I saw the tour today at the MGM Grand at Foxwoods in Connecticut. I've seen the Broadway production 50+ times, but this was my first time seeing the show on tour.
I'm not sure if it's because I haven't seen the show since the closing performance on Broadway, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I particularly enjoyed Jerry O'Boyle as Edna; he reminded me of Blake Hammond in parts. After the "What are you wearing?" line, he ad-libbed "Prudy!" which cracked me up.
There were some cut lines and verses here and there, and a few blocking changes and lines given to other characters that threw me off, but nothing major. Nothing took away from my enjoyment of the show.
I didn't really have a problem with the cutbacks on the set or the manual movements either. I particularly liked the LED wall that replaces the "Lite Brite" wall from the Broadway production; they show some cool patterns on it that aren't seen on the "Lite Brite" wall, like shooting stars during "Without Love".
I'm not sure if they do this on all tour stops, but three cast members (probably the dance captain and two swings) came onstage during intermission and instructed the audience how to do the "You Can't Stop the Beat" choreography so we could dance with the cast at curtain call. It was cool to hear some of the nicknames that have been given to the different moves.
All in all, it was an enjoyable afternoon in Baltimore. I'm seeing the tour again in Waterbury on 1/7 and can't wait!
"The world is a better place because of hairspray." - Michael Ball