2 Nights of Toronto's Hairspray IN AN ROW! (short reviews)

[Link Larkin Wanabe]

Posted: 11/14/04 at 12:57pm

YAY!

I got to go to 2 consecutive nights of Toronto's Hairspray and I was blown away. Last time I went was in April during previews, and the cast has definitely improved and the show runs very smoothly.

Wednesday, Nov. 10th:
There were quite a few understudies on this night. Nicolas Dromard was on sa Corny, and was WAY better than Paul who normally plays the role. Lindsay Thomas was on as Shelley and was alright, but not as amazing as Allyson Smyth normally is. The actor playing Thad was sick both nights so they had a swing, Ryan Wilson, playing him...but HE WAS WHITE! hah..it was pretty funny and my brother who didn't even know the show thought it was weird. The best of the understudies was Felicia Dinwiddie who was on as Motormouth, who was brilliant. Overall the performance was pretty good, but the comic timing is still a bit off and the energy was a bit low this noght, but the audience was with it all the way and roaring with laughter. Sean Mathews as Seaweed was AMAZING and I thought he had improved the most since previews. His voice was always very storng, but his acting is now superb and he delivers a solid, funny character.

Thursday Nov. 11:
This night most of the leads were in and very few understudies were on. The energy and comic timing that were lacking the previous night were there and the cast put on a superb show, but the audience sucked and didn't even get half the jokes. The most laughs were had when Sprizter's mustache fell off in a scene and Velma and Corny started laughing. I still have issues with Michael Torontow's Link Larkin...besides me wanting that role for myself . He is too old and altough he is a fine singer, the character stays two dimensional and kind of whiny. That role is written so well and has such potential to make a funny, complicated charater, and he doesn't seem to be doing that with the character. Then again maybe it was a bad week for him, who knows. Vanessa, Jay and Tom win over the Audience quickly as the turnblads, giving their bropadway counterparts a run for their money. Jennifer Stewart, while no Kerry Butler, has improved greatly as Penny and has made her very endearing. Fran jaye was the standout of the night as Motormouth and she brought the house down. I have a feeling that she will be headed to Broadway in this role once the show closes here because she is just too good not to.

Overall the shows have been amazing and it still remains my favourite show in town. I will probably see it once more before it closes this month...(Marc and Scott, any idea what night you guys are coming?) I leave the theatre with such joy, and I love embaressing my friends with the fact that at the end I stand up and dance the actual choreography. I can only hope one day I will play Link Larkin and bring people the same joy the show gives me.

Akiva

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 11/14/04 at 1:05pm

hairspray is great....gotta go again here in new york soon....im dying to see bruce villanch's take on edna

[Link Larkin Wanabe]

Posted: 11/14/04 at 1:06pm

Well the people I spoke to weren't too impressed. But then again SOMEBODY must have liked him to give him the role, so enjoy.

Akiva

[BlueWizard]

Posted: 11/14/04 at 1:54pm

I still have issues with Michael Torontow's Link Larkin...besides me wanting that role for myself . He is too old and altough he is a fine singer, the character stays two dimensional and kind of whiny. That role is written so well and has such potential to make a funny, complicated charater, and he doesn't seem to be doing that with the character.

Really? I must say I love Michael Torontow as Link! He's easily one of the most energetic and enthusiastic members of the cast; if you ever see him in the big cast numbers, he's the one pulling out all the stops and giving it his all. It's very impressive and rather endearing. And I really like his interpretation of Link. I didn't find his performance one-dimensional at all; I found that he understood the tongue-in-cheek nature of the character and the whole show, and played it off very well. Plus, he perfectly balanced his hunkiness with his nerdiness, which made him all the more irresistable! I had problems with him during previews, but I think he's grown into a fantastic Link for me.

One Toronto cast member who has been strangely overlooked is Susan Henley, who I think is a PERFECT Velma Von Tussle. She has great stage presence and is in tight control of her character, with perfect coming timing and a strong, clear singing voice.

I know a lot of people like Fran Jaye as Motormouth (she receives a huge ovation after "I Know Where I've Been"), but I wasn't too impressed by her slurring of words. The lyrics to her songs become really jargled by her lack of pronunciation, so it's hard to make out what she's singing.

Still, the Toronto production is spectacular. Vanessa Olivarez has really, really grown into her role well. She's a superb, comical, loveable Tracy.

I have tickets for the closing performance on November 28th....Marc, you coming?

Updated On: 11/14/04 at 01:54 PM

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 11/14/04 at 6:47pm

YAY for Nicolas Dromard. I am DYING tos ee his Link and Corny.

[Link Larkin Wanabe]

Posted: 11/15/04 at 9:51am

BlueWizard: like I said...I may biased because Link is a role i got a callback for in the Toronto auditions and had to miss due to other issues. And maybe because I have thought too long and hard about how I would play thje character and it's just that Michael doesn't match that image. I do agree with the energy though.

BG2: Yeah he was a great Corny and I have a feeling that I would really enjoy his Link more than that of Michael's. Oh and I might get a backstage tour sometime before it closes either by Sheldon Smith (a swing who I have seen on as both Sketch anf Fender) or Chrisitne Rossi (Brenda and understudy for Penny), who are both friends of friends. I'll keep you posted on that.

Akiva

[millie_dillmount]

Posted: 11/15/04 at 10:30am

I probably have to wait to see the tour, which is coming next September!

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 11/15/04 at 6:28pm

broadwayguy 2 enjoys the Sheldon Smith.

[Rollergirl]

Posted: 11/16/04 at 12:55am

Hi! I just wanted to thank you for your kind words!!! Let me know next time you come to the show!!! (Alison, "Shelley" "u/s Tracy") P.S. I got to do it 3 times!

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 11/16/04 at 4:40am

hey, Alison,
haven't seen you in these parts for a while now. I hope the last bit of the run goes well for you and I am so glad that you got to go on as Tracy a few times. There's nothing like Hairspray and Tracy HAS to be an experience...

[jesseeinstein]

Posted: 11/16/04 at 6:30am

Cool little thing-we're doing Without Love as one of the songs for my school's Musical Theater group. It's a school for the arts, It's a pretty awesome group, 3 years ago we performed for Sondheim and met him after it was great! ANYWAYS the point I was getting to- The director of the Toronto cast came into the school and recreated the choreography! It was a good time and it's gonna be a great number! Just kinda cool.

[Rollergirl]

Posted: 11/17/04 at 12:43pm

I loved every minute of every Tracy performance. Just felt so right. But I love Shelley too. She's crazy . . . It's really too bad we have to end 3 months early - NEXT sunday! Yikes! But on to new things, right?

Going to come to the show one more time? *wink*

Updated On: 11/19/04 at 12:43 PM

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 11/17/04 at 1:08pm

Rollergirl,

Hairspray is my favorite show and I would have come up closing weekend to see the Toronto company, but I'll be away for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Best of luck!!!

[maggiwun]

Posted: 11/17/04 at 8:49pm

We will traveling to see Hairspray for the first time Saturday. Glad we were able to catch it before it closes. Break a leg, everybody!