Hairspray

Hairspray is a probably the closest that Broadway has ever come to producing a pantomime.

Its plot follows the familiar story arc of Beauty and the Beast, it features one of the most enjoyably superficial villains in recent theatre history and it offers Michael Ball the chance to throw on an outrageous dress and play dame Edna.

Set against the growth of the Civil Rights movement, it asks its audience to judge a person not by their looks but by the content of their character, paralleling the minor comedy of overweight schoolgirl Tracy Turnblad with the great social evil of racism.

Teasing its audience as freely as Tracey teases her ratted hairdo, Mark O’Donnell and Thomas Meehan’s Tony Award-winning script plays with the modern notion of political correctness. It ironically contrasts and aligns 1960s prejudices with contemporary ones, shocking its audience with outdated terms and challenging it with racial tensions that are still obvious today.

Marc Shaiman’s musical arrangements and Scott Whitman’s lyrics are an excellent coupling. Shaiman has composed a witty and insightful score that slowly evolves from the bubblegum pinks of Connie Francis to the midnight soul of Motown, subtly referencing sixties standards such as The Ronettes’ Be My Baby and Sondheim’s Gypsy.

As the indomitable Tracy Turnblad, Laurie Scarth is outstanding, bouncing on her pop-socks and shimmying like a Supreme. Aided by Emma Dukes’s wonderfully tragic Penny Pingleton, Scarth delivers a standard of performance as high as her hair.

Michael Ball’s Edna has filled out greatly since he first originated the role in the West End. The vibrato of his iconic voice lends itself surprisingly well to the poppy quality of the show’s score and his rapport with onstage husband Mickey Dolenz is familiar and warm.

The surprise ovation of the night goes to Sandra Marvin’s Motormouth Maybelle. Her striking performance of the show’s torch song, I Know Where I’ve Been, is chillingly beautiful, capturing both the uncertainty and the defiance of the 1965 March on Selma and reflecting the hopes of the black community at this historical epoch.

Whilst its transitions are at times sluggish and marked by several spurious reprises, this is one of the most excitingly staged shows to hit Scotland this year. Jerry Mitchell’s choreography sees girls bop-she-bop in the grubby streets of Baltimore and the school gym hall. Each movement is flavoured with the dance floor rhythms of the era and spectacularly lit.

All in all, this is a triumphant celebration of colour and comedy presented by a Broadway-standard cast.