Hairspray Review
I don’t quite know how to write a review for this show. This was my first live musical since the start of the pandemic and only the second show in a year and a half. The evening was filled with meaning and joy and relief, and made for an unforgettable theatre-going experience as a result, almost regardless of the actual show itself. But that’s what you’re here to read about so let's do this! Hairspray will never be a magnificent musical in my book. It doesn’t have musical excellence, nor writing acumen, not even choreographic greatness. But what it does, it does very well, and it's solid through and through. Light and joyful, it tackles heavy and important matters in a way that coaxes the viewer’s agreement rather than demand their acquiescence. As I am starting to expect from productions at the London Coliseum, the cast was absolutely stellar vocally, not a single note out of place and each character beautifully cast. Lizzie Bea’s Tracy held the weight of the show effortlessly...