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Hairspray Live!: 10 Best & Worst Moments
BEST: HOUGH-LY CRAP! HE CAN SING TOO?
Is there anything the Hough siblings can't do? We felt triple-threatened by Hough during this whole show.
WORST: CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?
First impressions are everything, and Hairspray Live! made an awkward one when Maddie Baillio’s microphone failed more than once during “Good Morning, Baltimore.” We know, we know, “the beauty of live television” and all. But given our high expectations for the evening, we wish the snafu hadn’t happened so soon into the broadcast.
BEST: HAMILTON HOMAGE
When forced to choose between supporting integration efforts or landing a record deal, Link informed Tracy that he’d rather chase his musical dreams. “I am not throwing away my shot,” he said — and Hamilton fans everywhere gasped with glee.
WORST: UN-BOW-LIEVABLE!
Yeah, this is pretty much the same face we made when the camera cut away from Kristin Chenoweth right before her well-deserved bow at the end of the three-hour affair.
WORST: DARREN CRISS’ SIDE JOB
Don’t get us wrong: We loved Criss’ off-the-charts theater geek enthusiasm throughout the evening. But the Glee grad was criminally underutilized during Wednesday’s broadcast, where he was relegated to the commercial breaks for useless behind-the-scenes commentary. With all due respect to Derek Hough, why was Criss not Corny Collins?!
BEST: DOVE CAMERON’S BIG DEBUT
Unless you’re a die-hard Disney Channel devotee, the announcement of Dove Cameron’s Hairspray casting likely made you say, “Who?” But during Wednesday’s production, the Liv and Maddie star proved herself a casting director’s dream, infusing Amber Von Tussle with delicious bitchiness. Oh, and girl can sang. Excuse us while we listen to “Cooties” on repeat.
WORST: OVER-HYPED CAMEOS
We were really looking forward to seeing Ricki Lake and Marissa Jaret Winokur (former Tracys of stage and screen) in NBC's live production, but then we blinked and almost missed them!
BEST: ATTENTION TO DETAIL
Did anyone else freak out when Tracy sang, “The rats on the street all dance around my feet,” while actual (fake) rats danced around her feet?!
BEST: EVERYTHING'S COMING UP ROSIE
The sight of Rosie O'Donnell screaming at whoever and shaking a judgmental finger brought back pleasant memories of when The View was relevant.
BEST: WAIT… WAS THAT…?
No, your eyes weren't deceiving you. That really was character actress Carolyn Hennesy (Revenge, General Hospital) in Hairspray Live!'s mock Toyota commercial.
Image: Courtesy of NBC
Image: Courtesy of NBC
Image: Courtesy of NBC
Image: Courtesy of NBC
Image: Courtesy of NBC
Image: Courtesy of NBC
Image: Courtesy of NBC
Image: Courtesy of NBC
Image: Courtesy of NBC
Image: Courtesy of NBC
