Hairspray

Perfectly cast, and starring in her first major role was the epitome of bubbly teenager Tracy (Niamh Scott), She proved that the larger than life character was made for her. She never missed a beat in her opening number, ’Good Morning Baltimore’, and strived to live the dream of starring in the Corny Collins Show. Solos, duets or quartets, there was nothing too taxing for this young lady, who had so obviously worked really hard on this massive role and was totally at one with the loveable character. She certainly did ‘Hear the Bells’ with audible success. Top marks Niamh! Tracy’s best friend Penny (Natalie Darcy) was excellently handled. With her ditsy mannerisms and  high pitched voice, it  gave resonance to her portrayal of the character. Corny Collins was in the stellar hands of a long standing member (Craig McCredie). With slick moves and hairstyle, this Michael Ball lookalike, orchestrated the ‘Nicest Kids in Town’, ‘The Madison’ and of course ‘Hairspray’ with total ease and flare, giving the confident and youthful company a chance to dance and shine throughout. Beautifully timed and executed to introduce the mother/daughter relationships in the show, was the fabulous, ‘Mama, I’m a Big Girl Now’ number. Tracy and Edna (Kev Sykes), Velma (Helen Hogan) and Amber (Katie Melvin) and Prudy Pingleton (Louise Szoneberg) and Penny truly led with strong vocals and  was perfectly  supported by the backing chorus for this fabulous number. The bitchy, pushy, mother figure of Velma’s character was epitomised in her excellent rendition of  ‘Miss Baltimore Crabs’ and she superbly acted out her dirty tactics to support her bully of a daughter. Amber was superbly animated by a very talented young woman. Her accomplished acting, facial expressions, singing and dancing prowess was to her great credit, especially during her delivery of ‘Cooties’. Tracy’s love interest, Link (Alexander Edwards), was portrayed  by a talented young man, with the hip swivelling moves, and lots of Elvis-like charisma. No wonder Tracy fell for him, creating the perfect feel good setting for the highlight  ‘It Takes Two’. Tracy and Edna’s transformation scene ‘Welcome to the Sixties’ was slick and busy. It featured the fabulous Mr Pinkie (Sam John) and brilliant The Dynamites (Zoe John, Claire Oliver & Kim Jeffrey) who added their harmonic lines to this superb number, ending with some dynamic scat singing from the trio. The role of Seaweed (Fraser Jack) came to life through his passionate and funky performance, with a youthfully and exuberant delivery of ‘Run and Tell That,’ with Penny. Both youngsters were really well cast. The Act 1 finale was truly in great hands. Larger than life character Motormouth Maybelle (Caroline Wilkinson) was superbly played, delivering her first big belter of a number ‘Big Blonde and Beautiful’ to a rousing ovation and also receiving a well deserved standing ovation in Act 2 for her outstanding rendition of ‘I know where I’ve been. ‘The Big Doll House’, gave the swinging tap women a chance to be ‘the baddies behind bars’ and the Matron Jailer (Lesley Johnson) an hilarious opportunity to show off her snazzy moves. Fabulous! Edna and Wilbur (Steve Law) both excellently cast, within their quirky and loveable  characters delivered one of the most engaging numbers in the show. ‘Timeless to Me’ was a total crowd pleaser. It was sung and danced with warm emotion and exuded evident comedic pleasure from both performers. ‘Without Love’ was also a heartfelt  quartet from the young couples, Tracy, Link, Penny & Seaweed. As the excitement of this feel good musical built to a happy conclusion, the buzz on stage was truly electric. Tracy and Link, Penny and Seaweed pulled out all the stops and led an amazing introduction to ‘You Can’t Stop The Beat’ finale. Showing amazing energy, the reprise included the reveal of a fabulous, glamorous  and voluptuous Edna, which all added to the spectacle in more ways than one. It was a joy to see the pure pleasure and excitement from every performer as they revelled in their well deserved  final applause. There were evidently many new young members in the company this year who added greatly to this production, playing many of the small cameo roles. Well done everyone! It’s to be hoped that the experience and excitement of ‘Hairspray’ will encourage their enthusiasm to continue. 

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