Hairspray Live! (1 Viewer)

[cinemiracle]

I started to watch HAIRSPRAY LIVE to-night. I gave up after less 30 minutes. The singing was out of sinc so many times.It should never have been allowed.Completely ruined the show for me seeing peoples' mouths moving before the singing started.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I did not have any sync issues viewing the live broadcast. It may not be inherent to the broadcast itself but rather an error from your local distributor.

 

[jauritt]

And yet, the next one will be Bye Bye Birdie, another musical that's already available as a film that everyone has already seen.

In the case of Bye Bye Birdie, the film version is not very relevant in the decision whether to watch the live TV version or not, as (assuming they will be broadcasting a version of the play and not the film) the film and play are barely the same thing. Dick Van Dyke, who of course starred in the Broadway production, after filming the movie, told his friends NOT to see it, as they had turned the movie into "the Ann-Margret story".

 

[TJPC]

I agree that all of these live shows have been complete warhorses. I have plowed through each one, but I really deplore the lack of imagination in their choices.
Why do they have to have the same shows over and over again? Really, the Sound of Music! I would have to have a gun to my head to sit through that slop again? To me, once the movie is made, the show should be put to bed.
The same thing happens with local professional theatre companies. We have two professional companies putting on Guys and Dolls and Me and My Girl! both shows of course have been done to death by professional touring companies.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

To me, once the movie is made, the show should be put to bed..

That's basically where I'm at. There might be some merit at doing it on a local level, but I truly don't understand the point of something like Fox's Rocky Horror, where they just did a made-for-TV movie version of an existing movie that anyone was free to watch at anytime.

I understand the point of making a movie out of a show. Not everyone can make it to Broadway to see the show. Making a movie expands the audience exponentially, and preserves the work for posterity. I do not for the life of me understand making a movie into a show, and though I've seen a couple of those productions (like "The Producers"), I don't enjoy them. To me, it feels about the same as when I was a little kid and I'd play "Star Wars" with my friends with lightsabers in the backyard - it's re-enacting our favorite movie and it's fun to play, but what we were doing wasn't art and certainly no one should be paying money for it. So on that level, I'm not even really comfortable with the existence of a Broadway musical version of the movie Hairspray, much less the movie musical remake, or now this television broadcast. Obviously, with shows like that getting the bulk of the business on Broadway, I'm in a very tiny minority with this viewpoint.

 

[Bob Cashill]

I'm glad to hear it was more fun. I wanted to go again, but between the high cost of Broadway shows and an unforgiving schedule, I just couldn't make it happen. It sounds like they made the changes that absolutely needed to happen. Arachne was the focus of about two-thirds of the original version of the play; Spider-Man wasn't the star of his own show! On one hand, the actress who played her, TV Carpio, was fantastic, but the part was so ill-advised for the show. That was apparently all Taymor - "You know what would make our Spider-Man show great? Making up a new character that no one's ever heard of our cares about, and making sure to keep her front and center no matter how much the audience wants to see Spider-Man."

The Geek Chorus was horrendous for multiple reasons, but the breaking of the momentum was the worst. Every time I'd just start feeling swept up in the story, they'd come out and bring it all to a halt. They made a ton of terrible 90s bad puns that seemed completely random. (I think there was a Titanic joke in there... why??) And that they'd stop and explain stuff that was so obvious, I just didn't see how anyone thought that was a good idea. If you show Peter being bitten by a spider, you don't then need to stop the show and have four kids tell us that he got bit by a spider. I honestly don't know how they even made it to the first preview - how did no one go "wow, that's incredibly redundant and ruins the momentum each time" after seeing it rehearsed even once?

I shortchanged Patrick Page in my earlier comments; he was great! In the version I saw, he randomly plummets to his death at the end of the first act, and that's that. Gone too soon. The night I saw it, they had some technical issues during one of the wirework scenes, and Spider-Man had to stay suspended above the audience for a few minutes as the house lights came up and technicians adjusted whatever needed to be adjusted. Page, fully enjoying his role, stood onstage taunting Spidey - "So, just how many of you have they dropped so far?" and so on. They could have just given Page a green robe and let him adlib whatever he wanted for an hour and it would have been priceless.

Page is wonderful in everything, a New York theater treasure. He did the Grinch musical for several seasons--that would be fun for TV, to complement the animated perennial. (A peppy 90 minutes, and much better than the Jim Carrey version.) The ELF musical, too, if we're looking for Yuletide treats.

I'm surprised no one's done a TV SEUSSICAL. The Broadway version was a legendary flop but the stripped-down touring version was an improvement (I saw them both), and it would work well on TV with a starry cast.

 

[Bob Cashill]

That's basically where I'm at. There might be some merit at doing it on a local level, but I truly don't understand the point of something like Fox's Rocky Horror, where they just did a made-for-TV movie version of an existing movie that anyone was free to watch at anytime.

I understand the point of making a movie out of a show. Not everyone can make it to Broadway to see the show. Making a movie expands the audience exponentially, and preserves the work for posterity. I do not for the life of me understand making a movie into a show, and though I've seen a couple of those productions (like "The Producers"), I don't enjoy them. To me, it feels about the same as when I was a little kid and I'd play "Star Wars" with my friends with lightsabers in the backyard - it's re-enacting our favorite movie and it's fun to play, but what we were doing wasn't art and certainly no one should be paying money for it. So on that level, I'm not even really comfortable with the existence of a Broadway musical version of the movie Hairspray, much less the movie musical remake, or now this television broadcast. Obviously, with shows like that getting the bulk of the business on Broadway, I'm in a very tiny minority with this viewpoint.

True, many movie musicals-to-stage musicals, like movies to musicals, are uninspired--I've seen, and forgotten, lots. But the ones that work, work beautifully, and hit in both mediums. They expand the palette of the source material. HAIRSPRAY, the film, was more of a movie with song and dance numbers than a movie musical, so that worked onstage, and I'm glad its original star got a chance to recreate his performance. (It's not like the enjoyable 2007 film of it was so deathless.) Same with THE PRODUCERS--a live TV version might have taken the embalming fluid out of it as a movie. ONCE worked twice, and SCHOOL OF ROCK (perfect for TV) gives its young cast a chance to shine with some decent original material to perform.

(Not a musical to begin with, WAITRESS is a star vehicle for the incredible Jessie Mueller--now there's someone who should be shared with the wider world doing what she does best.)

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Same with THE PRODUCERS--a live TV version might have taken the embalming fluid out of it as a movie.

Here's my thing with The Producers. I grew up loving the original Mel Brooks movie. My dad gave me a copy on VHS when I was young, and since I did a lot of theater in high school, the movie was a perfect fit for me then. I can't tell you how many times I watched it (sometimes on my own, sometimes with fellow theater geeks), but it was always a delight. I was initially very excited at the idea of it coming to Broadway, especially with Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick, two actors whose work I've always respected and enjoyed. On paper, it was the Best Idea Ever. And then I actually saw the show, during its first year onstage, with the original cast. I don't think I laughed once. Many of the more hilarious moments from the film were instead replaced by unfunny musical numbers. Paradoxically, it felt both bloated and as if the life had been sucked out of it.

I did see the movie version of the musical, and while it was terribly reviewed and generally hated, to me it seemed like a very accurate adaptation of the musical that I had seen onstage. I hated the movie, but I shouldn't have been surprised because everything wrong with the musical itself carried into the film. I think it's a good film adaptation of a terrible show - so the overall result is a terrible movie, but I don't think it's due to any filmmaker incompetence. I'm surprised at how many people I've met who said they loved the show on Broadway but hated the movie, because to me, they're pretty much the exact same thing.

ONCE worked twice

I saw Once a couple years ago on Broadway with my then-girlfriend (now wife). At the time, I hadn't seen the movie. I didn't hate the play, but it also fell kinda flat for me. I just didn't believe in it. I can't point to any particular faults with the staging or the direction or the acting or the musicians or anything - I can't explain why, I just didn't buy it. However, I got to see the movie maybe a year later, and I was completely enchanted by it. Everything that didn't work for me on the stage worked beautifully in the film. I would gladly see the movie again. I think I would pass on another chance at the stage version.

 

[Matt Hough]

I can think of one terrific example of a movie that then went the musical play route and each was sensational on its own for staying true to the original source material but each doing its own thing in its own realm:

Lili, the enchanting drama with a song and two dance sequences, was turned into a whimsical musical delight called Carnival! It didn't use any of Lili's songs or dances but had a similar tone but with a full Broadway score, and it was one of the most magical evenings in the theater I ever had.

Carnival! would make a wonderful live TV adaptation, but it doesn't have the name value to attract an audience even though it's family friendly with that lilting score and those wonderful puppets. Some great shows never get to prove how great they are because they've been lost to the mists of time.

 

[Malcolm R]

Spamalot ?

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I didn't like Spamalot for the same reason I wasn't able to enjoy The Producers on Broadway - I really, really, really wanted to like it, but it just didn't do anything for me.

 

[Stan]

I agree that all of these live shows have been complete warhorses. I have plowed through each one, but I really deplore the lack of imagination in their choices.
Why do they have to have the same shows over and over again? Really, the Sound of Music! I would have to have a gun to my head to sit through that slop again? To me, once the movie is made, the show should be put to bed.
The same thing happens with local professional theatre companies. We have two professional companies putting on Guys and Dolls and Me and My Girl! both shows of course have been done to death by professional touring companies.

Totally agree with you. Reading the comments, looks I didn't miss much by forgetting to set the DVR for Hairspray.

I remember "The Sound of Music" from a few years ago and it was dreadful. I forced myself to get through it, but never again. Positively painful. Nothing will ever compare to the film, so why try.

And with more and more info online, have been reading a lot of "behind the scenes" things about "The Sound of Music". How things were filmed, the sets, the kids and Christopher Plummer's negative comments.

It's written in film history now, can't be changed. But why give a part in a movie to somebody who really doesn't want to be there. All of that has somewhat ruined the film for me. Can't really call them spoilers, the film is 50+ years old, but information I really didn't need to know.

Sometimes it's better to be a naive fan, watching the film, not knowing what happened, just enjoying the final product.

Speaking about being "done to death", our local theatre is once again doing "Fiddler on the Roof" and "Annie", for the umpteenth time. Sadly, guess I've contributed to the problem as I had small parts in both shows back in 1983. But they're endlessly recycled. Seems like there is this core group of about 25 shows that are done over and over. Move onto something new.

 

[Bob Cashill]

I think Hairspray is going to be repeated, maybe on the 14th? Thought I'd read that. (EDIT: 12/26 is indeed the day.)

 

[Matt Hough]

I think Hairspray is going to be repeated, maybe on the 14th? Thought I'd read that.

I think I read the 26th. But the DVD of the show is going to be available before the repeat, I think.

 

[Bob Cashill]

Right you are--12/26.

 

[Stan]

I think Hairspray is going to be repeated, maybe on the 14th? Thought I'd read that.

Found a place called BroadwayWorld.com that says it will be shown again on Dec. 26th, 8-11 ET. They're supposedly the only site saying this, so could be a hoax. I'll keep watching the Dish Network schedule, they usually show stuff 7-8 days out so should know in a week or so if this is real.

The NBC schedule only runs up until the 24th, so no way to verify if this is true yet.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

Actually, I wouldn't mind a proper TV production of Annie. Both movies are supposedly terrible, and I heard that the new one actually dropped my favorite song from the show. I haven't seen a live performance of it since the '70s, so it's not worn out for me!

 

[Matt Hough]

Actually, I wouldn't mind a proper TV production of Annie. Both movies are supposedly terrible, and I heard that the new one actually dropped my favorite song from the show. I haven't seen a live performance of it since the '70s, so it's not worn out for me!

If they continue doing these live musicals, I wouldn't be surprised to see Annie somewhere down the line though in addition to the two feature films, we also have the Rob Marshall-directed made-for-TV movie with Kathy Bates as Miss Hannigan that was the best of the three versions and is the one I watch when I want to see the show (even though it, too, deleted songs and changed some things from the stage version).

 

[TJPC]

Annie!? Argggggggggggggg!

 

[Malcolm R]

Finally got to watch this all the way through today, and really loved it. My only reference for the musical is the 2007 movie, so there were some differences that I wasn't sure if they were made for TV or were in the original Broadway show (such as Corny Collins singing "Ladies Choice," and "Big, Blonde and Beautiful" continuing into the initial march on the TV station, with "I Know Where I've Been" taking place later in the record shop).

It got off to a bit of a shaky start, with "Good Morning Baltimore" appearing to be shot at nighttime, rather than in the morning, audio drop-outs and out of sync lip-sync, the mechanical rat got stuck on something, and the flasher that was plainly wearing boxers.

I didn't think they lip-synced all the time, or else they were much better in certain songs than others. It seemed to me that if they weren't involved in a vigorous dance number, they might have been singing live. But I don't know.

I thought the cast all did well, and didn't have any major issues with any of them. I was skeptical about Jennifer Hudson when she was first cast, but she was great. Andrea Martin was great as Prudence.

I agree that the scene at the jail was kind of awkward, with either the back of Link's head or one eye only visible between the bars. Seems like they could have made the bars smaller, or had some sort of mesh rather than bars (it seems kind of odd that a jail would be open to the street). And the odd pauses by Kristen Chenowith in "Miss Baltimore Crabs" (Miss Balti.....more Cr...a...a...bs) were a little distracting.

Overall a fun time, and I'm glad I was able to watch it on DVR so I could fast-forward through the live audience stuff and commercials. It seemed like the vocals were kind of buried in the sound mix at times (like Mr Pinky during "Welcome to the 60's"), but I didn't really notice any major sound issues. Hope we see a blu-ray sometime. If not, I'll wait for the DVD to be on price drop.