Hairspray: A Toe-Tapping Good Time Guaranteed
Sometimes when you get to the end of a live show and it鈥檚 time for applause there is an awkwardness that can occur – was this performance good enough for a standing ovation??
I鈥檓 pretty picky with exactingly high standards, so I鈥檓 usually leaning towards no but there was absolutely no ambiguity at the end of the opening night of Hairspray – the audience was on their feet in rapturous appreciation before you could say 鈥渃ircle, circle, dot, dot, dot, now you got as cootie shot!鈥�
There is so much to love about the Sydney season of Hairspray, which opened this week at the Sydney Lyric and the warm fuzzies you鈥檙e feeling as you walk out of the auditorium after the extended standing ovation is just the cherry on top!
A Fabulous Cast
This tight production comes to Sydney from a season in Melbourne and you can see how polished it is – from the flowing dialogue and snappy timing to the sharp, crisp choreography performed by the excellent cast – from the moment the retro curtain opens to reveal Tracy 鈥榣ying鈥� in bed, the audience is right there with the cast and stays for the whole ride.
The cast is a fabulous mix of familiar Australian talent and some up-and-comers to keep an eye on – Rhonda Burchmore is as confident and supportive as you would expect her to be up there and you forgive her character鈥檚 hideous behaviour and racist one-liners because well, it鈥檚 Rhonda!
From Baltimore to Bondi鈥� is here, Sydney 鉁炼�
New seats are now on presale at the ! Book your tickets to the hottest show in town now – 馃帿
— Hairspray The Musical (@Hairspray_AU)
Making her professional musical theatre debut at the age of 23 and bringing the role of Tracy to life after also playing the lead in her high school production of Hairspray, Carmel Rodrigues, with her impressive vocals, comic timing and smooth Detroit moves makes her well placed for a long career treading the boards.
Special mention has to be made of Mackenzie Dunn in the role of Penny Pingleton – Dunn really makes this supporting role shine and I found my eye searching her out when Penny was on stage. Javon King, playing her love interest Seaweed J. Stubbs, a ring-in performer from NYC, is also impressive with a hypnotic booty.听
I Know Where I鈥檝e Been
Playing his 鈥渂ig, blonde and beautiful鈥� mother, Asabi Goodman brings the house down with her performance of one of the most anticipated numbers of the show, 鈥�I Know Where I鈥檝e Been鈥� but you know you were in for a ride when Goodman sings her first phrase in 鈥淏ig, Blonde & Beautiful鈥� – the murmur that rippled through the audience was a harbinger of spine-tingling things to come!听
And while this musical doesn鈥檛 have any overtly queer themes, one of the messages they鈥檙e serving up, is that of, plus the fact that the role of Edna Turnbald has been played by a man in drag since the original, non-musical Hairspray movie came out in 1988 when the role was played by Devine, still makes it feel like a queer tinted, glitter rainbow flavoured treat.
"You can't stop your feet in any song in Hairspray, to be honest… it's a hell of a ride!" 鉁炼�
We can鈥檛 wait to welcome you to the 60鈥檚, Sydney! Book your tickets now – 馃帿
— Hairspray The Musical (@Hairspray_AU)
Shane Jacobson Plays Edna With Aplomb
In the Australian production, the role of Edna is handled with unsurprising aplomb by Shane Jacobson, whose pleasingly gravelly singing voice matches his famous comic timing to create an Edna the audience was screaming for by the end.
Jacobson鈥檚 husband, Wilbur, is played by Australian musical theatre and entertainment royalty, Todd McKenny and the chemistry between these two performers is another reason to check out this show – in what could possibly have been an unscripted moment, these two cheeky monkeys dissolved into giggles at the end of their song, much to the delight of the audience with the naughty boys鈥� moment turning into a bit of a charming highlight of the show.
Sydney鈥檚 hottest couple heard my Titanic chat on .. I 鉂わ笍 the 鉂わ笍 of Todd McKenney and in great casting all round .
— Sarah Macdonald (@sarahvmac)
‘Hairspray –听The Musical’, is playing a limited season at the Sydney Lyric Theatre until March 26. Tickets
