Review: Hairspray at Lyceum Theatre

“Leaps, lifts and pirouettes aplenty…“

Hairspray by Mark O’Donnell and Thomas Meehan, Lyceum Theatre

by Sophie Dodworth

One of musical theatres biggest, most famous shows is stopping off at The Sheffield Lyceum on its UK tour. There are not many that are not aware of this top-tier show. Even if you have not seen it, you more than likely would be aware of some of the iconic, foot-tapping, musical numbers, such as: Welcome to the 60s, You Can’t Stop the Beat, Good Morning Baltimore and many more. The songs are mainly upbeat, vibrant and really pack a punch. Based on John Waters 1988 film, the musical was adapted for stage and premiered in 2002 in Seattle. The show moved to Broadway later that year and ended up winning eight Tony Awards and four Olivier Awards in the West End.

The scene is set in Baltimore as we follow heroine, Tracy Turnblad (Katie Brace), and her desire to dance on the national TV show, Corny Collins. With the TV show’s typical stars being slim girls, handsome boys and all-white skins, her family are aware that this will be a huge challenge to achieve, but nothing is stopping her steely determination. Her big hair and big ambitions end up landing her right there, eventually winning the show and she catapults into fame. She is an idol among her peers, even some donning the ‘Tracy’ larger-than-life hairstyle. She uses her newfound fame, along with her new friends to try to be successful in her other dream of liberation, tolerance and interracial equality for all.

Musical numbers that cannot slip by without a mention include the wonderful duet of ‘You’re Timeless to Me’, sang by Edna and Wilbur Turnblad (Neil Hurst and Dermot Canavan). What a corker! This had the auditorium belly-laughing all the way through. Hilarious and perfect comedic timing from the pair. There was a slight feel of pantomime in this number with the couple slipping in to fits of laughter, along with the audience. Joanne Clifton (Strictly Come Dancing) playing Velma Von Tussle, executes her version of Miss Baltimore Crabs with gust and delivers exceptionally well, considering she is dancing throughout, being lifted across the stage while managing to hold her notes steadily. Stealing the show with her rendition of I Know Where I’ve been was understudy Sasha Monique playing Motormouth Maybelle. A real deep-and-meaningful song, emotive and she hit all the right notes impeccably. You Can’t Stop the Beat as the finale number was as explosive and colourful as it should be. With the glitter cladded costumes twinkling away while the large cast got their groove on. A flashy and fantastic finale.

The set works really well in order to keep changing the vast number of scenes, using a projector to set the locations faultlessly on the large backdrop. Lighting designer, Philip Gladwell, did a stellar job with the extensive lighting to really assist the minimal set scene changes. In the jail scene particularly, the use of single spot-downlights, give a firm sense of being cooped up in the lonely and cold cells.

Some of this cast struggled vocally and timing-wise with the dance numbers which is a real shame as it really took away from the professionalism of the performance. We all have our off days, so maybe this was just one of those!

Choreographer, Drew McOnie, firmly worked his magic on the stage in this production. His use of the entire stage space ensures our eyes are kept busy, and there isn’t really a slack moment anywhere. Leaps, lifts and pirouettes aplenty are splashed across the stage and really helps to shape the whole jam-packed 135 minutes.

This is a strong story of survival through prejudice, and a passionate campaign for change of some really important prejudgements that people have had to face throughout the years.

Hairspray plays at Lyceum Theatre until Saturday 19 October. Tickets can be booked through the Box Office in person, over the phone on 0114 249 6000, or at sheffieldtheatres.co.uk.

Sophie Dodworth is an experienced theatre reviewer. Prior to joining NAR she has written reviews for multiple review sites including The Reviews Hub, and sees reviewing as a lovely break from being a busy mum. Sophie has herself tread the boards, working full time as a professional singer many years ago and more recently in amateur productions.