Critical Reaction

Critical Reaction

"This sweet, infinitely spirited, bubblegum-flavored confection won't be lacking for buyers any time soon. Arriving in an aerosol fog of advance hype, it more than lives up to its promise."
– Variety Magazine

"Hairspray is as sweet as a show can be without promoting tooth decay. ...[It] succeeds in recreating the pleasures of the old-fashioned musical comedy without seeming old-fashioned. ...The score's appeal isn't nostalgic. It's music that builds its own self-contained, improbably symmetrical world...."
– The New York Times

"This is kitsch at its purest and least apologetic, and it's as impossible to shake off as the heroine's lacquered beehive 'do. ...Shaiman has provided some of the most infectious melodies to grace an original Broadway show in years."
– USA Today

"So many numbers in Hairspray bring down the house, it's a wonder the Neil Simon Theatre is still standing after the final curtain."
– New York Magazine