! such a powerful voice and great comic timming
Zoe is also really growing into the role of Amber - she has a great voice and is really getting the timming right with Leanne now - esp in the dodgeball scene - dead funny.....
Liz is very different to Tracie as Velma but I love it and again has a great voice

The ensemble are all fine also - although the new Shelley's wig is a little odd!!!

All in all a great day on Sat - 2 amazing shows...

The usual suspects were all excellent - Leanne was excellent as always as was Ian and Micheal and Ben....

Quick shout out to Sandra Marvin who was sensational as MM!!!

Lisa

Defiantly agree about Sandra, always always sensational!!

My sister went to see this last week and said something along the same lines. I'm sure they'll settle in just fine, and most importantly, she had a great time.

Personally I think the new cast is amazing. I saw the show last tonight and they've really settled in. Their energy is great. I think the Dynamites are fantastic. Maybe even stronger than the old ones. Scarlette Douglas shined out to me as having fantastic energy and great performance, always acting even if not being focused on. I saw her play in Little Shop of Horrors in Ipswich and she blew me away then too. Nadine Higgin also has good stage presence. I love the show and think it's gone from strength to strength.

Really? I've heard nothing but negative reports about the new dynamites. Understandable as the original dynamites were each unique and had amazing voices. I think they all knew what each other were doing and were so together.

why do ppl have to judge cant they just enjoy the unique and different talents of a different cas. dont get me wrong i know that not everyones gonna like everyone, but they wouldnt have got the part if they were not good enough

w x

Why shouldn't they? These people are doing a job. The customers have just as much right to judge them as they have to judge anyone else doing a job.


They could have. It's impossible to know exactly how someone will work out until they're actually doing the job, so someone who looks really good during the application process may turn out to be dreadful when it comes to doing the work for real. That's why recruitment is such a tricky task and why only people with plenty of experience at it are good at making such judgments, and even then they sometimes get it wrong.

Are you freaking KIDDING ME?
Their incredibly vocally weak. I've seen the show 4 times on Broadway and the old and new London cast multiple times and Holly James, Kate Gillespie and Yaa were the best three I have ever seen. The 3 of them were absolutely incredible. The new girls are enthusiastic I will give them that, and Keisha Atwell has so much energy she is like a breath of fresh air to watch, as for the other two, each time I've seen them they have failed to impress me. Vocally none of them are nowhere near the same league as the old girls, nowhere near.

The new Inez is phenomenal and outshines all three dynamites vocally, and she's only 17!

I think the new dynamites are good, they seem bit more livelly but i agree after the performance i heard on the last cast change the first group of girls were amazing and SO good compared to any audio frm broadway!

The new dynamites just havent got it.
Holly, Kate and Yaa was where its at.

Keisha has great energy. thats the only positive comment i have to make about them at the moment. If you'd seen the original cast, you'd think differently about the new cast!

All i wanna say is these girls have all in all to date been doing this for 3 weeks cos those of u who dont during the last week of rehearsals they were totally changed harmony and dance wise! comparing them to the other three who had 8 weeks rhearsals plus 4 weeks of previews before you guys commented on their work is pointless! give them a chance... calling them vocally weak is insane ive actually seen 2 of the 3 in other jobs and they r great Nadine Higgin has just graduatd so i cant comment on her... let them grow together as Kate, Yaa and holly had to before they were great! If us as old cast memebers can accepta nd apprciate their talent y cant you

Im almost sure thos girls didnt walk in and demand to swap costumes so how can u use that against them!

hilarious they walked in and said i wanna do a different track and have that pink dress please people will pick at whatevea they can! leave em to it.. i saw the show on thurs and thought it was great and since the main focus is on the dynamites let me tell you as a woman who has watched the show every 2 weeks since opening back in 2007 those girls are great! they are beautiful they walk with a flare from their heads to toes they have spunk attitude and all three of them shine! vocally they are great and yes they will have down days got knows i witnessed the old dynamites have down days too!! just give them time you will think they are fab!!

Well SM/Guest_lulu_*/tony, why don't you stick with just one name instead of pretending to be different people?

Oh dear Bless.

They are vocally weak, I'm not saying it's their fault, rehearsal time does come into it. And I have seen 2 of them in other shows, Keisha Atwell has been a standout to me vocally in the past, but in Hairspray at the moment she sounds completely different. They are weak vocally and I'm sure in a few weeks/months that will change. Even the covers for the dynamites Jacqui Zvimba, Catherine Cassell and even Sandra Marvin (who is arguably one of the most talented people on the WE at the moment) were vocally strong in comparrison.

Not seen the new cast yet, but the original dynamites were a hit from the first preview, they didnt need the preview period to gel. Dont think many of us waited until after previews to comment on how amazing they were.

Yes they had a longer rehearsal period but everyone was learning the show from scratch at that point, most of the leads havnt changed so this round there would have been far less to work out.

I didnt suggest that they were the ones who demanded they swapped costumes. . they have actually changed the tracks back round to the way they are on broadway. I dont like it this way, because after having seen the olc a lot im not used to it. Simple as that.

And i'm sure they are very talented and i did say that with time i'm sure they'll improve, but first off impressions werent good.

im dissapointes that Ben Ellis is still Link, i think his acting is awful, you cant undrstand a word he says, diction is bad!! he needs to be replaced for the record i actually like new cast seen them 3 times

I personally don't think you should really compare the Dynamites, I know their solo vocals at the end are set in the score but as long as they get the notes out they can put thier own personal style onto them. They maybe trying something that the old Dynamites didn't do so it just sounds different. I too think they are great, go girls! What does everyone think about the rest of the new cast, I think Liz and Zoe make a fantastic mother/daughter combo. They are so similar and its great they brought thier own character decisions to the roles. Raquel as Inez is awesome, such a powerful voice. Its great to have an Inez that sounds like an amazing 16 year old rather than an amazing 27 year old. The new ensemble I think have fitted in great, I love Corrie Mac singing the Big Girl playoff. She's got such a belter's voice. Love the new ensemble boys I loved, great energy, great dancing and all were really hot. I'm looking forward to Children in Need.

I'm not gonna compare the new dynamites to the ol ones, but what i will say is that the new ones really don't sound great.

like theyre shouting at the end of welcome to the 60s..........Keisha is great on stage lots of fun and yes i loved her in the wedding singer
maybe they need more time to improve.

They mime that section anyway!!!!!!

Oh right ok, they mime the cracks?

They defiantly dont mine that section, what a ridiculous thing to say, its live theatre!
And I loved Keishas energy, thats the only thing.
They did sound vocally weak, and for people who have seen the show more than once, you are obviously going to compare it to the original cast. The original dynamites were amazing from the first preview.
I just hope the new ones improve with time.

Are u trying to say that Scarlett Douglass or Nadine Higgins have no energy on stage, i watched tonight and my fella who is a casting director and i thought they were all great the supremes part is such a small section of the show,  Nadine was fab in Run and Tell That and You cant stop the Beat she is stunning and her face lights up the stage, i was continuously drawn to her. i thought all 3 of them were brill and actually stood out throughout the show, the last cast were great too, i say that as a generalisation cos everytime i watched it i thought Yaa let the other two down, but i never looked at them before or after welcome to the 60's! And i just wanna say i watched the original cast in the previews and on their official opening night and they were not amazing straight away, however when i watched again they had really come into their own.

Just want to make a comment on this thread, but first I'll admit I haven't seen the new cast... Please, please, please, don't confuse "great energy" with a "great performance." The ability to look good, smile a lot, and dance in step and perhaps throw your arms a bit further and kick your legs a bit higher doesn't make you a great performer. It's a trick many dancers use to hide their vocal ability (or lack of) and suspect that may be what's happening with this new set of girls. Just a thought. I'm not getting at anyone personally, but it does bug me when we the paying public are sold short on the MUSICAL element of the show just because someone can smile a lot.

I was the very first preview and opening night and i was not the only one thinking that the whole cast were great right from the beginning and they did also continue to grow over the year.
I didnt say the othe two girls didnt have great energy but keisha was the one that stood out and was really going for it.
Its down to personal preference though, at the show i saw with the new cast, they didnt impress me i know they have for other people though.
And i'm sorry that you felt that way about Yaa, shes phenominal, vocally especially and i cant wait to see what shes going to do next.
Glad you enjoyed the show anyway though!!!

Racquel is amazingggg.

Yaa let the other two down? Er what? There wasn't a single weak one out of the three of them but if I'd gave had to say that one was 'letting the other two down' it would probably be Kate, not Yaa.

All 3 of them were Amazing, not a weak one in there.

A lot of these defensive posts seem very 'familiar'!... ummm friends and family methinks!

clearly not familiar enough, keep spelling everyones names wrong...Dynamites are fab, ScarlettE DouglaS rules! oh and i agree Ben needs vocal lessons....i dont understand slurring not my main language

sorry this is rubbish! im sure they will get better but the dynamites are WEAK!!we know it and they no it!! keshia has the best voice x

well cast changes are hard!! and everyone will get used to them!! so glad some people has stayed!..
I'E adrian seaweed hansel!! AMAZING! voice!dance acting they will ever find another tripple threat like that again xx i love leanne to! xxx

Who is adrians understudy now?

Tim Frater

and Curtis Lee Scott [i think]

Well Said.

Was at the show tonight, and think it was one of the best performances i've seen! The new Dynamites are fab- yes they're not the holly,yaa and kate who I will miss but I think that when they'refully settled in they will give them a run for their money! Also had Sandra Marvin on as Motormouth and she is amazing! If she doesn't get offered the part full time when Jonnie leaves I will be very suprised!

I saw the show again at the weekend and the new cast had really improved since i first saw them in their first week.
They seemed a lot more settled in and all sounded great.
Sandra on for Motormouth, who as usual was AMAZING. and tim for Seaweed who is also great.

I'm not going to compare the new dynamites to the old because they are differnt but they sounded a lot more vocally stronger and did a really really good job. Its a very hard act for them to follow and i think that the criticism they have recieved is a little unfair. There doing really well.

Another great show though and their settling well.

I saw the show again at the weekend and for about the 6 time since the new cast went in...

I think the new cast have really settelled in well, my stand out fave is Raquel Jones as Little Inez - she is outstanding and adds a new side to Inez which is really fun to watch...

I have seen Sandra lots as Motormouth and as always thought she was really great - also thought that Tim was excellent as Seaweed

Really great performance - well done to all

Hi,
I were just wondering if anyone of you have heard anything about Ian Talbot leaving in January???
It is a sort of discussion about it at the Michael Ball fanclub forum, refering to an article in the Mail, that Baz B, is saying that Nigel Planer is taking over as Wilbur in January??
Or they have sort of accepted the article as the truth that Ian is leaving.

So I just thought maybe anyone of you knew for sure.

As far as i'm aware it hasnt been confirmed that Ian will be leaving or that nigel will be taking over, the Daily Mail article wasnt a press release so until i hear otherwise, ian is staying.

Who's the new Link understudy?? And any understudies scheduled???

That was my thought too, but their certainty made me a little unsure.

I hope he wont, I am going to see it again in March and would love to see him again.



Michael Vinsen is the new Link understudy, He is normaly Brad

Charlotte Riby is on first week of December, also she's doing Thirsday matinees.