REVIEW
HAIRSPRAY The Broadway Musical
Cliffs Pavilion
14th - 19th May 2018
8pm

✭✭✭✭✭ 5/5

Hey Southend, welcome to the Sixties! Hairspray the Musical is back in town and it is bigger and better than ever!

It’s only been two years since we last saw a touring version of Hairspray at the Cliffs Pavilion but this time it has been taken over by producers, Mark Goucher, Matthew Gale and Laurence Myers who have revamped the show and turned it into a production that is bursting with energy. 

As far as I am aware, two of the 2016 cast have remained with the show; Matt Rixon who plays Edna Turnblad and X Factor semi-finalist, Brenda Edwards, as Motormouth Maybelle; both of whom provide fabulous performances in this latest production.

Hairspray takes you to 1962, where Tracy Turnblad, a big girl with big hair and an even bigger heart, is on a mission to follow her dreams.  She sets out to dance her way onto national tv on the Corny Collins Show, where all the cool kids get to sing and dance the to the latest tunes including heart-throb, Link Larkin who Tracy has a huge crush on.

Ending up in detention at school because of her huge hair getting in the way of the blackboard in the classroom, Tracy gets to meet Seaweed and his friends.  Tracy recognises them from Negro Day on the Corny Collins Show and cannot believe that they only get to be on the show one day a week because of the colour of their skin. ​

Colour segregation was rampant in Baltimore in the sixties and black and white teens couldn’t be seen dancing together. ​

Tracy’s successful audition for the show makes her a local star and soon she is using her new-found fame to fight for equality, also bagging heartthrob Link Larkin along the way!

This is a show that needs the utmost energy from the get go and Rebecca Mendoza puts every ounce of her being into the part of Tracy Turnblad and the opening number, Good Morning Baltimore really kicks the show off to a great start.  You just can’t help but fall in love with Tracy’s optimistic enthusiasm and endearing confidence as she sings and dances her way through her campaign to integrate the black and white teens. ​

​Racial prejudice isn’t the only obstacle in Tracy’s way - her size makes her a target for ridicule from the likes of pretty and slim, Amber von Tussle (Aimee Moore). However, being a big girl isn’t going to stop Tracy.  “This is America!” she exclaims, “You gotta think big to be big!”   Not only can Rebecca belt out the fabulous songs she’s been given, she can also dance like a demon and has fabulous comic timing.   I Can Hear The Bells is a real belter and produces plenty of giggles.

Audiences always seem to be a little disappointed to find out that lead performers are having to be understudied and on the press night for Southend’s Cliffs Pavilion, there were quite a few.  Did this matter?  Not a jot.  Graham Macduff taking over Norman Pace’s role of Wilbur Turnblad did a smashing job, alongside Matt Rixon as Edna, both providing lots of laughs for the audience in the Your Timeless To Me routine.  Jordan Laviniere in the role of Seaweed also proving that understudies should never be under-rated, showing off some great vocals and dance moves much to the audience's delight.

Edward Chitticks also wowed audiences as the super cool Link Larkin with his good looks and silky smooth vocals, not least in It Takes Two which had the ladies in the audience swooning.

Other stand out performances go to Gina Murray who plays nasty Corny Collins Show producer and pushy mother, Velma von Tussle, who had no trouble hitting all the notes in Miss Baltimore Crabs, despite being propelled into the air numerous times in the number by the supporting ensemble.  A highlight of the night was Brenda Edwards bringing the house down with her rendition of I Know Where I’ve Been, - a real ‘goosebump’ moment.
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Director, Paul Kerryson, has done a great job in making this musical fresh and new.  The music and choreography bind the production together and Drew McOnie has certainly worked his magic on this talented ensemble with some fabulously energetic dance numbers. ​

It’s a sad fact and quite unbelievable that the messages in this show are still relevant today but, if the aim of this show is to educate as well as entertain, then this has been well and truly achieved.
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You can still catch Hairspray at the Cliffs Pavilion this week - tickets are available online or at the box office.

Review: Kim Tobin

Perf: Mon -Sat 8pm, Matinees Wed and Sat 2.30pm
Seats: Mon – Thu 8pm plus Sat 2.30pm: £46.50, £43.50, £41.50, £35.50
Fri and Sat 8pm: £50.50, £47.50, £45.50, £39.50
Wed 2.30pm: £41.50, £38.50, £35.50, £30.50
Concs: £2.00 off (exc. Fri & Sat 8pm)
Under 16s: £27.50 (exc. Fri & Sat 8pm)
Senior Citizen Mid-week matinee special £28.00 (exc. groups)
Group discounts available.
www.southendtheatres.org.uk
Prices shown are inclusive of any applicable booking fees. Groups of 10+ please call 01702 351135 to buy fee-free.