An old fashioned musical in the best sense - a strong book, with a likeable hero who has a terrific goal (ending segregation in Baltimore) along with the usual stuff (get a hot boy, become a dancer on TV). The tunes are lovely and the lyrics are just the right combination of send up and sincerity. Being set in 1963 allows for some decent satire on race relations (eg "how will I be able to sell the house now" after a black person has been in it), sex (the dancer who's got to go away for nine months), and local celebrity. Having a fat lead gives it freshness and heart - Mum doesn't want to stop her from dancing because she's mean but out of fear of getting hurt. The finale is very inclusive - even the bitchy girl and her mum are converted (which didn't happen in the film; although the film had the black girl win the competition which was better).
The second half was a lot slower. There's this really long production number involving the fat mother and her joke of a husband which seems to go on forever - the audience loved it, though. All is forgiven with 'You Can't Stop the Beat', one of the best finale songs in a musical I've ever heard. The sets for the Australian production were all digital projections, which took some time getting used to -poor carpenters out of work.
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