The NBC-TV network aired its annual live musical Wednesday, Dec. 7, taking on the challenge of performing “Hairspray Live!”

“Hairspray Live!” is the network’s fifth musical production. In the past, the network has broadcast the musicals of “Peter Pan,” “The Sound of Music,” “The Wiz,” and its most popular, “Grease.”

Decorated artists like Ariana Grande and Kristin Chenoweth appeared in the show alongside the acting talents of Martin Short and Jennifer Hudson.

The show starred Maddie Baillio as Tracy Turnblad, an overweight girl living in Baltimore in the 1960s with a dream of becoming a star dancer on the Corny Collins show.

As Tracy fights to be a local star throughout the show, she has to deal with her obsessive love for Link Larkin, the hatred of Link’s girlfriend Amber von Tussle, her mother’s insecurities, and the racial inequality depressingly obvious in her beloved home city.

The musical opens with “Good Morning Baltimore,” which introduces Tracy.

Throughout the show songs like “I Can Hear the Bells” are sung, which people noticed wasn’t sang in the school hallway like the 2007 film version but on the Corny Collins set, and “Ladies Choice,” which was sang by Corny Collins and not Link Larkin, another change from the movie.

While the play tried to please everyone, its changes had an effect on viewers.

With the show being so iconic, there were high expectations to live up to and some people, like sophomore Mary Wheeler, had some issues with the musical.

“It was good for being live, but the songs weren’t on time,” Wheeler said. “Maybe I’m too hooked on the movie, but I just hated it. Seaweed was awful, and he didn’t have as much soul as I thought he should have.”

But the show has been getting positive reviews around school as well.

Sophomore Mallory Simms enjoyed the show and its characters.

“I thought it was fabulous,” Simms said. “Link was pretty good, and I enjoyed Ariana Grande’s character. The mom (Harvey Fierstein) freaked me out a little with her raspy voice, so it made the show a little less fabulous. But, overall, I really liked it.”

Mr. John Hall, theater teacher, said the production was “well done” and “brought a classic to a new generation.”

Though the show was NBC’s least successful, with only nine million viewers, according to The New York Times, it was considered a success.

There were no apparent mistakes, wardrobe malfunctions, or forgotten lyrics.