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1) Yes, they were believable and realistic. The interaction and chemistry between mother and daughter were believable because of how they were coping and responding to one another, it seemed like real emotions. How the volume of their voice would go higher and lower depending on the mood and their hand gestures were accurate to their emotions. For example, when Edna Turnblad was angry with Tracy Turnblad, her daughter, Edna’s hand gestures would move a lot, be raised up or even pointing to her daughter, as if Edna was really mad at Tracy. Facial expressions in this play made it easier to believe the characters were real because when certain characters would be angry, their facial expressions would be eye squinting and nose crunching and other characters would react and respond to these expressions so well that really drove me to believe that they were real. The reaction of other characters would differ from the emotions given by another character, whether a character is being funny, fierce, serious, joyful or angry.

2) All the characters were related to one another, and it did seem like they were related in real life with real relationships. They all listened and responded to every character and their reactions would be as accurate as mine would be if those situations were to happen to me. They came together powerfully as an ensemble because out of all the songs and dances in this musical, I did not see a single mistake or error. The choreography and melody were perfectly matched and rehearsed. When they were performing, their dance steps were all in unison and the chorus would also be in unison. The cast had great chemistry between each other and I did believe that the chemistry they had off stage would be as strong as it was on stage and it had to be for this play to come along so well.

3) All the elements of the play fit together in helping to sell the story because all the props, costumes, sets and lighting made me believe that I was back in that certain time period. Lighting was very accurate; it would be kind of dim lighting in a house and bright when the scenes was on the streets of Baltimore during the morning. Lights would turn down really low if the scene was in a jail or prison which really made me feel the mood of the scene much more. Lighting would even reflect on their emotions. When they were dancing and being happy, the lights would change color and mostly bright colors. If the characters were angry or fierce, the lighting would turn red to sell their emotions even more. The props in this play came together as well since all their props were “old fashioned” such as the chairs, curtains, cameras with the big flash, and the TV set, which displayed “black and white” on the screen. Costumes were a huge difference here and it made a big impact on the story; the costumes of all the characters were all unique in a sense that all their clothes were from a long time ago. Their costumes displayed bright colors of clothes or even neon clothes, brushed back hair with lots of hairspray which made it look really shinny, bright leather black or white shoes, basically, all their clothes gave the “Retro” vibe which was really the outfits people would wear during this time in the past.

4) There was a multitude of locations in this set, for example

• Tracy’s Bedroom
• The streets of Baltimore
• The set of Corny Collins Show
• Tracy’s living room
• The classroom for students in detention
• Dodgeball court
• The Jail or Prison Cell

5) The scenic design of the entire play was realistic. The set related to the play because the set would change depending on the certain scene. If it would be a scene in Tracy’s Bedroom, then the scene would literally be in Tracy’s bedroom. All the scenes were taken literally such as the Dodgeball court, the set of The Corny Collins Show, Prison, all these scenes and sets were taken literally from context. Each set would relate to the play also because of the different props and lighting each scene would have. The props in each scene would be different but each prop was significant in explaining and portraying that certain scene and so was the lighting. Everything set each scene on the mood that it was supposed to be.

6) The costumes were very appropriate for the characters in the play because the costumes reflected the outfits they would normally wear in that specific time period. Bright neon clothes, high waist pants, shiny shoes, lots of hairspray, and other factors that made me believe that those characters were from the “olden times”. The theme of their clothes would be some sort of a retro vibe and the costumes they wore were accurate to that theme and the theme of the story.

7) The lighting was very helpful to their performance because the blackouts were good and quick, the props and sets were changed fast throughout the play. They would have a spotlight on top of the set to show emphasis on a certain scene. The lighting would even display the emotions of a character and to me, this was very helpful and this made it easier for me to understand and follow the story.

8) The main message of the play can be summed up from what one of the characters mentioned in the play as one of her lines. This character was Motormouth Maybelle, she said, “ If something is worth having, then it is worth fighting for.” And I would say that line, would basically sum up the moral and message of the story. This message would say that, if you want something so bad, then nothing could stop you from having it. No matter what happens, you will fight for that certain thing, whether it would be an object, rights of humanity, a simple limited edition shirt, or even love. If you truly want it, fight for it… Believe in yourself and nothing can be an obstacle to you. If you believe you can achieve something, then it is possible; all you need to move on is determination and heart. And I do believe that was the message of the story and that’s what I learned from seeing the musical… Hairspray.

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