characters/actors? (you can mix and match from the 3 versions)
for example....your favorite "Edna?" Divine, John Travolta or Harvey Fierstein?
(Tracy? Wilbur? Corny Collins? and so on....)
I think I like Zac Efron as Link the most.
I like Martin Short but not in this. Christopher Walken is good but I like Jerry Stiller's version the best.
I like both movie Penny's and I love Allison Janney as Prudy.
Elijah Kelley as Seaweed. Original Seawood was good though still.
Divine, by FAR.
I love James Marsden so EASILY him as Corny Collins.
Any Tracy BUT this one, please.
Yes agree with above except...
I think I did slightly prefer Christopher Walken's Wilbur (I like Jerry Stiller as Mr Pinky ?)
Although it pains me to say, I think I like John Travolta the most for Edna (for suiting the musical)
It's a tough call for Motormouth although Jennifer Hudson made me cry though her amazingness
Maybe Kristen as von tussle?
Man, I LOVE James Marsden as Corny Collins...
I don't think I favoured anyone in this production
I thought the gal who played Tracy in this production could really sing, but her dancing was only passable. It's hard to beat Ricki Lake as Tracy because of her dancing skills and her charisma. Of course she never had to sing.
shareI never saw the original, just the 2007 musical so:
Nikki Blonsky > Maddie B.
Christopher Walken > Martin Short (for a play, Short served up the ham, while Walken was more subdued)
Michelle Pfeiffer > Kristen Chenoweth (Chenoweth can sing, but Pfeiffer brought more to the role)t
James Marsden > Derek Hough
Amanda Bynes > Penny
Zac Efron > Garrett Clayton
Queen Latifah > Jennifer Hudson (although Jen can sing, she was way too young for the role)
I'm torn about Edna. I really didn't cotton to Travolta, but couldn't get over Fierstein's singing. He's better in drag than Travolta tho.
I thought Dove Cameron was on par with Brittany Snow.
I actually preferred Andrea Martin's Prudy > Allison Janney. Even though it was a small part, she made the most of it.
Amanda Bynes can't sing for cr@p so I don't see how anyone can say she's the best Penny.
shareB/C Penny is primarily there as comic relief and to act. Yes, Ariana is an actual singer (well that is debatable but let's just say that's what her profession is) BUT Bynes (for all her faults since Hairspray) is a better actor and fit the role better.
Listen up Fives...a Ten is speaking.
You can say waht you will about Amanda Bynes, but she is an accomplished comic actress and she played the role well. Ariana Grande also did a credible job and Her acting was just fine, her singing excellent, but I thought Bynes still had a better handle on the part.
shareI thought Bynes still had a better handle on the part.
Ms. Bynes is really a great comic actress. It is a shame that she has stepped back from acting. I wish she would get her *beep* together and make some more films because it is always a pleasure to see her on screen.
shareFor the record, I do feel strongly that Penny was totally miscast in this. While I get that Ariana Grande is a well known singer who I'm sure the producers thought would bring in younger viewers, what a character looks like is all-important in a play centering on race and racial inequality. Penny's entire character arc is that she's a white girl from a white, bigoted family, who falls in love with a black boy. Whatever her ethnic background, Ariana looks too racially ambiguous to convincingly play the role, and it kept distracting me and pulling me out of the story.
Funny you say that, 'cause when I watched the movie musical in 2007, I thought that Bynes had a strange tan going on. She looked darker than Tracy or any of the other white people. I, too, felt it was detrimental to her character's subplot.
i.e.
http://www.wallcoo.net/movie/2007_Hairspray_1024/images/Amanda_Bynes_in_Hairspray_Wallpaper_10.jpg
.
Queen Latifah > Jennifer Hudson (although Jen can sing, she was way too young for the role)
The original film is the rawest and the best.
But this new version beats the 2nd film for me. And it has a lot to do with the fact that it has the feel of the Broadway stage play. That original reimagining legitimized the whole idea of tampering with the first film.
"Our Art Is a Reflection of Our Reality"
At first I thought you were asking which version we like best, in which case I'd have to say either the live show or the '07 film, because I prefer it as a musical.
I haven't seen the movie in some time and want to rewatch it soon, because I definitely like it a lot, but don't recall having *quite* as good a time with it as I did watching this production. So maybe I've just got a heightened appreciation of the show now (bumping it up in my list of favorite musicals.)
As for cast member preferences:
Tracy: Loved Maddie, but probably Nikki! She was a perfect Tracy, I think.
Wilbur: Oh gosh, so difficult to pick between Martin & Christopher...!! They played it quite differently, but I love both interpretations and both actors.
Velma: Pfeiffer was great, but I love K-Chen and would probably say her.
Penny: DEFINITELY Amanda!!
Motormouth: Queen Latifah!
Amber: Mmmm, probably Brittany
Edna: Argh, I like both, but I'll go with Harvey.
Prudy: Allison just because I'm a fan of hers; Andrea did a terrific job.
Would likely go with the movie's Corny & Link, too.
However, the cast of the nonmusical '88 film is fantastic, too. Divine, Ricki, Jerry, Colleen (Vitamin C!), etc...casting "The Ultimate" production of Hairspray would not be an easy task. ;p Leslie Ann Powers looked exactly how I think I'd have pictured Penny purely from a script-read.
For me it'd be the following:
Tracy: Honestly a tie between Ricki Lake and Nikki Blonsky
Wilbur: Jerry Stiller
Edna: John Travolta
Penny: Leslie Ann Powers BY FAR
Link: Zac Efron (Though I think St. Gerard's Link was a better man, though that obviously was entirely up to the script, and that Clayton looked more like the role than either of the other two.)
Seaweed: Elijah Kelley
Corny: James Marsden
Motormouth Maybelle: Queen Latifah
Velma: Kristin Chenoweth
Amber: Vitamin C/Colleen Fitzpatrick
Prudy: Allison Janney
Inez: Taylor Parks
Mr. Pinky: Allan Wendl
Tracy: I'd probably say either Nikki Blonsky or Ricki Lake. I think Ricki as the original Tracy seemed very authentic, and since then the character seems to be a lot more perky. But I think Nikki really was Tracy as well. I've never fully seen Marissa Jaret Winokur as Tracy but I understand she sort of made the musical version of Tracy that we see.
Edna: Divine. I did like Harvey Fierstein's version of Edna though and I'm pleased they used him for the live version and it seemed like almost a treat for long serving fans of Hairspray as I think many were disappointed he wasn't Edna in the 2007 movie.
With John Travolta, I can totally understand why the character was toned down and more empathetic in a way for the 2007 version, but in a way it seemed too much to me.
Wilbur: I don't really mind. But I like at least Martin Short's Wilbur seemed more involved like the stage version of Wilbur.
Penny: Like with Ricki's Tracy, I think Leslie Ann Powers as Penny seemed the most authentic. I found later stage versions of Penny too over the top and over nerdy. I know some have criticised the casting of Ariana Grande, but in a way I prefer her version than Amanda Bynes, because I found with Amanda's Penny she was just pretty the whole way through and we didn't really get that transformation at the end.
Link: I don't really mind. I think in an interview it was said about how much Michael St Gerard looked like Elvis, but in a way I thought he seemed a lot older than Ricki's Tracy, but really had the hearthrob thing, I thought. I thought both Zac Efron and Clayton were good and brought a pretty boy type of Link. I sort of think Matthew Morrison's Link also looked way older than Tracy.
Motormouth: Probably Queen Latifah. I agree about Jennifer Hudson being such a powerhouse as Motormouth and owning it but maybe not having the look.
Seaweed: Probably Elijah Kelly.
Corny: I don't really mind. But I think I preferred James Marsden as Corny to Derek Hough.
Velma: I've liked most versions of Velma I've seen.
Amber: In a way I preferred Brittany Snow's Amber to Dove Cameron. I found in the stage versions and live version she was very over the top. But I also think we didn't see as much of Amber in the 2007 version and she didn't seem as mean.
Prudy: I'd probably say Andrea Martin's Prudy. I thought her reactions were hilarious.
Inez: Again I don't mind so much. I'd probably say Taylor Parks, and I do like that in the 2007 version Inez wins, as as unexpected but good twist. For me that outcome also makes sense by way of integrating the Corny Collins Show.
Mr Pinky: Not too bothered as the role is not too big to me. But I didn't really like Sean Hayes' Mr Pinky getting to sing so much. Not that I don't like his singing but I preferred it just being Tracy and Edna singing, and the Dynamites.
Tracy: Nikki Blonskey
Edna: Harvey.
Wilbur: Christopher Walken was hilarious, so was Martin Short. So for me it's a tie.
Amber: Dove and Brittany Snow are tied.
Link: Garrett (but I've known him for years so I'm biased).
Penny: Acting-wise, Amanda Bynes. Singing-wise, none of them honestly.
Corny: I liked James and Derek, but James edges him out just slightly.
Motormouth Maybelle: Queen Latifah.
Seaweed: Elijah Kelley
Velma: Kristen Chenowith is a queen so... Kristen.
Inez: All of them do a great job in the role. But I prefer the ending to the 2007 version of it simply because I love that it's Inez that forces the show to be integrated.
https://www.fanfiction.net/u/4386717/
Niamh Allen as Velma!!!!
share