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
Les Misérables (musical) Castle. It was the first time the cast of a West End musical had performed at a Royal residence. The cast was the same as in the West End, supplemented by several guest singers and a choir of former performers. The part of Jean Valjean was played by Michael Ball – the original 1985 London and 1995 Dream Cast Marius – and the part of Javert was played by Michael McCarthy. In February 2008, "Les Misérables" was performed at the Bournemouth International Centre, England with a cast of West End stars accompanied by the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. In August 2008,