Walnut Street's HAIRSPRAY is a Blast!

Heads up! Buy your tickets early. Good seats will sell out for both holidays. Good discount deals too.

Once again, WST rises to the occassion with an exciting cast, cool sets and enough energy to light up the lamps. The audience was roaring.

I sat down with 2 of the cast members((Tracy) Amy Toporek, who loves BWW! and (Edna) Michael Walker) for Opening Night interviews. More interviews to come. BWW review to follow, too. Enjoy!

---

Updated On: 11/13/08 at 01:12 PM

who's proofing these press releases? i believe it's WalNUt, not WalUNt....unless the Lunt Fontaine has a new hip moniker. In Philly.

---

would love to see this but havent seen ANY discounts at all...

YEAH AMY TOPOREK!!! Can't wait to see this!!

---

To those looking for discounts, I sat in the $10 seats and still had a fantastic time...you don't miss anything, and the seats are quite a steal at that price!

Ugh, Josh Young is in this? What a waste of a beautiful voice!

It DOES help to make something appetizing by SHOWING us the goods. Geez!

Only PB ENT could announce that a show is "a blast" and then go on to say she'll be seeing it at a later date.

Where is this woman's mind?

---

To say that Hairspray is one of my favorite musicals is an understatement. I made the trip from DC to see the matinee today. This was my 21st time seeing this show be it the Broadway and touring production and now this regional offering.

First the good - I loved the set design. Very different than the Broadway production and very inventive. I also liked the costumes. They were reminiscent of the ones in the movie. The only one I didn't care for was Tracy's, "You Can't Stop the Beat" dress.

Amy Toporek (Tracy) was a delight!! Loved her.

Josh Young (Link) - Before today, Andrew Rannels was my favorite Link. He now is a very close second. Josh was wonderful. He has a gorgeous voice and is so different than any other Link I have seen prior to today. He's also adorable.

Kate Fahrner (Amber) - wonderfully funny actress.

Domonique Paton (L'il Inez) - amazing voice!!

The one actor I didn't care for was Neil Totton as Seaweed. During the high school dance when he was asked by L'il Inez why they were dancing in the back, he just started laughing and barely got his line out. He would have been better off not saying anything. Truly unprofessional.

The ensemble was wonderful and energetic. The harmonies in Good Morning Baltimore were beautifully sung. I have no idea why, but there is something about this song that always brings tears to my eyes.

Although there were 10 musicians in the pit, the sound was kind of muted. The pacing of, "I Know Where I've Been" was kind of fast, but still packed an emotional wallop by the end. On the flip side, "You Can't Stop the Beat" seemed a tad too slow. Although wonderfully sung and danced, this song lacked punch for some reason.

I liked how the show used "extras" in some scenes, but it was kind of strange that these people didn't sing during the group numbers (i.e., Good Morning Baltimore).

I love Philadelphia and can't believe I haven't been there in nearly two years. What a wonderful city to just walk around, but it was back to DC right after the matinee.

---

Updated On: 11/15/08 at 09:01 PM

Hey Dottie, WOW, 21 times! You are indeed qualified to judge.
Opening night was really exciting and the WST audience went wild for it too. (Dolly Pop, silly goose, why would they invite me for Opening night interviews and not cover the show after reviewing them for 5 yrs.)

Amy was really "on" and yes, Josh Young is just a delight in this. What a voice and what a sweetie. I'm looking forward to heading back to finish up more interviwes. My review has been waiting in the wings for the BWW editor.

I may be partial, but Philly's theater district/downtown is really a great place. Nice review.

---

I can't remember if Domonique was in the tour when I saw it in April.

I also like looking at the headshots of all the actors that have appeared at Walnut Street Theatre. There's a gorgeous photo of Jane Fonda from 1960. One's noticed today were Ana Ortiz and Marc Indelicato from Ugly Betty. A very young Jarrod Spector (I think he's with one of the Jersey Boys companies).

---

Updated On: 11/15/08 at 10:10 PM

When I saw the tour a lot of the cast was brand new as the replacements names were posted on the understudy board in the lobby. I know Constantine had just left at the point, too. So glad I'll be able to see him at the closing performance.

---

Domonique didnt call out for the entire 2008-2009 run of Hairspray.. which mean you probably saw her