#1
Posted: 11/13/06 at 4:35pm
I had the opportunity to catch the non-Equity tour of "Hairspray" in Lexington, KY this past Friday and found the show to be in great shape. I caught the show twice on the last leg of the Equity tour and found this version to be every bit its equal.
The show has been scaled down again--no silhoutted back-up singers, set pieces that once were automated now are pushed on and off stage, and the "scaffold" (for lack of a better word) is now missing from "Without Love." And it doesn't harm the show in the slightest! If there has been a catchier, more tuneful score in the past five years, I haven't heard it. Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman have written a score with hummable melodies and laugh-out-loud lyrics.
Expect to hear more of Brooklyn Pulver who plays Tracy. She hits the ball out of the park on "Good Morning Baltimore" and never looks back. I especially liked her in "I Can Hear the Bells," probably my favorite number in the show. Though Pulver is superb in the role, she is surrounded by others who are equally talented. I loved Jerry O'Boyle's take on Edna Turnblad. He does what every good actor should do with this role: he makes us believe he's a woman, not a man in drag. Edna is an easy role to overplay and he doesn't give in to the temptation. His transformation in "Welcome to the 60s" and his entrance in "You Can't Stop the Beat" brought down the house!
Great support came from Jarret Mallon as Corny, Alyssa Malgeri as Penny Pingelton, and Constantine Rousouli as Link.
Yvette Monique Clark got one of the evening's biggest ovations with her delivery of "I Know Where I've Been" and Dan Ferretti partnered nicely with O'Boyle's Edna on "(You're)Timeless to Me," a number that always gets a huge audience response.
By the time the entire company got to "You Can't Stop the Beat," the house was rocking!
I know there is much discussion on the board about the quality of non-Equity tours. All I can say is don't worry about this production of "Hairspray." It's worth your time and money!
The show has been scaled down again--no silhoutted back-up singers, set pieces that once were automated now are pushed on and off stage, and the "scaffold" (for lack of a better word) is now missing from "Without Love." And it doesn't harm the show in the slightest! If there has been a catchier, more tuneful score in the past five years, I haven't heard it. Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman have written a score with hummable melodies and laugh-out-loud lyrics.
Expect to hear more of Brooklyn Pulver who plays Tracy. She hits the ball out of the park on "Good Morning Baltimore" and never looks back. I especially liked her in "I Can Hear the Bells," probably my favorite number in the show. Though Pulver is superb in the role, she is surrounded by others who are equally talented. I loved Jerry O'Boyle's take on Edna Turnblad. He does what every good actor should do with this role: he makes us believe he's a woman, not a man in drag. Edna is an easy role to overplay and he doesn't give in to the temptation. His transformation in "Welcome to the 60s" and his entrance in "You Can't Stop the Beat" brought down the house!
Great support came from Jarret Mallon as Corny, Alyssa Malgeri as Penny Pingelton, and Constantine Rousouli as Link.
Yvette Monique Clark got one of the evening's biggest ovations with her delivery of "I Know Where I've Been" and Dan Ferretti partnered nicely with O'Boyle's Edna on "(You're)Timeless to Me," a number that always gets a huge audience response.
By the time the entire company got to "You Can't Stop the Beat," the house was rocking!
I know there is much discussion on the board about the quality of non-Equity tours. All I can say is don't worry about this production of "Hairspray." It's worth your time and money!
Updated On: 11/13/06 at 04:35 PM
