Hairspray

Alhambra Theatre, Bradford.

The minute I knew I was going to see Hairspray I just couldn’t get the song “Good morning Baltimore” out of my head. And before I knew it, there I was, transported back to 1962 Baltimore in glorious technicolour, and watching the opening song of this smash hit musical.

This brand-new production of Hairspray, with its new cast and creative team led by Paul Kerryson, follows the story of Tracy Turnblad, played by the extremely talented Rebecca Mendoza. A big girl, with big hair and an even bigger heart, Tracy is on a mission to follow her dreams and dance her way onto national TV. Tracey’s audition makes her a local star, and supported by her ever-loving parents, she uses her new-found fame to fight for equality, bagging the smooth operator with a great voice, Link Larkin, played by Edward Chitticks, along the way.

Memorable songs of the night were definitely “welcome to the 60s”, where we are introduced to Tracy’s friend Seaweed, played by the talented Layton Williams, who displayed his multi talents with a few aerials and back flips to woo the audience, and diva extraordinaire Motormouth Maybelle Brenda Edwards. The first act ended perfectly with the number, “Big, Blonde and Beautiful.”

The second act definitely belonged to the comedy genius of Tracy’s supportive parents, the larger than life Edna Turner (Matt Rixon) and hapless hopeful, Wilbur Turnblad, played by Norman Pace, best known as half of the comedy duo, Hale and Pace. The couple’s comedic timing during “You’re Timeless to Me” was spot on leaving the audience chuckling in their seats.

The set was minimal but cleverly done, with the cast helping with some of the scene changes, and the use of the orchestra on stage was a superb touch, doubling up as the band during Corny Collins TV shows.

Overall the whole cast deserved every minute of their standing ovation, as we bopped away into the night with the finale song “You can’t stop the beat” ringing in our ears. As producer Mark Goucher said: “I believe theatre has an obligation to both educate and entertain.” And that’s exactly what Hairspray did.

Hairspray runs until Saturday.