Got a case of the January blues? The best thing you can do is get a lungful of Hairspray at the Hall for Cornwall this week. The colourful and life-affirming musical is just what the doctor ordered.
Based on John Waters’ decidedly more down and dirty 1988 film, the 2002 musical by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman is a glorously OTT affair, but one with a message which, sadly, is just as salient in 2025 – acceptance in a bigoted world. Set in the Baltimore of 1962, the show follows teenage Tracy Turnblad’s dream to dance on The Corny Collins Show.
When Tracy – who doesn’t fit the skinny blonde ideal of the time – wins a role on the show, she becomes an overnight celebrity, leading to social change as she campaigns for black performers to be integrated into the world of television.
The songs are a clever update of 1960s musical tropes – some crooning and jive here, a smattering of soul and doo wop there – with several now seen as musical theatre classics (Good Morning Baltimore, You Can’t Stop The Beat). The comedy is broad and farcical, the characters veering towards caricature, so Hairspray always runs the risk of being a little bit grating. Whether or not it is comes down to the actors’ ability to rein in the excess.
This production gets it just about right. Brenda Edwards, whose star has risen since she appeared in the second series of The X Factor, is renowned for her performance as Motormouth Maybelle in previous versions of Hairspray. This time she sits in the director’s chair for the very first time.
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Michelle Ndegwa takes centre stage in Hairpsray
(Image: Pamela Raith)
It’s a very young cast, with many of the performers straight out of stage school, and no star names apart from former Strictly dancer Joanne Clifton, who, on opening night in Truro, was replaced by the excellent Kirsty Sparks as the more than slightly racist TV producer Velma Von Tussle. You may also recognise the very smooth Reece Richards, who plays Seaweed, from his stint in Sex Education.
The lack of a big name matters not though as there are some wonderful turns here. Katie Brace is a tour de force as Tracy, holding the whole show together with a joyous, in your face performance. Michelle Ndegwa is a real powerhouse as Maybelle, providing a standout moment with civil rights anthem I Know Where I’ve Been. It got her a standing ovation halfway through the second half.
Providing backing vocals for everyone from Gorillaz and Lizzo to Liam Gallagher and Rita Ora, Michelle deserves to be a star in her own right.
Taking on the role that John Travolta made his own, Neil Hurst is absolutely brilliant as Tracy’s mum Edna Turnblad, both vulnerable and heavy-hitting and with comedy bones. Pair him with Dermot Canavan as husband Wilbur, and they were the true wonders of the show.
Hairspray’s worth seeing for their You’re Timeless To Me alone. With its “ad-libs”, the song is the ribald yet moving heart of the show.
It’s not the best production of Hairspray I’ve ever seen. Some of the dancing and acting could be given a lift, meaning some scenes lack that little bit of oomph to raise them from good to great. However, it’s definitely worth an evening out of your life, especially in a month when we all need a lift.
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