

Hairspray Live! originally aired on NBC in 2016 and, in my opinion, is one of the best productions since the recent trend of translating stage musicals into television spectaculars began. “Hairspray Live! vividly brings Broadway into millions of living rooms, brimming with talent.” The show is the award-winning television adaptation of Hairspray streaming this weekend courtesy of The Shows Must Go On. Hey, there quarantined Baltimore! The nicest kids in town are back and they are bringing their uplifting show to the world for 48 hours starting today. Past streams include “Cats,” “Phantom of the Opera” and “Jesus Christ Superstar.The finale of ‘Hairspray Live!’ playing on YouTube on The Shows Must Go On. ICYDK, The Shows Must Go On is a platform that provides “theater streamings and non-bootleg recordings…for free, or for a small donation fee, during the COVID-19 pandemic.” It airs a new full-length play every Friday (well, Saturday for us PH viewers) for 48 hours. Fierstein also provided the new teleplay and “Kinky Boot”’s Jerry Mitchell led the choreography.

It’s the version featuring Maddie Baillio as Tracy, Harvey Fierstein as Tracy’s mother, Edna, Ariana Grande as Penny, Jennifer Hudson as Maybelle “Motormouth” Stubbs, Kristin Chenoweth as Velma Von Tussle and Billy Eichner as Rob Barker, among others. “Hairspray Live!” was recorded in 2016, and was part of their string of made-for-TV musical telecasts. It’ll be hosted by The Shows Must Go On’s YouTube channel, and it’ll be up for only 48 hours. (Philippine time), “Hairspray Live!” will be available for streaming for free on YouTube. Tracy Turnblad’s immense optimism and determination coupled with peppy ‘60s inspired tunes make for a sunny hour-and-half watch, which is all we need when the entire world is on fire. “Hairspray,” the underground John Waters film turned Broadway smash hit turned musical film about a plucky plus-sized girl in 1960s Baltimore who decides to audition for a TV dance show, is one of the more comforting musicals to stream (or listen to cast recordings to) during this time.
