Hairspray is the toast of London these days, and (probably) with good reason. (I haven't seen the London production, but the Broadway production was amazing when it was new.) After winning eight Tony Awards in 2003 (nominated for 13), the musical just broke Olivier Award records by receiving a whopping 11 nominations.

When I saw Hairspray during its first week of previews in 2002, I was ecstatic to see such a smart song-and-dance show that perfectly married showtunes with '60s pop. It outclassed everything then on Broadway (other than Urinetown), and nothing that's been produced since has impressed me as much. But even better than the show was creator John Waters' observation:

“The real reason I'm praying that Hairspray, the Broadway musical based on my 1988 movie, succeeds is that if it's a hit, there will be high school productions, and finally the fat girl and the drag queen will get the starring parts.”

Well, now the fat girls and drag queens in the U.K. are going to get the starring parts, too, because the show is definitely a hit. So, yay.

And it's not just the future secondary school students who will benefit. Newcomer Leanne Jones received a nomination for Best Actress in a Musical.

Speaking of Best Actress nominations, though, the star power the Best Actress in a Play category is approaching supernova proportions. There's Kristin Scott Thomas for her role in Checkov's The Seagull. … continue reading