"Hairspray" Tour Review, Miami 02/25/06

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 2/26/06 at 12:50am

"Hairspray" Tour Review, Miami 02/25/06

OUT: Caissie Levy (Penny Lou Pingleton,) Alan Mingo Jr (Seaweed J. Stubbs)

IN: Hayley Podschun (Penny Lou Pingleton,) Dashuan Young (Seaweed J. Stubbs)

SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCE: Keala Settle was in as Tracy Turnblad for Act 1 of tonight's performance. Her standby, Christine M. Danelson, was in as Tracy Turnblad for Act 2. [Intermission went ten minutes over what it was supposed to, so I had a feeling something was wrong. Sure enough, the lights went down, and an announcement came over saying "For the continuation of tonight's performance, the role of Tracy will be played by Christine M. Danelson." I was really suprised, because Keala sounded so good, that I couldn't possibly fathom how she could be sick. But the show had to go on, and it did....]

SEATS: Center Pit Row D, Seat 106 (First Row)

WHERE: Jackie Gleason Center for the Peroming Arts

Keala Settle (Tracy Turnblad, Act 1:) What an infectious performer! From the minute she took the stage, you couldn't help but root for Keala's Tracy. I felt she was far superior vocally to the role's originator, Marisa Jaret Winokur. Boy can Keala belt and riff! She just sang the HELL out of the score. And her facial expressions and reactions to the things going on around her were priceless. She was just a big ball of energy, and went nuts! Her vocals reminded me ALOT of Shoshana Bean's when she went on as Tracy She looked like she was having a ton of fun, and her dancing was also really impressive.

* Christine M. Danelson (Tracy Turnblad, Act 2:) Christine was very very very good. Like Keala, she is a very strong singer, and I also felt that her vocals were superior to Marissa's. Her acting was also good, even though her Tracy wasn't as bold and out going as Keala's. The only thing that I noticed that would let on that she was a Standby was her facial expressions... she seemed to really only alternate between two different expressions. It didn't hinder her performance too much, since, like I said, her acting and singing were both excellent, but it was noticeable. Other than that, I really liked her alot.

J.P. Dougherty (Edna Turnblad:) What a hoot! J.P. was just hysterical as Edna. I am not at all suprised that he stood by for Harvery for 2 1/2 years. He is such a pro! And unlike both Harvey and Bruce Vilanch, he actually has a really nice voice when he sings in a normal pitch. The only fault I had with his Edna was that he kind of gave the character a southern accent... whether that was intentional or not I don't know, but I did pick up on it.

Jim J. Bullock (Wilbur Turnblad:) One of the MVP's of the night. I have seen (*coughs bootlegs coughs*) the show before, and never really cared about Wilbur, even when Dick Latessa played it, but for the first time, I really rallied for him. Jim did a great job of making him the perfect combo of touching and humorous, and I really enjoyed his performance.

Aaron Tveit (Link Larkin:) He was just alright for me. I liked Aaron's acting, and he deffinetly had the charm and charisma needed for Link, but he didn't even attempt the high notes Matt sang. he just sang them much lower, and that kind of bothered me. Otehr than, he was just... okay.

Susan Henley (Velma Von Tussle:) Susan had a really nice voice. Very powerful. She was funny, but not over the top, and her "Miss Baltimore Crabs" was really good. Overall, I liked her.

Tara Macri (Amber Von Tussle:) Another performance that just left me going... eh. Tara was infectious and bubbly and dumb blonde-esque, but I didn't feel like she nailed that mean, bitchy side to Amber. It was kind of like she was just saying things and acting them out without thinking of what she was actually doing. She did have a nice voice and nice stage presence though.

Charlotte Crossley (Motormouth Maybelle:) What a VOICE. My god. When she sang "I Know Where I've Been," it literally brought the house down. She was really heartfelt and hysterical, and had a set of pipes to rival most actresses today. Big props to Charlotte.

* Dashuan Robinson (Seaweed J. Stubbs:) Daushan was really good. He didnt hit some of the notes that Corey does on the cast recording, but for an understudy, I was very very happy with his portrayal.

Hayley Podschun (Penny Lou Pingleton:) What a little fire cracker! Hayley was just terrific. She sounded and acted EXACTLY like Kerry Butler. She was quirky and cute, and had very good comedic timing. I have never seen Caissie Levy as Penny, but I doubt her performance could be much better than Hayley's.

Naturi Naughton (Lil' Inez:) I liked Naturi alot. She had a voice better than most Inez's, and I remebered her from 3LW lol.
Paul McQuillian (Corny Collins:) He was good.. not much to say, other than that he was suitable for the part, and did well with what he had.

John Salvatore (Mr. Pinky/ Male Authority Figure/ Harriman F. Spritzer/ Principal:) Also not much to say here but he was good.

Jane Blass (Prudy Pingleton/ Gym Teacher/ Female Authority Figure/ Matron:) Yet another scene stealer. Literally, her facial expressions and deadpan comedic timing just had you rolling in the aisles. Jane took what could have been a forgettable role and made it utterly memorable. THAT is true talent.

* Denotes Understudy and/or Standby

Overall, I had a great time seeing the show live for the first time, and I lef the theater quite satisfied with what I'de seen!

Updated On: 2/26/06 at 12:50 AM

[TLKfan]

Posted: 2/26/06 at 12:54am

Thanks for the review. I really wish I could see it again. Hopefully it comes by my area again.

For anyone who is going to see the show soon, could you please ask Alan Mingo when his website is ever going to work?

Thanks.

[broadwaybelter]

Posted: 2/26/06 at 12:55am

nice! i'm glad you had fun!

*side note, everyone who plays tracy is vocally superior to Marissa

[Maryjoannejean]

Posted: 2/26/06 at 3:04am

Oh girl !!!! I would have scremin like a ho. poor thing.

[Horton]

Posted: 2/26/06 at 9:08am

I think the greatest Tracey is by far C Jibson, she is just so GOOD!

[WickedGeek28]

Posted: 2/26/06 at 10:25am

Wow, great review!!! Thanks a lot for sharing with us.

[Crazy4MattMorrison52]

Posted: 2/26/06 at 2:57pm

too bad you missed alan as seaweed. he was one of the best things about the tour when i saw it. im kinda jealous you got to see both keala and christine. christine is one of the only tracys i havent seen.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 2/26/06 at 3:22pm

Oh my goodness, the 3LW girl is in Hairspray tour.

Thats kinda cool.

[fxy2003cmu]

Posted: 2/26/06 at 11:56pm

I'm seeing the tour again on March 2nd...so about four days in florida and I'm hoping to see Christine. I hear she's amazing! So yeah, I've seen Keala twice and she was great but I do really want to see Christine now!

[millie_dillmount]

Posted: 2/27/06 at 1:01am

I saw both Christine and Keala when it came to Boston. I preferred Keala between the two. Christine didn't even sing some of the notes in "Good Morning, Baltimore." By the time she hit the third "oh" in "Oh, oh, oh," she was just opening her mouth with no sound coming out. I felt Keala had more power to her voice. I am no voice expert, but Christine probably just has to work on her breathing. Also, I heard she is about 18, and she is just out of highschool. Plus it had been like her 3rd or 4th time on. So I'll give her the benefit of the doubt. I'm sure the more she goes on, the more she'll improve.

I didn't see Haley as Penny...I saw Caissie Levy and someone else, can't think of her name. Caissie Levy was definitely better, at least I felt.

I don't remember JP performing Edna with a Southern accent, so I'm a little confused by your comment on that. All in all, he was good, and you're right about him singing in a "normal" pitch...I can't explain exactly, but I'm sure some people didn't like the raspiness of Harvey Fierstein. JP doesn't have that raspiness, and when he was hitting some of those deep notes in "Timeless to Me" he had the audience cracking up.

I saw it 4 times. I'll admit, I got bored by the 3rd or 4th time of seeing it just because I knew what to expect, so if I ever decide to see something multiple times, I'd probably wait longer in between. It was interesting, though, to see how different audience reaction was each night and compare the different performers with understudies.

[BroadwayThoughts]

Posted: 2/27/06 at 1:16pm

Millie : I understand where you are coming from with your comment ... but you do have to remember that performers grow as they perform. Christine may have changed her whole performance based on notes that the stage manager and dance captain have given her. After all, it was only her 3rd or 4th time going on. Since after her Boston run, when we both saw her (in October or November I think) I have never seen any negative reviews since then or any comments about her Oh oh oh's so she may have fixed them.... as for JP's southern accent it may just be a bad habit he acquired over time. Either way I love Hairspray and I think it is so cool that somethingwicked got to see the show a little different and have an exciting time!!

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 2/27/06 at 1:28pm

which girl from 3LW is it? that makes me want to see the tour more, just because I remember her.

Also, how are the sets? Were they radically scaled down? or a replica of broadway? thanks.

[HairsprayFanatic]

Posted: 2/27/06 at 2:58pm

I happened to see the tour last week in Fort Myers where I caught Christine Danelson again. It seems that had I vacationed in Miami instead of Ft.Myers, I would have had the pleasure of seeing both Keala and Christine in one show! I find both to be wonderful Tracys.
In my hometown of Raleigh, Christine was a big hit! Here are some reviews from back home -- as I haven't seen them here:http://www.fayettevillenc.com/article?id=221359 and http://www.cvnc.org/reviews/2005/112005/Hairspray.html and
http://www.newsobserver.com/707/story/372882.html.
Updated On: 2/27/06 at 02:58 PM