We Pick Our Favorites from NBC’s Hairspray Live!
Hairspray Live! aired last night, December 7, on NBC and the cast and crew pulled out all the stops to make
it a fun night for all. Despite a number of technical difficulties throughout the musical and a few lagging points, as they say in show business “The Show Must Go On”, and go on it did! Check out below what stood out for us in last night’s telecast:
Jennifer Hudson as Motormouth Maybelle was a joy. Jennifer has appeared on Broadway a number of times and last night she proved why people love seeing her in musicals. From her performance of “Big, Blonde and Beautiful” to her jaw dropping performance of “I Know Where I’ve Been”, Jennifer was a complete standout. If this had been shown on stage she would still be getting a standing ovation. NBC now needs to find out how to get her to come back for another live musical in the future.
Dove Cameron’s performance as Amber Von Tussle was another favorite from last night’s show that we won’t be forgetting anytime soon. Known for her roles on Disney Channel’s Liv & Maddie and Descendants, Dove knocked her first live television performance out of the park. Her facials were some of our favorite moments and her performance of “Cooties” made us want to vote for her for “Miss Baltimore Crabs” even though she was the villain. She may have been a newcomer to some, but she definitely made a name for herself and won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.
A delightful surprise was Ariana Grande’s performance as Penny Pingleton and her chemistry with Ephraim Sykes’ character, Seaweed. When we listened to the soundtrack before watching the live show, we were a little hesitant with Ariana’s portrayal of Penny, but Ariana played the confused and socially awkward Penny “to a t”. She and Ephraim’s chemistry hit its high note in the second act of the musical. The pair played quite well off one another.
The show’s final number “You Can’t Stop the Beat” was a definite high point. This song needs high energy from start to finish and the whole cast really brought it. Everyone sounded great and the dancing was on point, even the moments of dialogue in between didn’t slow the number down. Kudos go out to the choreographers and the director on this one because this is a hard number to pull off. It requires a lot of people, a lot of moving and a lot of different shots to make it work and they did it with ease.
The cast’s performance of “Run and Tell That” was another moment we loved. Ephraim Sykes was one character I wish we had seen more from and his performance in this song proved why. He danced his way from the high school gym through the streets of Baltimore and to Motormouth Maybelle’s record shop with such ease. The West Side Story vibe we got when they hit the streets of Baltimore was enjoyable and Shahadi Wright Joseph as Little Inez was a ray of sunshine that helped brighten this number even more.
Photo by: Justin Lubin/NBC