This past Wednesday, Dec. 7th, Hairspray Live! was aired on NBC. While this show has been built up over the months before the show aired, and was claimed to be one of the best NBC live performances yet, the show left me feeling unsatisfied. Screenshot from YouTube

By Kaitlyn Tom

The Good:
Maddie Baillio as Tracy Turnblad
Baillio, who plays the lead Tracy Turnblad, nailed the lead role. While her vocal performance started off on rocky ground with the opening number “Good Morning Baltimore”, which can most likely be attributed to her nerves, Baillio’s voice become progressively stronger over the course of the show. Acting wise, Bailio absolutely nailed her character. Baillio’s naturally energetic spirit translated perfectly into the peppy character.

Jennifer Hudson as Motormouth Maybelle
Hudson absolutely stole the show with her riveting and emotional performance of “I Know Where I’ve Been” that brought not only me, but the cast members performing, to tears. Hudson’s genuine portrayal of the character who heads the effort for integrating television was perfect.

Kristin Chenoweth as Velma Von Tussle
Velma Von Tussle is typically portrayed as a cold hearted and ruthless mama bear, but Chenoweth added a layer of depth to the character by making her character have a humorous side. While it took some getting used to initially, I found myself loving her portrayal of Velma by the end of the show.

Ephraim Sykes as Seaweed J. Stubbs
It is no surprise that Sykes, who was a part of the ensemble in “Hamilton”, gave a stunning performance as Seaweed. From Sykes personality, to his voice, to his dancing skills, Sykes gave an effortless but powerful performance of Seaweed.

“Mama I’m a Big Girl Now”
This song showcased the benefits of seeing this show live on television instead of live at the theater. The use of split screens and seamless transitions for scene changes made this song exciting. Additionally, Dove Cameron’s (who played Amber Von Tussle) vocals really shined in this song, with her seamless rifts and effortless belt.

The original Tracy appearances during “Welcome to the 60’s”
Although their brief moment on screen was easily missed by many, the appearance of the original Tracys on Broadway was a moment that was loved by many who saw the original production.

The not-so-good:
The soundtrack that was out of order
As someone who has an intense love for all things Broadway, I was disappointed in hearing the show’s widely loved soundtrack performed out of order. It was unclear to me why certain songs were placed out of order, and only caused confusion and disappointment within the acting community. The combination of “Big, Blonde, and Beautiful” with the protest scene (typically, the protest scene is accompanied by the song “I Know Where I’ve Been”) was strange and caused the arguably most moving scene of the musical to become a showy number where the importance of the Civil Rights Act was made into a silly scene that did not portray half of what protests were like during the time. Kudos to Hudson, though, for using her belt to try to express the importance and monumental change that the protest was originally meant to display.

The Hamilton reference
Typically, I love Hamilton references, but this particular one, where Link Larkin (portrayed by Garrett Clayton), says “I’m not throwing away my shot”, left me feeling uncomfortable. The lackluster delivery of the line was less than appealing, and the timing of a pun directly after a heated scene where the topic of racial segregation was discussed was not funny in any way.

Garrett Clayton as Link Larkin
I had high hopes for Clayton to portray Larkin, but his acting disappointed me. His sudden shift from superficial-popular-boy-who-ignores-Tracy to advocate-for-social-change-who-cares-about-Tracy was strange, and despite the fact that he had multiple opportunities to show a more gradual shift in his character, he chose to have a sudden shift, which was not genuine at all. In addition, Clayton’s vocals, especially in “Without Love”, sounded weak next to Baillio and Sykes’ strong voices.

Ariana Grande as Penny Pingleton
While Grande typically sounds great on her recordings, her vocal performance was quite weak during this show. With Sykes as her love interest, whom she shares verses with, her voice that was not up-to-par was only highlighted. Additionally, Grande’s lack of facial expressions was enough to throw me off, especially during Hudson’s amazing performance of “I Know Where I’ve Been”.

The costumes during “It’s Hairspray”
The costumes that the girls wore during this song were not flattering at all. While I understood that these were used to cover up the girls’ dresses underneath, I wish that the costume designer had put a little more thought into the cover up sheet.

The mic problems
The mic problems, which involved mics cutting out and the audience often being too loud to hear the mics on low volume, could’ve easily been fixed. However, the presence of these problems led to me missing what some actors said, and most of all, the incredible talent of most of the cast members.

The lack of Little Inez
Plainly put, Shahadi Wright Joseph, who portrayed Little Inez, was incredible. However, her dance interlude during the closing number was omitted, which I would’ve loved to see. While her role was overlooked in Hairspray Live!, I cannot wait to see Joseph again in a musical or on tv.