I do love “you can’t stop the beat” (or as Harvey Firestein calls it “you can’t stop to breathe”).
I had to mute it for a while as I was on the phone with an airlines getting a price adjustment and their computers were slow, so I missed some, but got most of JH’s song. She is great.
Watched it and enjoyed it. I’m a fan of Harvey Firestein. I saw him on Broadway in this role–it was in 2003.
Funny, Bromfield. My major criticism is that Fierstein seemed to lack energy. He looked and acted old.
Yea, I thought Fierstein was okay but not great.
Fierstein is 62. Way too old for the part, but I can see how the producers liked the idea of having the originator of the role in the cast.
I only got to see the last half, and perhaps missed the high points, but I saw the show on Broadway and in a couple of student productions (not the movie, though), so have some basis for comparison. Somehow the sets and lighting didn’t seem cheerful enough. Jennifer Hudson was terrific. The rest of the cast seemed fine, though I’ve seen the Penny role played for a lot more laughs–Ariana Grande didn’t seem to have the necessary comic appeal. But I’m not a fan of hers to start with, so perhaps I’m being unduly harsh. I was disappointed in the lead. Considering Maddie Baillio supposedly beat out a thousand auditioners for the role, I thought she was quite mediocre, lacking any screen chemistry whatsoever and nowhere near lively enough. Tracey Turnblad has to be a commanding presence; this girl just wasn’t. I read that she plans to drop out of Marymount Manhattan to pursue her career. Harvey urged her do do so, but Kristin Chenoweth told her to finish her education. I’m with Kristin.
Think Fierstein was the weakest link in the show - too old and it showed in his performance
Fierstein was definitely better in 2003, but I still enjoyed the show. I really like the music–have it on my ipod. Here’s a review from the NY Times.
www.nytimes.com/2016/12/08/arts/television/review-hairspray-live.html
“Bye Bye Birdie” is scheduled next! - starring JLo…! http://time.com/4594751/jennifer-lopez-bye-bye-birdie-nbc/?xid=tcoshare
I liked the little cameos from Ricki Lake and Marissa Winouker, two former Tracys. My favorite is still the original with Lake, she was so sassy and had attitude (and could dance). I’ve watched it countless times. I still use Edna’s line “I’ve got hampers of ironing to do and my diet pill is wearing off” when things get hectic at home.
I didn’t think this Tracy was as assertive and confident as previous portrayals, but she seemed enthusiastic and happy to be there.
I understand he was old for the part, but having seen Harvey Fierstein in the original Broadway cast (and in Torch Song Trilogy years before that) I was thrilled to see him reprise his role as Edna and have it recorded for posterity. Overall the show was fun for me to watch. I felt that the big numbers (except the first one which seemed a bit off) like You Can’t Stop the Beat as well as numbers sung by powerhouses (Miss Baltimore Crabs, anything by Jenifer Hudson) played very well but some of the quieter more intimate numbers like Timeless to Me (which I remember tearing up during when I saw the show on Broadway) lost a lot in the translation to TV. Kristin Chenowith, Jennifer Hudson, Ephraim Sykes, and Harvey Fierstein (even if for nostalgia purposes) were standouts to me. I wish Andrea Martin had more screen time.
The biggest negative was all the commercials, cut-aways etc. Definitely didn’t need to see people in other cities watching the show. It made the production feel more like a series of vignettes as opposed to a classic live theater show (but I guess the station wants to cover the expense of the production). I DVR’d it and am looking forward to watching it again and flipping through commercials with my D when she gets home from grad school.
I missed parts of it and need to rematch but I did think the production quality (especially sound) was superior to that of the previous live musicals that have been aired in the past few years.
Am I the only one that though the lip syncing was off? Tracy looked like she was just mouthing the words; you never saw her chest or neck move, and what she was mouthing was not in sync with what was playing. I had to turn away and just listen as it distracted me too much. While I noticed it a bit with other characters, it wasn’t as noticeable.
Noticed it especially in first number
Jennifer Hudson’s “I Know Where I’ve Been” just knocked my socks off. So powerful, and so many layers of meaning.
I was surprised that the lead wasn’t a better dancer. When a major plot point is Tracy wowing Corny with her fantastic dancing, I want to see a Tracy who can dance.
I thought the staging/direction of “i know where I’ve been” was not good. They missed a huge opportunity for a goosebump moment. My community theatre did this show last summer and I thought our direction was more effective than this! The characters should have spread out, holding hands, in more of a gospel style chorus. Not the choppy camera jumps.
I also thought several comedic lines were delivered just too fast and with no comedy timing.
I thought a lot of actors were out of breath and not sure if that was nerves or poor prep. But I love live theatre.
Funny, I’ve always said that the big disconnect in the various versions of Hairspray I’ve seen is that none of the Tracys have actually been able to dance well-or or have even been given good choreography… I guess it’s hard for someone so heavy to look good dancing when everyone around her is slim and lithe, so Tracy’s dancing is given short shrift in the show, and everyone just pretends she’s terrific. The show as a whole is hardly realisitic, so we just go along with the fantasy that she’s a fabulous dancer (just as we go along with the fantasy that the high school heartthrob will fall for the fat girl–has never happened and never will). The actress cast as Tracy has to be an seriously overweight girl with a big personality and a strong voice. If she had to be an exceptional dancer too, I don’t think anyone would fill the bill.
My nephew played Link Larkin in a professional regional production of Hairspray. He had a summer romance with the actress who played Tracy. So sometimes the gorgeous guy does fall for the chubby girl with the big personality.
I missed the first half hour or so, but what I saw was much, much better than any of the other recent efforts to stage live musicals on TV – Sound of Music, Grease, The Wiz.