Hairspray Live!

TV-PG

2016

2 hr. 0 min.

Musical

Comedy

Drama

List

76%

25 Reviews

Tomatometer

74%

100+ Ratings

Audience Score

In 1960s Baltimore, a teenage dance-loving girl dreams of getting a spot on a popular television show.

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Critics Consensus

Hairspray Live! shimmers with outstanding performances, an engaging story, and songs that let its stars shine.

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Audience Member

Engaging, even if does not reach the same heights as the 2007 film (the energy of everyone is there, but not quite as magical), this story is still very relevant for nowadays. The cast is incredible, especially the deliciously funny and evil (and always perfect for every single role) Kristin Chenoweth and the ever fantastic Jennifer Hudson (with her showstopping voice in another definitive verson of a musical song), I just wanted to some stories to be more developped (looking at you, Ariana Grande). Maddie Baillio is good, but not as captivating as Nikki Blonsky.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/07/23

Full Review

Audience Member

AMAZING BEST FILM EVER WISH THIS WAS ON ALL STREAMING SERVICES!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/15/23

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Audience Member

Funny, original, & full of music!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/28/23

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Audience Member

I love it!! super excited, with a great soundtrack!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/12/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The musical was ingeniously directed by Tony award-winning Broadway director, Kenny Leon, which easily becomes Leon's best work to date. This refresh based on John Waters' 1988 Hairspray film and Mark O'Donnell's and Thomas Meehan's original Hairspray Musical hits the nail on the head when it comes to the performances, choreography, costume and set design. I remember when I was a kid my mother bought me the 2007 Hairspray movie musical on DVD, and I would sing-along and dance to every single song like nobody was watching and that is exactly how I felt while watching this refreshed, live rendition of the iconic musical. There is simply no bad song in this musical. "You Can't Stop the Beat" continues to hold up its name for being one of the best finale songs in a musical. All the performances made you feel like singing and running in the rain with your friends. Each musical number is perfectly choreographed and composed with lyrics that can sometimes be campy and offensive, but it somehow manages to add more character to the song. They've managed to perfectly weave humour and outright sassy lyrics into 60s bluesy styled songs which adds to the uniqueness of it all and further shows that they don't take themselves too seriously. The lyrics in one of the songs, "Without Love" reads, "Life is like my mother, on a diet" and "Tracy I'm in love with you no matter what you weigh", just cracks me up every time. It shows how bold the writers and composers are to do something other writers and composers wouldn't dare to do. It's axiomatic these fresh new actors would be put on a very high pedestal as the bar that has been set by the former actors who embodied these characters is undeniably very high. The young actors, aside from Dove Cameron and Maddie Baillio, unfortunately, fall flat on their faces. Although Garret Clayton possesses the sex appeal and porcelain doll complexion which heavily suites the character of Link Larkin, it does not translate into his dance and singing and overall demeanour of the character. Clayton's overall performance was abysmal compared to Zac Efron's iconic portrayal of Link in the 2007 Hairspray movie musical. The charm and poise that Efron exudes as Link, sadly did not come across with Clayton. Ariana Grande on the other hand visibly tries to do the material justice. I think it's safe to say that she should stick to what she is best at, R&B pop songs. On the other end of the spectrum, Jennifer Hudson and Kristin Chenoweth were both outstanding in their supporting roles. Hudson easily carries the musical on her back with her powerful "Aguilerian" voice and tenacious yet elegant acting performance which easily becomes one of her best acting performances to date. I can't contain how happy I am seeing Kristin Chenoweth finally playing the role she was born to play. Chenoweth as Velma Von Tussle steals all her scenes with her villainous wit and skilled theatrical voice. The production design on the other hand was a whole character in and of itself. All the sets were masterfully tailored to look like an authentic movie scene from the 60s. The vibrant colours, abstract shapes, neon lights, and vintage façade coupled with fantabulous costume design, hair and makeup accentuate the pop culture era of the 60s and kept me immersed in the whole illustrious experience. Despite some mediocre acting and lacklustre performances, Hairspray is still one of the most indisputably good musicals out there. This musical succeeds in depicting the power of popular art to create change. It's full of politics, opportunistic media, institutional racism, and class privilege all fighting a battle against people who can't help but crave righteousness. To quote the musical, it's "Afro-tastic".

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/18/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Not the best interpretation of it but still enjoyed

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/11/20

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Kenny Leon

Director

Alex Rudzinski

Director

Maddie Baillio

Tracy Turnblad

Jennifer Hudson

Motormouth Maybelle

Harvey Fierstein

Edna Turnblad

Martin Short

Wilbur Turnblad

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Mark Kennedy

Associated Press

There may have been enough aerosol spray to burn off the rest of our ozone layer, but Wednesday's ambitious live version of the musical Hairspray on NBC was worth the environmental damage. It was light and fun and soon had you stuck.

Dec 14, 2016

Full Review

Jenna Scherer

Rolling Stone

Listen: Any day we get to see Harvey Fierstein performing in full drag on network television is a good goddamn day in America.

Dec 9, 2016

Full Review

Gail Pennington

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

There was a lot to enjoy, but also so many wrong-headed choices as to make viewers sometimes wonder exactly why we were bothering.

Dec 8, 2016

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Mariah Smith

Cosmopolitan

[Jennifer Hudson] is the sole star.

Mar 7, 2018

Full Review

Emily Ashby

Common Sense Media

This is an impressive, jubilant production of a story that's rich in messages about diversity, inclusion, and loving yourself.

Rated: 4/5

Dec 9, 2016

Full Review

Malcolm Venable

TV.com

Well! That was something. NBC's Hairspray Live! didn't just raise the bar for live TV musicals -- it bedazzled it, twirled it around and threw it up in the air while doing cartwheels.

Dec 9, 2016

Full Review

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Synopsis

In 1960s Baltimore, a teenage dance-loving girl dreams of getting a spot on a popular television show.

Director: Kenny Leon, Alex Rudzinski
Executive Producer: Craig Zadan, Neil Meron
Screenwriter: Harvey Fierstein, Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman
Production Co: Storyline Entertainment
Rating: TV-PG
Genre: Musical, Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English