Hairspray 1/5

[Justice]

Posted: 1/6/05 at 12:26am

Can I just say , What an amazing ensemble this was. The cast was absolutely entertaining. Carly Jibson has some amazing stage presence, and Vilanch is HYSTERICAL! Tracy Miller was GREAT (if not More than...)as Penny, and Liz Larsen (u/s for Von Tussel) was outstanding. Everyone was superb, and the improv was so funny, especially when Prudence Pingleton stepped on someone's foot in the audience - she played that off so well "And you thought these were the good seats!".
If you haven't seen it, SEE IT!!!!

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 1/6/05 at 12:32am

care to comment on the DIVINE Power-Serge Kushnier as Sketch (and also the Hot Dog boy in Welcome to the 60s) and Johnny Hill as Fender??

[Justice]

Posted: 1/6/05 at 12:35am

Well, Besides the ensemble being wonderful, it did amaze me how the hot dog boy could push such heavy equipment around.

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 1/6/05 at 12:36am

i am going tomorrow - front row!

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 1/6/05 at 12:37am

Serge is definately the best dancer in the current cast in my opinion and you can't help but be won over by John. I am also fond of cameron Adams (Brenda), Becky Guslvig (Lou Anne) and Nicole Powell and Shayna Steele (2 of the Dynamites) Updated On: 1/7/05 at 12:37 AM

[PennyLou]

Posted: 1/6/05 at 12:41am

did you go to the night show? or the 2pm show? I was at the 2pm show today and Peter Mather Smith went on as Corney.. I love when he goes on in that part. It's a nice change.

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 1/6/05 at 12:43am

Mary Bond Davis is my favortie...OK, i'll have to learn the ensemble before tomorrow lol...

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 1/6/05 at 12:51am

PennyLou, who was on as Brad? Michael or Rusty? I enjoy Rusty, but am partial to Mikey.. he reminds me SO much of Josh Bergasse.

[Justice]

Posted: 1/6/05 at 12:53am

Was at the 8. Same Corny

[PennyLou]

Posted: 1/6/05 at 2:22am

I enjoy both Rusty and Michael as well! Rusty went on today.

Justice I figured you saw the Peter but I didn't want to guess and I didn't work the second show today so I wasn't sure. They you mentioned that Liz went on for Velma so I wasn't sure. But anyway yea, I like seeing Peter in that role once and a while!

[mleshawn]

Posted: 1/6/05 at 12:56pm

BROADWAYGUY2, where have you been I have missed you!!!!!!!

I think we all know my well documented love for Serge (check out www.sergekushnier.com) So I have a question. When I saw the show May 9 I thought the infamous kick off the hotdog stand that Serge does actually occurred to the side of the stage so much so that I almost missed it. Anyway when I saw the show in December the kick was front and center. Just wondering if I remembered it wrong or if the director moved the kick up front because, well, it is amazing..


In addition to all that I have to say that the seat I had in December was last row Mezz :cough: nose-bleed :cough: and I still LOVED the show. What energy, What Happiness, What Joy..


OK I am done now.....

www.sergekushnier.com Updated On: 1/6/05 at 12:56 PM

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 1/6/05 at 1:02pm

Everytime I have seen the show, the scisso-kick-push has always happened centerstage -- on the passarell on broadway and downstage on tour.

[ThePrinceOfHumbug]

Posted: 1/6/05 at 10:33pm

Liz Larson is stunning all around in her performance. I wish I was lucky enough to see her on as Velma. Her Pruddy/Teacher/Prison Matron is HYSTERICAL!!! (or however you spell it!) She was totally one of the top 2 highlights the last time I saw it!

[andyf]

Posted: 1/7/05 at 3:51pm

OK, saw the show last night.
I saw it once before with Kathy Brier and a really bad Penny who couldn't belt (yeah...imagine how much fun THAT was). Anyway, I always just attributed my extreme disliking of the show to the cast I saw.

Well last night after Chatterbox (buy the tape, it was INSANE last night) I stopped by the Neil Simon to see if they had any tickets left because I've heard the new cast is good and I've always wondered what that would be like. So at 7.40 I buy my ticket, Mezz, Row R, seat 125...$25. Can't really complain, except that I didn't have my glasses.

ANYWAY, Carly Jibson: EXCELLENT. Some REALLY weird vowel sounds in the beginning, but she was CRAAAAAAAAAAAACKED OOOOOOOOUT. I seriously don't know how her wig didn't just go flying off her head because INSANE. She's SO adorable and actually made me think I might not want to stab myself this time around.

Tracy Miller: Really good. Could definitely belt, but still lost the A flat (is that even an A flat?) in "Without Love," and her little section in "You Can't Stop the Beat" didn't change my life, but she was still really good. When she met Seaweed for the first time - EXCELLENT.

Bruce Vilanch: Pass. The only thing I will say about him is that I really wanted to kick him in the face, but this isn't Bruce Vilanch-specific. He did the same thing Hunter Foster did in LSOH that made me want to kick him in the face, too. You know sometimes people will have to give the audience a look and the whole moment is really awkward and it's leading up to a line and the whole thing is supposed to be funny. (Think Trekkie's reaction to Kate when she says "Normal people don't just sit at home, looking at porn on the internet.") Anyway, Bruce had one of those moments (as did Hunter in LS), and they held for laughter when there was NONE. It was just a REALLY dragged out moment that wasn't funny to begin with, but which become even less funny when you were waiting almost a minute for it to be over.

Jordan Ballard (Amber): Really good. I don't really remember my first Amber, but Jordan was really funny.

Chestory Gregory II: Whoa. Really good dancer. Crazy singer. Nice.

Julie Halston: Nothing special. Sorry, but she wasn't. She did have a funny adlib after the dodgeball scene. All the girls are walking off and she goes, "OK girls, who wants to take a shower? Extra credit! Extra credit!!!"

The Dynamites: Carla was good, Nicole scared me (her voice is REALLY deep), and Shayna was...well she's Shayna Steele, so that's evident. If I didn't have 45 things to do on January 10th, I'd DEFINITELY go to her Broadway Spotlight. She's awesome. I saw her at Scott Nevin's Holiday Show thing singing Mariah's "All I Want For Christmas Is You" - EXCELLENT.

Richard H. (Link): Really good voice. Didn't make the finale look so good. Nothing special again, not bad at all, he actually made me feel kind of bad that Link has like NOTHING to do.

I don't really have anything to say about John Hill, sorry.

OH! Liz Larsen was on as Velma. REALLY good. Definitely didn't hate her. She looked REALLY comfortable in the role, too.

And Peter Matthew Smith was on as Corny. He was good too, very standard. His voice fit the role REALLY well.

Anyway, Carly was OUT OF CONTROL. There were parts in the beginning, where she and Penny are watching the Corny Collins show and dancing along and Carly was going OUT OF CONTROL. Pretty much every time she moved, she went CRAZY, but it all worked and I really thought I might not hate the show this time.

But the curtain went down and I came to the conclusion it wasn't just Kathy Brier and my crap Penny who couldn't belt. I really just don't like Hairspray...at all. The cast was REALLY good and I really thought I wasn't going to hate it, but I definitely did. A LOT. Like I don't think I can ever go back. But Carly was AMAZING, so if you have a chance to see her, DO IT!!

I actually MIGHT go back if Leslie Kritzer went on. Her head shot is really cute and I really have a thing for second understudies.

But yeah...Hairspray - Sorry Marc Shaiman, but never again.
Carly Jibson - YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!
Tracy, Chestor, SHAYNA - EXCELLENT.
Shayna - Someone write her a show.


THE END.

PS - Do we like how I used the search feature and just bumped an old thread about the same show to write a new review? Brownie points??

EDITS: OK, after a quick conversation with your favorite Hairspray afficionado and mine, BG2, I need to do some editing.

#1 The extra credit thing is apparently scripted, so there was in fact NOTHING special about Julie's Prudy. She wasn't bad, but there was nothing special about her Prudy.

#2 I am SO sorry, BUT...I have just been informed that my mystery Penny was in fact....Jenn Gambatese. Let downs all around, kids.

#3 Tracy and Chester had REALLY good chemistry. They were both ADORABLE together. Just felt like revisiting that. Oh and in "Run and Tell That," Chester jumped SO many octaves at one point, I thought it was Penny. CRAZY. Really good. And again, REALLY good dancer.

#4 Sabrina Reitman (Lil Inez): If you don't want to read me going after a 10-year-old girl, skip ahead. Otherwise, I NEEEEEEED to kick this girl in the face. She is TOO happy and TOO sure of herself for NOT BEING GOOD. SHE'S NOT GOOD. I WANTED TO HURT HER.

#5 Carly really is REALLY good. And unlike my less-than-favorite OTHER Tracy, she really fit the role. She was SO excited about EVERYTHING and was just bouncing off the walls. She reminded me a lot of the first time I saw KC doing "Popular," except....not just in one number, but sustained throughout an entire show. Even at bows, she was SO excited.

OK I think that's it.

Updated On: 1/7/05 at 03:51 PM

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 1/7/05 at 4:13pm

Thanks for the review (and bumping up a thread that was recently started). I appreciate that you were trying to be objective about it. You stated what you liked and didn't like.

[andyf]

Posted: 1/7/05 at 4:17pm

Oooh I just read PrinceofHumbug's note about wanting to see Liz as Velma...because I did. She was SO comfortable in the role, it was awesome. And she looked great in the crazy Velma wigs.

[JeffG]

Posted: 1/7/05 at 4:41pm

"I NEEEEEEED to kick this girl in the face" etc
"I really wanted to kick him in the face"

Being cute or using this expression is anything but. Surely you could think of an intelligent way to express the fact that you didn't care for their portrayal. I thought you had some interesting points but your post was completely lost on me the second you decided to act like a 5 year old.

I also don't think you could have hated the show as much as you insist if you went back a second time and you implied you would go back a 3rd if Leslie Kritzer went on.

[andyf]

Posted: 1/7/05 at 5:00pm

Diagree, I really don't like the show.

In all fairness to you, BG2 said something along the same lines to me before. He said something to the effect of "It's actually a good show, you just need to see a good cast all around."

But I really liked most of the cast and even some of the characters; I just really don't like the show. I REALLY liked Carly, Tracy and Chester, and Tracy, Penny and Seaweed were really fun, but I just cannot handle that show.

So yes, I did go back a second time, but it was to see the new Tracy that everyone has been raving about (and I'm happy to report, rightfully so). Carly, again, was UNBELIEVABLE.

Frankly, I'm not about to get into a battle of semantics with you, but I went back to give the new cast a shot. I knew I already didn't like the show, but I went in open-minded anyway and under the impression that the reason I couldn't like the show the first time was because my leads were less than stellar. Unfortunately though, the curtain went down and I was left again, just kind of saying, "Oh....So that was Hairspray..." I can see how other people could like it, I mean I LOVE Millie so feel free to crucify me at any point, but I just really don't like the show.

So yes, I might even go back a third time, but to see Tracy...not to see Hairspray. Leslie Kritzer's headshot is ADORABLE and after Shoshana, I can't help it if I have an affinity for fat-suit Tracy's. I was also informed that my favorite ensemble girl, "Girl with dark hair in the green dress", also known as "Shelley" was played by Leslie. So I really might drag myself back to see her since she left an impression on me playing a role with hardly any lines and one solo.

And if I was going to pretend to hate a show just because it's fashionable...I would probably be doing so on a Brooklyn thread.

[Marc Shaiman]

Posted: 1/7/05 at 5:19pm

Well, it seems HAIRSPRAY is so good, that even people who don't like it go back and see it over and over!!! and even seem to enjoy most of it!!

listen, if you are paying for tickets, you come back and hate HAIRSPRAY all you like!!

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 1/7/05 at 5:25pm

Barabara Walsh, i thought, was better than Liz as Velma...

Sabrina is very good - especially at her age...

good point marc....

Bruce was hilarious - after the "Shabbat Shalmom" line only a few people laugehd (including me (being Jewish)). So he turned to Todd and said, "six Jews and the two of us."

After the show, when he came out, I said, "Yeah, we (my mom and i) are 2 of the Jews." He said, "Oh yeah?" Then this lady to the left of me said, "We're Jewish." And the lady to the right said, "We're also Jewish. We can form a minyon!"

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 1/7/05 at 5:26pm

Oh, and FYI: I just posted a thread (by accident) about Hairspray in the OT boards....and oops this was supposed to be an edit!

[Justice]

Posted: 1/7/05 at 9:06pm

BSo - did we see the same show?

[ThePrinceOfHumbug]

Posted: 1/7/05 at 10:55pm

BSoBW2,

Definitely wasn't taking anything away from Barbara Walsh. I saw her the last time I was at the show and she is great. She really gives Velma that self-centered living vicariously through her daughter attitude. You almost expect her to say "We" rather than "you" when she is talking to Amber.

That said, Liz seemed to have such a great presence on the stage that I think would love to see her in the role of Velma to see what she does with it.

Can't comment on the comparison of the 2 since Barbara was Velma both times I saw the Broadway show.

[More Cowbell]

Posted: 1/7/05 at 11:16pm

I saw the show last month and Bruce made the same exact "six Jews" comment. Also, Prudence stepped on someone's foot and said the same exact thing.

I totally thought those were improvised! So disillusioned.

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 1/7/05 at 11:25pm

oh, i was comparing liz and barbara -but yes, Liz was very good, but i like that "rougher" "older" sounding voice.

Justice, what do you mean?

Really, he made the joke then, too? Did he also say "must be in Florida?"

Eh, I still said something to him after the show...