Katie Brace Archives - North West End UK

26Nov

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Hairspray – Bradford Alhambra

Hairspray is one of those rare musicals that can happily combine big, breezy show tunes with a clear political message, but still easily fill big theatres like this. It’s 1962, Tracy Turnblad is a plus size teenager with an enormous beehive living in racially segregated Baltimore, who has a dream of becoming a star of the Corny Collins TV dance show despite limited talent, which certainly feels familiar in our reality TV obsessed world. Along the way Tracy who is mocked by the 'cool' white teens finds she has much in common with her black friends, and leads an assault on Corny’s show to try and unite the races through the medium of song and dance. Hairspray was the creation of transgressive cult filmmaker John Waters who brought together a gang of misfits in his home city to cre...

19Nov

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Hairspray – Hull New Theatre

Hull New Theatre was packed to the rafters on Monday evening, in anticipation of watching Hairspray - “the hilarious, joyous and most inspiring musical of all” according to the press release. Did it live up that that description? You bet. I loved every madcap minute. It’s 1962 America - Baltimore to be exact - and teen schoolgirl Tracy Turnblad (Katie Brace) is desperate to appear on her favourite TV programme, The Corny Collins Show. Corny (Joseph Bristow), invites teens to show off their dancing skills, but racial segregation is prevalent in America at that time, so all of the dancers are “white”, with a “negro” night being held every so often. Corny’s show is sponsored by a hairspray company, and Tracy’s ears prick up when she hears of a competition for a Miss Teenage Hairsp...

16Oct

By Tracey BellNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Hairspray – Sheffield Lyceum

It’s Welcome to the 60’s as Hairspray sprays the Sheffield Lyceum this week and You Can’t stop the Beat with this high energy, high octave musical. With the original screenplay by John Waters and the Musical Productions book by Mark O’Donnell and Thomas Meehan, the composer and co-lyricist Marc Shaiman and lyricist Scott Wittman collectively created a modern day classic - with all the ingredients to give Hairspray the longevity and wide spread appeal is deserves. Under the direction of Paul Kerryson and Brenda Edwards with top notch choreography by Drew Mconie this current UK tour easily equals, and I think surpassed its predecessor. With minimum set (Takis) and lavish caricatured costume the vast stage of the Lyceum is filled with an incredible cast which has a heart as big as its storyli...

15Mar

By Roger JacobsNo Comments

Scotland

Hairspray – Edinburgh Playhouse

‘Save your personal life…’ instructs Velma Von Tussle ‘… for the camera, Sweetie.’ She, back in ‘62 (OK, John Waters in the mid 80’s) had clearly seen something in a crystal ball about TV beyond the early 90’s. Despite how prescient this observation, it was soon overwhelmed by a production possessing strength, power and above all… rhythm. The dialogue - sharp and indestructible as a diamond – swung perfectly between the songs and vice versa, but where musicals can often find themselves staffed by good actors who can sing and dance a little, or good singers/dancers who can act a bit, this had a cast capable of handling it all. Of a Dick Van Dyke accent catastrophe there was barely a flicker. Not a cue nor a laugh was missed. It’s scarcely believable that this was the professional debu...

28Sep

By Peter KinnockNo Comments

West Midlands

Hairspray – Birmingham Hippodrome

The John Waters film “Hairspray” has always struck me an odd source for a Broadway musical stemming from the sub-sub-cultural independent movie starring the Ricki Lake and the unsettlingly bizarre Divine. Waters films were, and perhaps still are, deliberately shocking, subversive and cheaply shot. But musicals have been created from odder sources - cats and trains spring to mind. Since 2002 “Hairspray - the musical” has delighted audiences on Broadway and West end and beyond with noted performances from Michael Ball and Brian Conley. So far, it’s ticking all the right boxes and a fun night seem to be ensured…Okay, so the place was full of engaged, delighted and whooping fans intent on a good night and a good night they had, though I’m not sure the show was entirely responsible for it. The ...

31Aug

By Alison BainesNo Comments

North West

Hairspray – Empire Theatre

Bank holiday weekend, and the last week before kids are back to school and what better than a treat to see musical phenomenon Hairspray as it hits the stage in Liverpool! We arrived at the theatre in plenty of time but were greeted by a massive queue snaking around all the way to the entrance of the Lime Street Station. The queue, presumably due to the checking of covid status in addition to bag searches and tickets, was rather frustrating and after waiting 20 to 30 minutes to enter, we reached the front of the queue for 7.30pm by which time the show was already starting late (as half the audience was still outside), meaning a mad dash to find your seat and prepare. Not a great start I must say, but fingers crossed this can be much better organised for the next show in the run... Aft...

17Aug

By Tracey BellNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Hairspray – Sheffield Lyceum

Sheffield Lyceum’s opening night after 17 months of darkness - Hairspray is resoundingly resplendent, raucous and right on point. The show highlights many modern day issues that are particularly relevant today, that of Racism, Body Image and Sexism but never in a heavyweight way. It can be difficult to achieve this but, Hairspray packages these issues with a buoyant bouffant and plenty of toe tapping tunes. Set in Baltimore in the 1960’s we follow the trailblazer Tracy Turnblad as she stands up for equality and proves there is no place for the word ‘minorities' in the dawn of a new era. The staging on the UK tour remains traditional and is mainly made up of backdrops and two trucks which represent the Turnblad household on stage right and the Pingleton/ Motormouth Record Store on the l...