You can't stop the beat!!

To think that Tamsin had to persuade Karina to see Hairspray! True. Yet having seen it once Karina quickly realised Tamsin had introduced her to one of the feel-goodest shows ever to grace the West End and since that initial first visit it became a firm favourite for us both. This was the show to see if you wanted to leave the theatre with a big beam on your face. Not only because it had the twinkliest of all the twinkly stars with the best dimples in showbiz  and one of the best voices ever in one of the lead parts (Michael Ball if you hadn’t guessed) but also because the entire cast were great, the staging was bright and…does it matter?  It's a show that isn't trying to be high brow, it just wants to entertain.We loved it. The corridors of the Shaftsbury Theatre are now, of course, filled with leotards, legwarmers and welding equipment but the memories of Hairspray live on. Thank heavens for the tour!! This post will be a tribute to the bits of Hairspray we loved the best…

And as is now customary, in no particular order;

The music. Bouncy and catchy, gets you up and dancing, singing and wishing it would never end. Songs you sing for days after. Songs that echo your own life, with lyrics such as ‘Hungry for something that I can’t eat’ and ‘All shapes and sizes follow me! Who wants a twig when you can climb a whole tree’…this musical loooooves women who aren’t stick insects and we can embrace any ethos that lets us be who we want to be wholeheartedly!! On top of which it’s virtually impossible to sing along to the songs in this show without smiling.

Ben James-Ellis’ American accent. For us it was very satisfying seeing an ‘Any Dream Will Do’ alumnus do so well on stage. He was a great little mover (with proper man-thighs) and was able to hold a tune; he might not have had the strongest voice in the world but he was great in his part as Link Larkin. There was only one little thing that had us in hysterics. His accent. In his scene breaking Tracy out of jail he has a few long lines where, honest to god, we did not understand a single word. Not one. But he looks so earnest delivering them. Gawd bless him. What an incomprehensible little cherub.

The staging. What’s not to love about a big lot of kitsch covered in a huge dollop of nostalgia topped with primary colours and sparkly bits? A feast for the eyes. And we liked little ideas such as Tracy’s standy-uppy bed at the beginning, Mr Pinky’s Hefty Hideaways, the rats in the street, the Har De Har Hut and the whole concept of Edna’s Oxydental. And the costumes. Not a duff one in the whole production. Magnificent!!!

MichaelBallMichaelBallMichaelBall. Or Edna. It is a well established fact that we adore the man Ball and would watch him in anything (as demonstrated by the fact we watched him in the Michael Ball Show as part of the studio audience). His voice lends itself to so many parts and he has fantastic comic timing. And he makes a fine figure of  a buxom woman. He's cheeky, likable, talented and sweet, appreciates his audience and is always gracious. Despite his army of alarming fans whom we have nightmares of, we would still see him in any West End productions and are even toying with the idea of seeing him in concert whenever he tours (not least because, in days gone by, Dean Collinson has been his backing singer and Karina would like to remind  him of what he's missing if he drags his feet any longer)! We love Michael. And as Edna he could wash our knickers any day.

The beauty that is Mobile Hairspray!! With heavy hearts we bid farewell to 'Hairspray' at the Shaftesbury but decided to  give the mobile show a viewing. So pleased we did, as it was SPECTACULAR. Possibly, if at all possible, even better than the West End version. Just when we thought it couldn't possibly get cheerier, sparklier and funnier, it did. And as if that wasn't enough, our Michael was there. And what's not to love in a show with everything including Michael Ball travelling around the country? As tempting as it might have been to give up the day job and follow the show we decided it might be best to not show up too frequently, in order to let Michael concentrate on other audience members and not just us. We're not selfish, you know.

The Programme
Sparkly and pretty.  Well worth the money!

The choreography
Tis fabulous, especially the last routine - and the wide stage at Southampton show it off to its best.  Oh yes.

All in all, there is NOTHING not to love, and so we do.
Come back sooooooooooooon!