I went to the opening night of Hairspray at the Grand Theatre in Wolverhampton tonight with the wife and my two daughters Katy (9) and Isla (8).
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect having bought the DVD 12 months ago and binned it after 10 minutes wondering what all of the hype was about. The DVD/Film version just left me cold I’m afraid to say.
Well the live performance was an entirely different experience I am very pleased to say with foot perfect performances from start to finish and some fantastic individual performances too.
The duet between Wilbur (Les Dennis) and Edna (Brian Conley) in act two scene two where they sing and dance ‘Timeless to me’ is worth the ticket price alone. Two brilliant pro’s working the audience with perfect timing and ad libs which I am sure will develop throughout the week. These guys are great performers and they just lapped it up and so did we.
For me, the performer who stood out, and believe me this was difficult with so many great peformances, was Emma Dukes who plays Penny Pingleton. I found Emma quite captivating to watch and such a powerful voice. A great opening night for her and someone I would love to see again in another musical in the future.
But back to the present and the opening night of Hairspray. A standing ovation, a fantastic musical with amazing performances throughout and a great treat for the family.
Hairspray is on all week so do yourself a favour and go and see it – I am sure that you will love it as much as all of us.
For information on the Grand Theatre Wolverhampton or Harspray just follow these links.
