Hairspray Live! [DVD]

Delightful remake of the Broadway musical with a live audience that adds to the immediacy. The cast works hard and with precision; you can see the sweat and what I assume are real tears from Link, Tracy, Seaweed, and other cast members when the dynamite Jennifer Hudson belts out her emotional "I Know Where I've Been." This version does some things better than the Hollywood version. Harvey Fierstein, continuing the tradition of a man playing Tracy's mom (Divine, Travolta), is fun to watch; and as writer on the teleplay tightens the script (except the ending, which felt padded like his breasts) and adds a few funny lines, like the Kruschev comment, that I don't remember in the movie musical. His deep, croaking voice, however, made some of his lyrics hard to understand. Unfortunately, many of the lyrics are difficult to hear clearly (what with the live sound not always the best) and the DVD is barebones, so it does not have subtitles. Nor do the credits list who plays what part. Several new songs were added not seen in the movie, such as "It Takes Two" sung by standout Garrett Clayton strutting his considerable stuff, Elvis-like; and a finale sung by the outstanding Jennifer and Ariana Grande. I missed "Ladies Choice" sung so well by Zac Efron in the movie. The cast was first rate. Kristin was dependably great as usual; Derek Hough added a lot of dance as Corny Collins; and talk about moves, Ephraim Sykes (who was in HAMILTON) had em to spare. Maddie Baillio was fine as Tracy. Shahadi Wright Joseph was cute; wish she had more to do. Sean Hayes as Mr. Pinky added his special touch. In the past, I have been a little unsure about this musical; but HAIRSPRAY LIVE made me a believer.

A must have for your local DVD collection

Love it! I purchased the Amazon Video version instead of the DVD. However, since it is live, some of the words are hard to make out. The Amazon Video version has subtitles, but they are out of sync. The subtitles are about a minute ahead of the video. Here's what I would like to know: Does the DVD have subtitles? If so, are they in sync with the video, or are they about a minute ahead, like the Amazon Video? I could not find the Amazon Questions area for this DVD. Thank you.

I watched "Hairspray Live!" not having seen either of the films or the Broadway musical! I LOVED IT! I had seen some of the actors in other television shows and movies, including Kristin Chenoweth on "Glee", Jennifer Hudson in "Dreamgirls", and Dove Cameron in "Liv and Maddie". My favorite aspect of the musical were the songs and the actors' singing, two of my favorite numbers being "(The Legend of) Miss Baltimore Crabs" and Good Morning Baltimore" by Kristin Chenoweth and Maddie Baillio, respectively. I enjoyed Ariana Grande's performance as Penny Pingleton greatly, finding it amusing and I was surprised by her acting abilities. I was pleasantly surprised by Dove Cameron, who played the mean girl Amber Von Tussle. Seeing her on Disney Channel's "Liv and Maddie", i thought she would be like other Disney stars turned singers: a great look, but no talent whatsoever. However, her vocals were great, and she could definitely hold her own against Maddie Baillio (Tracy Turnblad) and Ariana Grande in the number "Mama, I'm A Big Girl Now".Although I loved the musical, I do think it has some issues. You can't deny that Ariana Grande has a phenomenal voice, but having her sing alongside Jennifer Hudson in the closing number was not a smart choice. Hudson's vocals are stronger and fuller than Grande's, and it is very evident when they sing the number. Grande doesn't sound bad in comparison to Hudson, but it makes her seem like a lesser vocalist than she is. However, the biggest issue of the musical was Garret Clayton, who portrayed Link Larkin. I just do not think that Clayton is a good singer or actor, as his lines seemed very forced and unreal. His singing was not very good either, as he kept pursuing high notes he did not sound good singing.My overall consensus of the show would be: Great despite its flaws, with a great cast of mostly talented singers and actors.

Hands down this is the best musical version of Hairspray. I loved watching it LIVE on TV and got it for a Xmas gift this past December. The cast is INCREDIBLY talented across the board where the songs just stick in your head. Very good quality in the DVD and for anyone that loves Hairspray this version is WORTH BUYING AND WATCHING!

I love this show I have it in the original with Ricky Lake. I also have the movie one my least favorite. This one is most like broadway show. I also have the soundtrack to the broadway one. It’s just lots of fun with a message that still needs to worked at more so in different places.

The DVD was fine, but I was hoping since this aired on prime time TV it would have been more appropriate content and I could have shown it to my junior high classes without editing out several scenes, but sadly no! I love this show and what how it handles social issues, but some of the songs and dancing are just not okay to show my students.

Wish this has been available on Blu-ray with extras, but definitely worth buying it on DVD. It's the state show, which I've seen, captured "live". It has great energy and love the corny stage comedy. Love this show, love this cast, love the message Hairspray shares.

There’s nothing I dislike about this DVD, this live for tv version is fantastic and is a great accompaniment to the movie musical that I also have. The great thing about this is that all the in between scenes commentary has been removed.

Tuve la oportunidad de verlo en vivo. El DVD viene en versión tipo GreaseLIVE, fueron cortados los momentos de interacción con la gente y entrevistas con el cast durante la transmisión (esto lo hacía durar 3horas aproximadamente) la verdad es que es mucho mejor sin esto. El audio dice 5.1 pero en realidad no esperen un audio tipo movie, stereo surround bien. La orquesta es increíble. Incluye los errores durante transmisión, recuerdo haber leído en algún lado que fueron reparados y no fue así. Me fascina, me encanta, uno de los mejores eventos del año 2016. Es una lástima no poderlo conseguir en Blu-Ray. (para esto.. DIGITALHD).

最高！

This is an excellent, live version of "Hairspray" -- the musical which has a lot of great messages wrapped up in great songs -- and it has a top cast to boot: Harvey Fierstein as Edna Turnblad; Martin Short as Edna's husband Wilbur; the incredible Kristin Chenoweth as "Miss Baltimore Crabs", Velma von Tussle; powerhouse Jennifer Hudson as Maybelle (her every number soars) ... I can't list all the talent in the cast and I'm not going to try.Suffice it to say, it's an amazing cast.As for the show, it uses a mix of lively, lighter music (Welcome to the Sixties; You Can't Stop the Beat) and slower, more stirring music (I Know Where I've Been) to tell a story that -- while entertaining -- touches on the serious issues of racism and bullying, while still allowing the whole family to watch together.The staging itself is excellent, with NBC making full use of the sound stage they based it on (although live, it's not a traditional staging).As others have noticed, there were a couple of minor technical faults (specifically on sound). But I wouldn't knock off a whole star for it. It didn't mar my enjoyment at all.Fully recommended to musical fans.

La producción para televisión de esta obra de teatro musical me pareció bastante bien realizada y aunque cortaron partes del texto y números musicales, considero que la adaptación quedó mucho más fluida. Sí la recomiendo para la colección y si eres fan, no dudes en tenerlo.