Review: Hairspray, the Lyceum, Sheffield

But beyond the feel-good fluff there are hard-hitting messages in Hairspray, the larger-than-life musical raising the roof of the Lyceum until Saturday.

Segregation, bullying and body image; racism, ageism, even Communism are among the themes tackled by a storyline set at a crossroads in history – 1962 civil rights era America – when the TV may have been black and white but social equality was strictly monochrome.

Katie Brace plays Baltimore teen Tracy Turnblad, our jubilant, plus-size, ‘big-hair-don’t-care’ heroine, who dreams of dancing her way on to national television with a hairdo as huge as her personality.

With a motto to live by – “Eat some breakfast, then change the world” – she sets out not just to fulfil her own ambitions but also to lift up the people around her.

In the process there’s a love interest in the form of heart-throb Link Larkin, some dazzling dance routines from a large ensemble cast, and showstopping numbers that culminate in the familiar You Can’t Stop the Beat.

The show, which opened on Broadway in 2002 and went on to win eight Tonys and four Olivier awards in the West End, is a musical adaptation of the kooky 1988 John Waters film that made Ricki Lake a star.

A brash and buoyant nostalgic celebration of 1960s American culture, alongside an attack on bigotry in all its forms, the stage set and the wardrobe are a fantastical feast for the eyes – Teddy Boy suits in an eye-popping palette of colours, dresses in psychedelic patterns and prints, and a huge backcloth which allows scenery to be screened via a series of cinematic projections.

There were a few key cast changes on review night at the Lyceum.

Instead of Gorillaz vocalist Michelle Ndegwa making her theatre debut in the role of civil rights activist Motormouth Maybelle, we had talented understudy Sasha Monique, who delivered the moving number I Know Where I’ve Been, about the fight for racial equality, with tangible emotion.

The parts of Link Larkin and of Motormouth’s son Seaweed were also played by stand-ins – Olly Manley and Shemar Jarrett respectively – though you’d never have known they weren’t the A list cast.

Top billing went to Joanne Clifton, the former Strictly Come Dancing pro who partnered Ore Oduba to victory in 2016. He trod the same Lyceum boards just a few weeks ago in Pretty Woman the Musical, and Joanne sings just as well as she dances as spiteful Cruella-ish character Velma von Tussle.

But the standout stars of the show were Tracy’s parents, Edna and Wilbur Turnblad.

It was pantomime season come early with Neil Hurst as Edna – channelling his inner panto dame for a role traditionally played in drag – and Dermot Canavan as Wilbur, who shared an unlikely but loveable onstage chemistry.

Their touching, as well as laugh-out-loud funny, duet You’re Timeless To Me, about growing old together and embracing their flaws, was the most magical of moments in an already all-round belter of a show.

• Hairspray is at The Lyceum, Sheffield until Saturday, October 19