Hairspray Tour; 9/14

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 9/15/03 at 10:22am

I saw the performance yesterday afternoon and all I can say is WOW!!! Carly Jibson is something else. Her voice was amazing. She is absolutely adorable. I wish they would make another recording with her singing, but we know that will never happen. I don’t want to take anything away from Marissa’s performance because I liked her Tracy, but Carly definitely has the singing voice.

Bruce Villanch was fine. He was perfectly charming and the audience really seemed to like him. The supporting cast was great. Sandra Denise as Penny was wonderful. I loved the things she chose to do in character. She, too, has an amazing voice. I preferred Charlotte Crossley’s Motormouth Mabel to Mary Bond Davis on Broadway. I also preferred Susan Cella’s Velma von Tussle as opposed to Linda Hart’s version. The Baltimore Crabs number actually made sense.

Donna Vivino rocked during her bridge solo after “Mama I’m a Big Girl Now”. She’s also list as the Tracy understudy. Would love to see her when and if she goes on.

I found Joanna Glushak in the various female roles as the weakest link. Her characterizations just did not stand out. She wasn’t bad, just not memorable.

My only complaint with this as with other touring companies was that the 5 piece orchestras just don’t cut it. People are paying top dollar on the road (slightly less than Broadway), but not getting the size orchestra of a Broadway show. The musicians were fine, but you can definitely tell the difference.

The energy of the cast was infectious. I wish they were in Baltimore longer because I would definitely make the trip to see it again. For those of you able to see this touring company, buy your tickets as soon as the become available!!!

[dvd]

Posted: 9/15/03 at 11:12am

hiya...I agree with you so much (I saw the 1st preview) but you're 'slightly' mistaken about the orchestra...I asked the conductor (can't remember his name) and he said there are 5 'touring' musicians, but more added in each town... the only difference from Broadway is the 3 'real' string players are now replaced by 1 keyboard

I myself couldnt tell, but loved being able to see the band as opposed to on Broadway where they are covered by the stage

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 9/15/03 at 12:05pm

Thanks for the correction about the orchestra. Maybe it's the sound system at the Mechanic in Baltimore. I saw the tour of "Ragtime" there a couple of years ago and I remember the orchestra sounding kind of "tinny".

[BrdwyThtr]

Posted: 9/15/03 at 3:48pm

So does that mean they don't have the runway with the tour?

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 9/15/03 at 4:12pm

What runway?? It's been a while since I saw the Broadway production, but I don't recall seeing a runway yesterday. Where would it have been? Thanks.

The one thing I did notice was that Tracy's bedroom only had her bed. No record player, etc. on the floor.

Updated On: 9/15/03 at 04:12 PM

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 9/15/03 at 4:16pm

the runway that extends around the orchestra pit.

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 9/15/03 at 4:18pm

Definitely no runway on the tour.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 9/15/03 at 4:20pm

I din't think there would be.. I saw a pic of teh show partway through load in and they didn't ahave a runway up.. I figured if they had one, it would have been loaded in with the deck.

[BrdwyThtr]

Posted: 9/15/03 at 4:39pm

Darn! I love how they seem so close to the audience!