You can’t stop the beat of Hairspray in Cardiff’s Millenium Centre! The iconic musical has arrived in the Welsh capital this week, and it’s not to be missed.
American teen Tracey Turnblad, played by Alexandra Emmerson-Kirby in her professional debut, kicked off the performance by belting out ‘Good Morning Baltimore’, welcoming us to 1960s Baltimore amidst the civil rights movement and rampant fatphobia, unfortunately for plus sized Tracey.
We follow the cheery teen’s dance ambitions to an audition for the Corny Collins Show with best friend nerdy Penny (Freya McMahon), we’re met with an overwhelming display of sparkle, colour and whitewashing, as we meet host Corny (Declan Egan), mean girl Amber (Allana Taylor), her producer mother Velma (Gina Murray), and heartthrob Link (Solomon Davy).
With the Corny Collins Show’s council members being the best (white) dancers in Baltimore, it’ll come as no surprise that the cast were show-stoppingly fantastic through every number, even whilst doing silly moves such as the Stricken Chicken!
Tracey wins a spot on the show, we see her parents celebrating at home with Penny, who’s strict Christian mother would never let her do such a thing. Edna and Wilbur, played by Neil Hurst and Dermot Canavan respectively, were a real highlight of the show, always bringing the audience to laughter and succumbing to it themselves at points, especially during their duet ‘(You’re) Timeless To Me’ where crude comments made were clearly ad-libbed!
The iconic ‘Welcome to the 60s’ song was a delight with bright lights, colourful costumes and fabulous vocals across the board, shortly followed by the catchy ‘Run and Tell That’, performed by the brilliant Reece Richards as Seaweed. The smooth vocals and smoother dance moves of Seaweed alongside sister Little Inez (Katlo) really emphasised the overlooked talent of the black dancers on the Corny Collins Show and started a change in tone for the musical.
When Tracey begins to grasp the inequalities her African American friends endure, she joins them in taking a stand by marching on the Show’s television network, leading to their eventual imprisonment.
While love interest Link busts her out of jail, Seaweed rescues Penny, we hear the catchiest song of the night, ‘Without Love’, as the teen lovebirds dance comedically around the stage, before the power ballad ‘I Know Where I’ve Been’ by Michelle Ndegwa as Motormouth Maybelle brought the audience to their feet.
Tracey and friends break into the Show’s Miss Hairspray pageant, the famous ‘You Can’t Stop the Beat’ echoed around the room as the crowd whooped and clapped along as the whole cast joined in.
As the cast took their bow, the audience took to their feet to celebrate Emmerson-Kirby’s Tracey, and danced and sang along to the encore.
If you want a night of empowering history set to the catchiest soundtrack and perfectly placed comedy, this is the one for you!
Tickets are still on sale so get there fast to grab a last minute seat in an unmissable show. Availability and information can be found here.
