Complaints about Michael Ball missing HAIRSPRAY performances (wink)

By Nigel Reynolds, Arts Correspondent
Last Updated: 2:21am GMT 29/10/2007

It is one of the greatest stage vanishing acts. Producers of a new West End musical have been taken aback by complaints from disappointed members of the audience that its advertised star, Michael Ball, keeps failing to appear.

The transformation into Edna Turnblad takes Michael Ball 40 minutes

Ball, one of the West End's highest-paid stars and hitherto instantly recognisable from a string of stage hits such as Les Miserables, The Phantom of the Opera and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, disappears for the entire show into the persona of an enormously overweight, agoraphobic, middle-aged, American "trailer trash" mother called Edna Turnblad.

As cross-dressing goes, his transformation is as convincing as Barry Humphries' alter ego, Dame Edna Everage – and maybe too good for some.



Full Article

"The musical, about a low-class American mother and daughter who dream of becoming famous"

Did I completely miss that about the musical? I know she wants to be on the Corny Collin's show, but I never got the impression it was because she wanted any degree of fame, she just wanted to be close to Link.

I know in the movie at least, there are a few lines about how she wants to be famous. I'm pretty sure it's the same in the stage version. I don't think it was ever just about Link.

Anthony Warlow told of a similar story in an interview. I forgot what role he was referring to - but people were complaining to the box office at intermission asking for their money back. When the box office people asked "Are you sure?" they'd say, "Yeah, Anthony Warlow's bald, and this guy has a full head of hair..."

You'd think both of these performers can be recognized by just their voices...