Last Updated on 19 July 2024 by Colette
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Is there anything better than a mid-week jaunt to the theatre for some feel-good musical candyfloss with a neatly packaged moral or two about acceptance and standing up for what’s right?
I went into Hairspray with little idea of the storyline whereas Mich has seen it three times at the theatre and had only just watched the film with her 11 year old daughter Erin last week.
From the moment Tracy Turnblad (played by Alexandra Emmerson-Kirby) wakes up in her bed on stage singing “Good Morning Baltimore” we are treated to a feast of full-throttle, feel-good, punchy musical theatre. The audience were absolutely ready for it from curtain, with plenty of whooping, clapping, toe tapping and shoulder jiggling, the cast had well and truly taken us along for the ride and nobody was sad about it.
Neil Hurst makes a fabulous and utterly loveable Edna Turnblad with brilliant comedic timing and physical comedy. Michelle Ndegwa takes on the role of the powerful and inspiring Motormouth Maybelle with a fantastic theatre debut – what a voice.
We quickly fell in love with Tracy and her enthusiastic, naively optimistic outlook on life – willing her on to succeed, to get the part and to live out her fantasy of dancing on television and ultimately falling in love!
Whilst the show is absolutely packed with humour, high energy dance routines and show-stopping songs (Michelle Ndegwa in particular has some set of pipes on her!), there are also important messages about tolerance and the fight against racial discrimination.
We see Tracy’s mum, Edna, try to squash her daughter’s ambitions in the hopes of protecting her from being discriminated against because of weight – she doesn’t want her daughter to face the harsh words and criticism that would almost certainly come her way because she didn’t measure up to some arbitrary beauty standards. We see Edna sharing her own insecurities about her weight, about the way she looks and about her failed career aspirations. Motormouth Maybelle teaches Edna to love herself for who she is, from within – and to stop limiting herself because of her body shape (a lesson I think lots of us could still do to learn).
Edna was not wrong about people trying to brush Tracy off because of her looks, but Tracy fights back, buoyed by people who see through her figure and questionable fashion sense to who she really is and fall in love with her for that.
But the main message is about the about the fight against racial discrimination – about standing up for what’s right even when it puts you in a difficult situation (in this case prison for Tracy or the risk of losing your career for Link Larkin who is keen to do right by his new friends but is also worried about maintaining appearances). Whilst the story is set in the 1960s and the battles are different today, the message is still wholly valid – and as Mich said, it teaches important lessons about the history of the fight for racial equality, about how far we have come and how far we still have to go.
These powerful messages are wrapped up in an absolute joy of sequins, wigs and brightly coloured costumes which just add to the already spectacular singing and choreography – point proven by Mich who said at the interval “I just can’t stop smiling, I love it!” I’m going to be singing “You can’t stop the beat” for days.
Hairspray is on at Palace Theatre, Manchester until Saturday 27th July 2024 with tickets available from £25.
Have a read of these posts next:
Where to park next Palace Theatre
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Our guide to Manchester Theatre
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