THEATRE TALK: Hairspray dances away from the West End

Good evening Baltimore

It's been one of those weeks. I had planned to write about a million other things, but those will have to wait, after the news that lovely Hairspray, one of the most joyous things about the West End at present, is to close in just a couple of months. While this is undoubtedly down to ticket sales (and anyone who thinks that evil puppetmasters are somehow manipulating the show to close just days before its national tour starts is extremely paranoid), it's still a depressing state of affairs.

"It's broken the curse of the Shaftesbury," say some, but a three-year run still isn't that long, and I can't help feeling it could have stayed longer. Although it did seem to be growing a bit stale with OLC lead LeAnne Jones and Michael Ball as mother Edna, the injection of the sparklingly lovely Chloe Hart, Liam Tamne and the surprisingly brilliant Brian Conley last year appeared to have given it a great boost.

It's such a pity that recent graduate Hart won't get to show off her impressive vocal and dance skills for a few more months, but hopefully all concerned (especially Chris Barton of Joseph fame, who went in at last cast change as IQ/cover Link and who has a stunning voice) will go on to even bigger and better things, lead roles and critical acclaim.

Art goes global

First the Norman Conquests, then Mary Stuart, and most recently Hamlet. La Cage is tripping over in just a few months (squeal), with Priscilla, Queen of the Desert announced for 2011 (yippee) and Enron, too, leaving later in the year. Indeed, even Sam Mendes is getting in on the act with the resumption of his Bridge Project, with As You Like It currently playing at the BAM in Brooklyn.

And now Red, all about artist Mark Rothko, heads over to Broadway - with much less notice than the aforementioned - to start performances at the beginning of March (it closes next Saturday). It's a pleasant surprise - Red has attracted fairly mixed reviews over here and word-of-mouth has not been as strong as that for, say, Life Is A Dream or Streetcar Named Desire, but even so, it must be doing something right.

Perhaps it's the charisma of cast member Eddie Redmayne, whose reputation only swells with each piece he stars in. Or maybe it's just the American penchant for a Donmar production. Excitingly, a big chunk of seats at each performance will be just $25, in line with the company's policy to try and make theatre more affordable. With a dearth of strong plays currently on Broadway, it's always pleasing to see the Americans experience something exciting that they otherwise wouldn't get to.

Do's and don'ts

I like Harry Lloyd. I like him a lot. I think he's a very versatile and talented actor. However, he, along with his fellow actors, has been done no favours by the production he's currently starring in - The Little Dog Laughed - of which critics have raved about Tamsin Greig's performance and seemingly failed to quite comprehend the sheer superficiality of the text and characters. Go to see this if you want to see a future star of stage and hopefully screen, but don't expect anything revolutionary. Post-Cock, gay theatre has a lot to live up to.

On the other hand, if you want to see a show the critics raved about last year, why not try A Man Of No Importance at the Arts Theatre, which opens on February 10th. It's a transfer from the Union, which seems to be producing growing numbers of shows that do so, and thus has a heavy weight of expectation on its shoulders.

The Arts is definitely uneven when it comes to the strength of transfers - Daisy Pulls It Off is one particularly dreadful example - but if you trust the Union's taste (and I do) then get down there sharpish and buy yourself some tickets. The West End Whingers said it was "slick and charming", and that's good enough for me. Check it out and buy tickets here. More on that next week.

A Man Of No Importance

Brian Conley as Edna" src="https://cloudimages.broadwayworld.com/upload3/100421/hairspray.jpg" alt="Brian Conley as Edna" width="360" height="550" />

Brian Conley as himself and as Edna Turnblad in Hairspray

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