Hairspray (musical) encourages individuality, acceptance and freedom. It is a musical that can be applied to any social context and time, as it highlights ongoing issues such as fat-shaming, racism and discrimination. It also explores femininity in terms of the female characters. Notably, Tracy’s mother, Edna Turnblad, is performed in drag during the shows. Allowing a drag role for Edna adds a queerness to the musical as it does not include any gay characters. Edna is considered to be the non-racialised other that is part of the story in Hairspray. The musical also challenges the societal norms of a female. The body
The Michael Ball Show The Michael Ball Show The Michael Ball Show was a British topical entertainment show broadcast on ITV in 2010. It featured entertainment, discussion and showbiz glamour with the occasional musical performance from Michael himself, often on the Friday edition of the show. It occupied the slot filled by "The Alan Titchmarsh Show" during its summer break in 2010. Part one of the show featured Michael and four of the day's guests discussing a topic of the day. The guests were usually the two main guests along with the Cash for Questions quiz-master and either the musical guest or the chef