Hairspray: The Roots

I was intorduced to this musical in the Fall of 2006, well after the hoop-la surrounding the original cast. I bought this book and was very happy with the care and detail that went into its production. WHile it focuses on the original cast, any true fan of this show will be amazingly happy to see behind-the-scenes of the show, hear thoughts from the creators and original stars and see pictures, pictures, and more pictures of the Nicest Kids in Town and those close to them!

Okay I love this book alot. It includes almost if not the entire show but I think its ridiculous how much they are charging. I bought it for literally $1.07 at the Dollar Tree, so I bought 3 for family and friends. But I just wanted to say that the book is awesome. If you get the book, you won't regret it. It has so many pictures and little extras so go to the dollar tree and buy it!

I have loved this show since I first listenend to the recording, and after seeing the show I think I may be obsessed with it. The show is completely fun and entertaining and this book does a good job at capturing the spirit and energy of the show. I particularly like all the full color photos and candids of the cast offstage as well as the "diary" entries from Marisa Jaret Winokur (Tracy) and Harvey Firestein (Edna). This book is worth it!

If you're a fan of the Broadway musical Hairspray, then you need this book. It's really that simple. In addition to a detailed history of the show, tons of photos, insider information, detailed analyses of previous versions of the script and the script that was eventually used, and even more information in general than you could possibly digest in one (or even two) readings, it's full of exactly the same kind of wacky, irreverant style and humor that's found in the show and that's helped to make it such a big success on Broadway. Hairspray: The Roots is hip, hilarious, colorful, and, in its own way, very musical. Only one thing prevents the book from being the perfect example of its kind and earning a five star rating: it does not preserve the entire complete libretto of the show, choosing instead to eliminate the dialogue in places and replace it with scene descriptions. While this is unthinkable and incomprehensible given the sheer amount of information that was included and the great care that has been put into every other element of it, in the end, this particular frustration remains minor. If you can live with that, you'll find no other flaw in this remarkable, must-own volume.