HAIRSPRAY LIVE! Viewing Thread — Page 13

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#301

HAIRSPRAY LIVE! Viewing Thread

Posted: 12/8/16 at 12:37am

I'd give it a solid A-. I thought it was the perfect choice of show (SO timely right now), and practically flawless casting. My only complaints were some sloppy camera and lighting work, and some uninspired staging decisions (Timeless to Me, I'm looking at YOU). This was NBC's best effort by a landslide, though Grease wins in terms of all technical aspects and overall energy. Excited to see if they can up their game further with Bye Bye Birdie....although I'm less excited by that musical in general....

....I'd kill to see a 'Pippin' on tv starring Pink as the Leading Player.

#302

HAIRSPRAY LIVE! Viewing Thread

Posted: 12/8/16 at 12:41am

The whole thing was a "meh." Not as bad as the lackluster "The Wiz," but it was just kind of boring. It's such a solid show, but there were no surprises or anything to make it exciting. I thought Dove and JHud were the highlights with Short and Harvey being close seconds - but of, course they're good. Grande left SO MUCH to be desired. She's a terrible actress and her breathy vocals didn't work in the part. Maddie was fine? I guess. I don't know. Her performance just didn't do anything for me either way.

The direction here was awful. Much like The Wiz - why is it staged as a proscenium show. Tracy watching the TV show could have been such a cool effect or cool camera work, but instead it's just so boring. There was no thought or concept put into this at all. Felt very safe and boring.

#303

HAIRSPRAY LIVE! Viewing Thread

Posted: 12/8/16 at 12:42am

The NY Times is Mixed with a Rave for Hudson.

Only Jennifer Hudson, who played Motormouth Maybelle, found the real strength of this Tony-winning musical, delivering a knockout rendition of “I Know Where I’ve Been,” a gospel-infused power number, late in the show.

All in all, it wasn’t an unpleasant revisiting of a great musical; it just wasn’t a particularly coherent or revelatory one. Now someone just needs to mount a Broadway revival and cast Ms. Hudson in it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/08/arts/television/review-hairspray-live.html?_r=0

Maybe she really will get an Emmy nomination!

#304

HAIRSPRAY LIVE! Viewing Thread

Posted: 12/8/16 at 12:55am

I had an absolute blast watching the show, which I think was phenomenally cast from top to bottom. Yes, there were some glitches, but they didn't take away from the overall success of the show for me.

Having praised the cast as a whole, I do have to give a shout-out to Maddie Baillio, who absolutely slayed every single one of the songs she was involved in, and who really needs to be given a chance to shine on Broadway.

A+

Updated On: 12/8/16 at 12:55 AM

#305

HAIRSPRAY LIVE! Viewing Thread

Posted: 12/8/16 at 1:08am

What is the percentage of edits in previous transfers from broadcast to DVD?

Anyone have any estimation?

#306

HAIRSPRAY LIVE! Viewing Thread

Posted: 12/8/16 at 1:17am

I loved Ariana and don't understand why other people didn't. Every line she spoke made me laugh out loud. She really is masterful at comedy, from Victorious, to Scream Queens, especially in Saturday Night Live, and now this.

They/them. "Get up the nerve to be all you deserve to be."

#307

HAIRSPRAY LIVE! Viewing Thread

Posted: 12/8/16 at 1:20am

Just curious why they used the original choreography?

Probably because both the original production and this TV production were choreographed by Jerry Mitchell.

#308

HAIRSPRAY LIVE! Viewing Thread

Posted: 12/8/16 at 1:24am

CindersGolightly said: "I loved Ariana and don't understand why other people didn't. Every line she spoke made me laugh out loud. She really is masterful at comedy, from Victorious, to Scream Queens, especially in Saturday Night Live, and now this.

"

I thought Ariana was awesome too.

#309

HAIRSPRAY LIVE! Viewing Thread

Posted: 12/8/16 at 1:25am

I think most people just have very fond memories of the way Penny was portrayed in the Broadway musical, which was a little bit more energetic and much weirder. Ariana was just a little bland to me. I kinda forgot she was even in it after a while. She did make me laugh a few times, though. But I doubt many people would ever say that she is "masterful at comedy." She basically does the same shtick in everything she's in. Nothing masterful about it.

My two favorite Penny's will always be Kerry Butler and Diana Degarmo.

#310

HAIRSPRAY LIVE! Viewing Thread

Posted: 12/8/16 at 1:25am

If they don't stabilize some of those shaky shots for the DVD it'll be a real shame. Especially since most of us can stabilize shaky videos on our phones now. The camera always seemed to be shaking during some of the more dramatic moments.

#311

HAIRSPRAY LIVE! Viewing Thread

Posted: 12/8/16 at 1:32am

Interesting how forgiving people are when they are watching live theatre and an actor forgets a line or a set piece doesn't work.

Yet when they watch a live TV special, it instantly gets rip because of a bad camera shot or malfunctioning prop.

You do realize how much more complex live TV shows are?

Sharing the Broadway love with everyone every day on Instagram @broadway.bounce

#312

HAIRSPRAY LIVE! Viewing Thread

Posted: 12/8/16 at 2:07am

Calling Ariana masterful at comedy is just a disgrace to comedy. Penny is a great chatcter and if I had no idea that Penny was supposed to be comedic, I'd think she was just a pretty girl that prented to be a dork. She want good. Besides Link and Ariana, the whole cast was superb and I absolutely enjoyed it. The best live musical yet.

#313

HAIRSPRAY LIVE! Viewing Thread

Posted: 12/8/16 at 2:12am

No! no! no! My DVR didn't record this!

Anywhere I can watch it? I'm devastated. Saw "Amelie: The Musical" over this

#314

HAIRSPRAY LIVE! Viewing Thread

Posted: 12/8/16 at 2:14am

smallvillefan16 said: "No! no! no! My DVR didn't record this! Anywhere I can watch it? I'm devastated. Saw "Amelie: The Musical" over this"

first guess is the internet, but i believe NBC will probably show it again soon like they've done for some of the past live musicals.

"Contentment, it seems, simply happens. It appears accompanied by no bravos and no tears."

#315

HAIRSPRAY LIVE! Viewing Thread

Posted: 12/8/16 at 2:29am

I'm sure NBC will present a few "encore" broadcasts in the coming week like they have for all their previous musicals.

And you really should catch this one....a fantastic show!

Sharing the Broadway love with everyone every day on Instagram @broadway.bounce

#316

HAIRSPRAY LIVE! Viewing Thread

Posted: 12/8/16 at 2:36am

After The Wiz last year NBC was showing a replay instantly online, anyone have a replay link?! Can't find one.

#317

HAIRSPRAY LIVE! Viewing Thread

Posted: 12/8/16 at 4:36am

l really enjoyed the show, despite hating the Darren Criss and viewing party stuff. I guess they needed that to pad the show for three hours and fill in some gaps between ads.

I also noticed the bad sound mixes. The leads' mics were not boosted enough and often got lost in the ensemble. The problem was particularly bad on fast numbers like You Can't Stop the Beat, but it was noticeable even on songs like I Know Where I've Been. Hopefully, that will be cleaned up for the DVD and maybe an encore broadcast.

#318

HAIRSPRAY LIVE! Viewing Thread

Posted: 12/8/16 at 6:19am

As stated, I really enjoyed this...by far the best "live " musical to date.

The musical numbers were the best part, with the book scenes suffering the most, bad diction, flubbed lines, and lack of character hurt many performers. which goes to the point some of us were discussing earlier: .great singing performances, but where does your emotions/character/life go while talking? Guilty of this was Derek, JHUD and Maddie.

But, as I nice change, the good far outweighed the bad....here's to moving forward!

If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it? These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.

#319

HAIRSPRAY LIVE! Viewing Thread

Posted: 12/8/16 at 7:37am

Gotta give them a lot of credit, this is easily the most elaborate live musical production to date, and yet they didn't shove it in our faces and only used it to enhance the show itself.

If if you haven't seen the show yet, or want to see it agin from another viewpoint. I highly recommend the Facebook Live video on the Hairspray Live page. It's literally the show show, but from behind and above what was shown onscreen, so in many ways it's better for us theatre folks. You get the see the magic behind the scenes as it happens, and there's a ton of wide shots to see the sets and staging in all their glory. (Also, strangely enough, the audio is better there at times.)

"Hey little girls, look at all the men in shiny shirts and no wives!" - Jackie Hoffman, Xanadu, 19 Feb 2008

#320

HAIRSPRAY LIVE! Viewing Thread

Posted: 12/8/16 at 7:42am

For me, it was an overambitious mess, but an enjoyable one. Not sure if they felt challenged to rise to the production levels of Grease, but whatever the reasons, it was overproduced and overdirected. It detracted from the piece.

"It does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are 20 gods or no god. It neither picks my pocket, nor breaks my leg." -- Thomas Jefferson

#321

HAIRSPRAY LIVE! Viewing Thread

Posted: 12/8/16 at 8:22am

Turned it off early and read a book instead. Bad camera work, lighting so dark that actors' faces were obscured, sound that seemed prerecorded much of the time. Fierstein is always a joy to watch, but Short and Chenoweth were not at their best, and I didn't find anyone else in the cast particularly compelling. And much as I really enjoyed the show back when it first opened, I don't think it has enough on the ball to improve with repeated viewing. For me it was a fail.

Why was "Good Morning, Baltimore" taking place at night?

Updated On: 12/8/16 at 08:22 AM

#322

HAIRSPRAY LIVE! Viewing Thread

Posted: 12/8/16 at 8:54am

"Why was "Good Morning, Baltimore" taking place at night?"

Because they shot it outside and it was strating to get dark in LA. I work in a school and it's still dark in the moring when I'm on the way there so I just though it was early morning Baltimore :)

I loved this. By far my favorite of the live TV musicals, in fact it's the first one I made it all the way through (never saw Grease live though). There were a few tech problems but it didn't impact my enjoyment of the show as a whole.

I thought the cast was great...except for Link. And it was great to be able to see all the original choreography again.

And what a great message to have on TV after this year's divisive election.

Two thumbs up, four stars, A+

#323

HAIRSPRAY LIVE! Viewing Thread

Posted: 12/8/16 at 8:55am

The NYT review preferred Travolta to Harvey...so their opinion is automatically invalidated.

"Oh look at the time, three more intelligent plays just closed and THE ADDAMS FAMILY made another million dollars" -Jackie Hoffman, Broadway.com Audience Awards

Updated On: 12/8/16 at 08:55 AM

#324

HAIRSPRAY LIVE! Viewing Thread

Posted: 12/8/16 at 8:58am

I rewatched the movie recently and liked Travolta's performance much more than I remebered. There's a sweetness to it. But no...not better than Harvey.

#325

HAIRSPRAY LIVE! Viewing Thread

Posted: 12/8/16 at 9:04am

I'll second what Entertainment Weekly said, "The live musical format feels like the right venue for Hudson — if I’m Zadan and Meron, I’m asking her what her favorite musical is and what she’s doing in December 2018."

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