Hairspray

Synopsis

Hairspray tells the story of geeky teen Tracy Turnblad - a big girl with a big heart, big dreams, a big stage mother and even bigger hair - who finds celebrity on TV dance programme. Can Tracy get the guy and still have time to change the world?

Our Review:

Simon Cole - 12 May 2010

The phenomenon that is Hairspray has wafted into Southampton as the latest stop on its UK tour, and has been greeted with a rapturous reception from a capacity audience.

There is no doubt that this production has brought with it a legion of admiring fans, who surely know every line of every song and who are up on their feet almost from the first bars of “Good Morning Baltimore”, which opens the first half. However, it is impossible for even those most hard-bitten cynics – such as myself – not to be won over by the sheer joy, optimism and high energy in this, the ultimate “feel good” show.

My first exposure to this story – that of plump teenager Tracy Turnblad who dreams of dancing on the local Corny Collins show and becoming “Miss Teenage Hairspray” whilst winning the heart of the handsome, would-be heartthrob Link Larkin – was in the 1980s cult movie version, which starred infamous drag-queen Divine ([Har...

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Latest User Review

Stephen - 27 May 2010:

fantastic show. sound wasnt great at soton. Cast gave 100% which is great. exposition in 1st half needed to be more pointed. Show is so well written that it cant really go wrong. Saw the west end preview and then 2 shows - michael ball has been consistently excellent in every one ( and I am not a michael ball fan!. Link could be bigger (but great enthusiasm)...

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