HAIRSPRAY LIVE! Viewing Thread — Page 12
Posted: 12/7/16 at 11:12pm
Not as good as Grease, but better than The Wiz. A great great night that the country needed after a stressful, hard year with a message of hope. Maddie didn't blew me away, but she was still wonderful as Tracy. Harvey Fierstein IS Edna and he made that known this evening. Jennifer Hudson was the real star this evening and defines stealing the show. Give her a Emmy NOW! Derek Hough was perfect for Corny! Garret Clayton was a cute Link and Dove Cameron was the perfect Amber. Martin Short was adorable as Wilbur and Epihram was wonderful as Seaweed. Same wit the little girl as Inez. Kristin Chenoweth slayed it as Velma. The biggest disappointment was Ariana Grande for Penny who was surprisingly bland and emotionless. Other than that, I'm satisfied and it was great to see my favorite show on TV. :) Curious about Bye, Bye Birdie
Updated On: 12/7/16 at 11:12 PM
Posted: 12/7/16 at 11:13pm
Mrtrobz said: "I think the best live TV musical I have seen using the set approach has been the UK version of Sound of Music, the sound, camera work, sets and performances where all pretty great, it perhaps was a bit joyless but technically it was seemless."
that production blew my mind with how fantastic the live camera work was. yes a little joyless but still a very good production (plus Julian Ovenden singing anything is a joy)
Posted: 12/7/16 at 11:17pm
That writer thinks Hudson slipped away from the spotlight recently??
Posted: 12/7/16 at 11:18pm
gypsy101 said: "Mrtrobz said: "I think the best live TV musical I have seen using the set approach has been the UK version of Sound of Music, the sound, camera work, sets and performances where all pretty great, it perhaps was a bit joyless but technically it was seemless."
that production blew my mind with how fantastic the live camera work was. yes a little joyless but still a very good production (plus Julian Ovenden singing anything is a joy)
"
Well as joyless as you can get for a story set in Nazi Germany. :p
It was stellar looking though, by far the best thing about Hairspray is it's music and choreography and that shined. There was a lot of little imperfections, more than I've noticed in anyother live broadcast I could hear crew talking during scenes on my TV and the camera/sound work and direction was shoddy but the cast were strong for the most part and the material was good enough to elevate most of the problems, it's a show with a lot of heart and a feel good message perfect for the holiday season.
Posted: 12/7/16 at 11:20pm
That writer thinks Hudson slipped away from the spotlight recently??
Well she has. That is what 6 months on Broadway will do to your career.
Posted: 12/7/16 at 11:20pm
AKarp2013 said: "Despite a few technical glitches and some really awkward pacing I thought tonight was by far the best out of all the live musicals. Technical wise, I thought Grease Live had the best camerawork but because Hairspray is such a joyous show with brilliant material, you are able to look past some of that.
If I recall correctly, The Wiz Live had quite a bit of sloppy camera work that was patched up for the DVD. I say it's a pretty safe bet that the camera issues will be solved for the DVD of this.
My main issue was the sound. I could barely hear the performers at times or the mic cut out altogether. Hopefully this will also be adjusted for the DVD.
I thought the entire cast brought their A-game and gave it their all.
All in all, a great success tonight and looking forward to getting the DVD later this month!
"
Yep. The sound was mediocre. Even within the same sequence. Jennifer Hudson's first song her vocal was on top until they brought in the rest of the cast (and as the credits showed, additional chorus for sweeteners) and they lost the mix. All the drop outs during Good Morning Baltimore, missed pickups, I could go on. It lacked presence.
Posted: 12/7/16 at 11:23pm
Dallas Theatre Fan said: "Just a random thought, Marissa''s costume for Welcome to the 60s looks strangle close to her You Can't Stop the Beat costume from Broadway. "
Hmm. I don't know, I think all Pinko ladies look like weird pink Oompa Loompas
Posted: 12/7/16 at 11:25pm
Sound was not the only technical problem. Lighting plagued the entire night, with the scenes in Motormouth Mabel's shop way too dark. The only time the lighting completely lit the scene was in the final TV broadcast and then the lights were not period-appropriate. Clay Paky Sharpys were not around in the 60s.
Posted: 12/7/16 at 11:25pm
I enjoyed it but it had major flaws. Acting wise it was great. Jennifer hudson was outstanding. She was the best part about the show. Link could have been better singing wise. Ariana did a great job. Little inez was great, seaweed was great. Derek did a great job. Maddie was a great tracy. And harvey did a great job as edna. He was much better than john travolta. Kristen chenoweth was amazing as velma and dove was great. Production wise it was great. The sets were really cool also.
Posted: 12/7/16 at 11:30pm
Posted: 12/7/16 at 11:31pm
Jumping back to bww with some thoughts.
jhud, Harvey and short stole the show, IMO. "Timeless to Me" was the best number by far, but Hudson out sang everyone by SO far...And seemed so comfy in her skin! Much better than her perf in "TCP"! Much better acted. Maddiie seemed winded when she was dancing, but was fine and a nice singer. Grande was funny, but surprisingly not powerful vocally, made me miss Kerry. Better than Bynes tho. Very nice work by Cameron and Sykes!! They were great! Sad that Cheno came off so meh! Kudos for closing the spray can, tho....and stop ending every song with a high note!! We were over that since "Maybe This Time"! Staaaahp! Bad camera work , lighting and sound problems... Bad direction, sloppy, IMO. Grease, SOM and the Wiz were better. Still fun.
"In Oz, the verb is douchifizzation." PRS
Posted: 12/7/16 at 11:32pm
Posted: 12/7/16 at 11:34pm
Posted: 12/7/16 at 11:47pm
doodlenyc said: "Sad that Cheno came off so meh! Kudos for closing the spray can, tho....and stop ending every song with a high note!! We were over that since "Maybe This Time"! Staaaahp!"
Speak for yourself, I never got over it. And both her songs are written to end in a high note.
Posted: 12/7/16 at 11:48pm
Rave from Hollywood Life
http://hollywoodlife.com/2016/12/07/hairspray-live-review-ariana-grande-derek-hough/
Posted: 12/7/16 at 11:51pm
Just to refresh my recollection of Winokur's performance, I thought Maddie was actually a better singer. I agree there were places where she was winded, but if you look at Winokur's Tony's performance, so is she. YCSTB is a really difficult song to perform. It's a modern patter song plus active dancing. You're going to run out of breath if you're not really disciplined. Perhaps with enough performances Maddie wouldn't have had the issues, but then she also wouldn't have been running around a backlot between numbers either.
Posted: 12/7/16 at 11:55pm
Variety loved it, calling it NBC's best yet.
TV Review: ‘Hairspray Live!’ Dynamic, colorful, and stacked with stellar performances, NBC’s ‘Hairspray Live!’ is its best musical yet variety.com
Posted: 12/8/16 at 12:03am
The Associated Press is a Rave, especially for Hudson
"Hairspray Live!" had one special trick up its sleeve — but this pyrotechnic was very human. Just when it seemed that the show would evaporate into a cloud of corny bubbles, the glorious Jennifer Hudson would arrive and produce the soulful gravity that the show needed. (Her "I Know Where I've Been" was simply jaw-dropping).
http://www.wral.com/review-hairspray-live-pushes-the-boundaries-and-wins-big/16318399/
Updated On: 12/8/16 at 12:03 AM
Posted: 12/8/16 at 12:08am
I never got over it. And both her songs are written to end in a high note.
Srsly? How many IMO,s can I type? Disagree? cool. Don't be a cheno douche. Written that way? Okay. It didn't work. IMO!!
"In Oz, the verb is douchifizzation." PRS
Posted: 12/8/16 at 12:08am
I always get excited at the thought of these but once the commercials start coming every five to seven minutes, totally killing the energy and timing, I get depressed. Derek, Dove, and Andrea are giving 100% all the time. The best thing so far was the Wicked commercial. We don't get to see that out in the sticks. West Coast viewer so still looking forward to JH and YCSTB.
Posted: 12/8/16 at 12:11am
I loved Hairspray on stage, hated it on screen and beginning to doubt why this was ever considered to be a live television musical. Maybe it would have been much better, had they pre-recorded it. Technically it was the first live broadcast that was a mess, not that the other three did not have issues but Hairspray was bad.
I have said this before and will say it again but something is not right when it comes to the selection of titles. There are lot of musicals that would make a great broadcast at this time of the year, White Christmas, Cinderella, The King and I, Oliver, Annie, Newsies, just naming a few that comes to mind. Maybe one of the problems NBC has is simply a race against time between broadcasts.
Posted: 12/8/16 at 12:29am
Deadline is Mixed with some positive
The eleven o’clock number, “I Know Where I’ve Been,” delivered with roof-raising authority by a blonde-wigged Jennifer Hudson, followed her equally rousing duet with Fierstein “Big, Blonde and Beautiful,”as the high points of the three-hour telecast.
http://deadline.com/2016/12/hairspray-live-review-1201866323/
Posted: 12/8/16 at 12:31am
