Good Morning Baltimore!

Whilst enjoying musical theatre as much as the next gay man, I usually have rules.
1. No annoying American accents
2. No over enthusiastic grinning
3. Must end in tragedy

I am a morbid being whom listens to Phantom of the Opera quite often on the way to work; however, I may have borrowed my sisters Hairspray cd, and I may just have put it onto my Ipod. And perhaps once when I was mooching around Soho feeling miserable, my Ipod shuffle might have launched a song from this soundtrack into my ears, and I might just have really enjoyed it and listened to the rest of the songs with a new found spring in my step…

Ok, ok, I love Hairspray despite it being everything I hate, so when the Mother and Gran landed in London with ticket giving hands I was eager to go see Tracy Turnblatt strut her stuff.

What a crowd. Lots of hen parties a whooping, and irritating children everywhere! Yuk. And the theatre was unbearably hot which prompted Mother to whip out her lime green battery fan, where one gets such a device I couldn’t tell you.

It is a very uplifting musical. The story centres around Tracy, and overweight girl trying to dance on the Corney Collins show and fighting to boot racial segregation as she does so. Quite serious issues when you think about it, but its all done with a joke and a laugh and many many cheesy songs.

Even I, a goblin of the night felt somewhat cheered and at the end was ready to sing that I too was ‘Big, blonde and beautiful’ and felt like dancing on the stage AND eating my pecan pie goddamit! (should either thing have been required of me).

The cast were fabulous. Link, the lead male was played by Ben who was in Any Dream Will Do on BBC (he was often out of tune on this, hence was booted off). The poor guy had no chance of standing upto pretty Zac Efron’s movie role looks wise, but I must say he played the heartthrob very well; it is not necessary the beauty but the presence that is most convincing.

The music is just so catchy! I couldn’t stop myself doing a little jig in the seat and I really am a very restrained person…Set the in sixties its all fabulous swing and jazz numbers, which I am very partial to.

Wouldn’t it be great if life were a musical? I might have to have a small sing song on the way to the bus stop tomorrow, though 'Good Morning Bethnal Green' does not have quite the same ring to it…