HAIRSPRAY is next NBC Musical... — Page 39

Add me to the list of people who think Ariana is miscast. Even she couldn't ruin "Without Love" for me though. It's my favorite and this is a great version. And I thought Jennifer Hudson knocked it out of the park on "I Know Where I've Been."

Pleasantly surprised by Derek Hough! I've grown annoyed with him on DWTS but who knew he could sing? Maddie is decent, but definitely missing a little something on the recording. Hopefully she will be a little more... just --more-- on the broadcast. Looking forward to Wednesday night!

My fave songs on the soundtrack are big blonde and beautiful Jennifer took it and made it her own and can no one else compare, nicest kids in town Derek is the perfect corny, run and tell that I love how ephraim sang it he added some riffs, mama i'ma big girl now is a great song and the girls do it justice Ariana reminds me of Kerry butler but the edge goes to Kerry and welcome to the 60s maddie sung the hell out it and Harvey has never sounded better. I also loved the other songs even miss Baltimore crabs Kristin is funny in that role of Velma. Without love is one of my faves too Garrett is smooth with his vocals in it as is ephraim

Here's my breakdown...

Maddie - a little too pretty sounding for me without quite as much character, but she definitely has a great voice

Ariana - SO disappointed as I thought she had great potential, but she is most definitely playing Ariana here. Where is the meek girl who comes out of her shell when she meets Seaweed? Supposedly she loves Kerry's performance in the OBC recording, so one would think she understands that transformation. Ariana's Penny is the same throughout.

Derek - decent voice, and I'm sure they'll give him some dancing to show off those moves

Jennifer - powerhouse voice, but we'll see about the acting

Kristin - over-the-top and desperate sounding which is exactly who Velma is

Harvey - as good as always

Elijah - sounds pretty good, and like Derek, I'm sure the dance moves will put me over the edge about his performance

Garrett - they didn't give him a whole lot to do, but he does pretty well with what he has

The rest of the cast (Dove, Martin, etc.) are all pretty good, and make me look forward to seeing the whole thing put together with costumes, lights, choreo, and sets. Can't wait for Wednesday!

It will be interesting to see if Ariana sounds differently doing it live, in the moment, as opposed to recording it in a studio. Let's hope there's more character when it's the actual show...

My thoughts on the whole album. I’m going to do it by song, so beware.

Good Morning Baltimore – I’ve always hated to “oh, oh, ohs” since the OBCR. Always, the challenge here is to make that sound tolerable. Winokur couldn’t do it, Blonsky made it sound more florid and natural, and Baillio acquits herself nicely as the middle ground here, tipping more toward the Blonsky style. The rest of it didn’t necessarily make me jump out of my seat and get on board outright, but moreso intrigued me enough to have me continue on.

The Nicest Kids in Town – Hough sounds like a natural host and not borderline caricature like Clarke Thorell on the OBCR. This serves him well on the TWO songs Corny is supposed to have (more on this later). Also, why do they always change the Council Kids every damn time? For the OBCR, 10 was fine because you didn’t need a huge ensemble on Broadway. For the film, 20 works, because you want to fill the medium with the material. Here, we have an awkward four extra council members beyond the originals, and it doesn’t strike me well. Also, what the hell kind of name is “Kooks”?

Mama, I’m a Big Girl Now – I just love the mixing of Broadway divas as the motherly trio (Chenoweth, Fierstein, and Andrea Martin). Other than that, I don’t ever find this song exciting, coupled with the fact that this is the first incident on the album where Ariana Grande is a letdown.

I Can Hear The Bells – Okay, maybe I spoke to soon on Grande. Her intermittent dialogue here is pitch perfect in its delivery. In this song, though, Baillio acquits herself nicely (a phrase I’ll continue to use), but seems to show restraint in going for those notes that I feel are somewhere inside of her.

The Legend of Miss Baltimore Crabs – Chenoweth rocked this song in the way I feel it was meant to be done. She exhibited vocal proficiency while making the character’s grandiosity a highlight. I loved Michelle Pfeiffer’s “sexy” Velma, but with Chenoweth, you get the impression that the crazy is in there just waiting to pop out.

Ladies’ Choice – No. No no. No no no. This one was very much a misfire in my opinion. While the orchestration left something to be desired (the faded ending with Derek still singing gets a no from me), the main problem here was giving it to Derek Hough for two reasons. 1) It makes no damn sense in the context of the show because, at least in the film, it serves as almost a joining of creative forces between Tracy, Link, and Corny. Also, Hough cannot sell this song like Zac Efron did.

It Takes Two – Garrett Clayton does fine with the “crooner” side of Link, but I always felt this song brought everything to a crashing halt. It also seems superfluous with the addition of “Ladies’ Choice”

Velma’s Revenge – There’s obviously no “official” recording of this song (unless you count “Save Your Applause Til The End”, a Christine Ebersole bonus track that sampled these lyrics), so comparisons are moot, but again, Chenoweth SELLS it. It’s here we see Velma’s crazy grandiosity and inner Mama Rose start to come out and it works.

Welcome To The 60s – I enjoyed this number because it felt more genuine and bouncy than it’s predecessors. Baillio nails her part with naïve optimism and HARVEY FIERSTEIN SOUNDS SO MUCH BETTER THAN THE OBCR. It’s nice to actually hear what he is actually saying instead of the original’s gravelly growling. Shoutout to the Dynamites for pretty much staying the same and owning it, as well as the seamless integration of Mr. Pinky into the song, which I enjoyed quite a bit.

Run and Tell That – Ephraim Sykes is not Elijah Kelley, nor will he ever be. He keeps the vocals very much grounded for this one, and that’s respectable, but after hearing it done with vocal pyrotechnics, it’s also a bit of a let-down.

Big, Blonde and Beautiful – Speaking of vocal pyrotechnics, holy crap! While she oversells the beginning prologue a bit, once in the main song, Jennifer Hudson proves to be the Motormouth Maybelle I never knew I needed. I also get to hear Martin Short for the first time and, well, he’s a little flat. Also, it sounds like Tracy’s going to jail in this version. Cool.

You’re Timeless to Me – This a very hokey song that plays well if you sell it at just the right level of cheese. While Harvey fills his role in the song with aplomb (again, snaps for actually being audible), I’m actually a bit disappointed in Martin Short. For someone whose illustrious career has been filled with various levels of goofballs, his Wilbur sounds very reserved and the kook factor doesn’t translate on the CD. I hope his actual performance has a bit more comedic traction.

Good Morning Baltimore (Reprise) – Tracy’s in jail. Cool. Nothing really to comment on here other than Winokur is once again on the losing end of a battle with Baillio.

Without Love – Garrett Clayton sounds like he’s playing Link with a little more innocent earnestness and, maybe, a little less gloss than I’m used to. Link has always struck me as bit of a vacuous airhead that focuses on himself first, but here, Clayton sounds a bit more layered in his characterization. I sense genuine hurt coming from him. Sykes hits the right notes and gets by still in the shadow of his predecessor but, once again, the big letdown is Ariana Grande. Is it me, or is her voice getting lighter and airier by the song? I’m pretty much expecting her solo in the finale to be so high and wispy that only dogs can hear it.

I Know Where I’ve Been – J-Hud again! God bless. I don’t think I’ve ever heard so much raw soul go into this song before. It was enough to literally move me to tears. To quote “Family Guy”, it was “a voice with a soul that could only come from hundreds of years of black oppression”. This wasn’t just a diva moment, this was a call to action. To me, this is on the level of Audra McDonald’s “Climb Ev’ry Mountain”.

It’s Hairspray – Aaaaand we’re back to seeing Hough’s natural strengths as a man in front of the camera. Although he doesn’t have the slight perversion in his voice like James Marsden did. (I still love the line, “Hey baby, you look like you could use a stiff one.” That usually makes the song for me), he acquits himself nicely and sets us up for the appetizer before the main course.

Cooties – This song just sucks. I never really understood it’s necessity other than to give Amber an extended moment of pettiness that she’s already gotten in chunks throughout the show. Dove Cameron does a great job with the female ensemble and sounds a bit more refined than Laura Bell Bundy, but when you hate the song, it’s hard to appreciate the effort as a whole.

You Can’t Stop The Beat – I’ll love this song ‘til my dying day, but that doesn’t mean it’s exempt from my criticism for its unevenness. Baillio and Clayton are up first and I think this is truly Baillio’s shining moment on the album. Although she doesn’t hit all of the heights of Blonsky, she still brings that certain spark that’s needed to sell the song and Clayton is a great counterpart for her. This song was also the biggest Ariana Grande letdown of them all because, vocally, I don’t think she understands Penny’s journey and transformation here. Yes, her meek, airy wispiness comes in handy other places, but here is where Penny comes out of her shell and SELLS IT…and she did not. In terms of her being a “checkerboard chick”, I remain unconvinced. Fierstein does much better here than on the OBCR, since there is much more refinement in his voice. However, with Fierstein’s basso growl and the chipper ensemble, they drowned out poor Martin Short! I almost forgot he was in the number. But as seems to be the theme of the album, if she didn’t do it already, this is the moment where Jennifer Hudson walks away with the whole damn show. She didn’t sing, she SAAAAAANNNNGGGG.

(Come So Far) Got So Far To Go – This was unnecessary, and also a very weird pairing of voices. Sorry Ariana, but you truly shat the bed on this one. When you are vocally going toe-to-toe with Jennifer Hudson, SING. OUT.

I would have loved to see Diana Degarmo as Penny.

I had received tickets for tomorrow's final dress and Wednesday's live show and planned to fly out because of my excitement for the project and would have loved to have been a part of it. Just got an email saying "The production is eliminating one of the live audience sections, and as a result, there is no longer a place to accommodate your tickets on either Tuesday or Wednesday."

Looks like I gotta cancel my trip if there's no way I can see it. Would've loved to. For those who may think why I should cancel or even be willing to fly out, I love the show and the opportunity to have been in the live audience for the televised event may not come around again and I have to save for NY anyway when I go in May... even if I have to pay cancellation fees and whatnot. I knew that going in.

PatrickDC said: "I never hear any talk about understudies or standbys in these live TV broadcasts, the same way they are clearly listed in playbills, but certainly they must have them and they're fully prepped to go on if needed, right?



"

That'she a good question. I'm not really sure how that works.

The live cinemas the of Phantom's 25th was very corrugated to have a production of the show running in the same city when Wendy Ferguson needed to step into the role of Carlotta at the last minute. I'm not sure what they would do here.

^^^

That's me guys, I logged into the wrong account!

I'm pretty sure Queen Latifah had an understudy for The Wiz.

I'd take a wild guess and say that Paul Vogt is the standby for Harvey.

Actually, according to his Instagram, Paul Vogt is the Mr. Pinky understudy. Also for the Sound Of Music Live, some of the children had understudies.