From the moment Wilbur Cross student Jodi Walters, as teenage hairspray enthusiast Tracy Turnblad, springs out of bed to sing “Good Morning Baltimore” — greeting and dancing with even the rats on the street and the drunk who lives at her corner — you have a feeling that Hairspray, a story of social upheaval through dance in early 1960s Baltimore, is going to be a very good thing for New Haven. On at Wilbur Cross High School tonight through Saturday, the play finds resonance with a diverse and incredibly talented cast and crew of young people, grappling today with many of the same issues that spurred protest and outrage in the 1960s.
There’s pettiness. Parental disagreements. Messy young love. And, per the rules of the Broadway musical gods, there’s a lot of really catchy song and dance. Here are just a few photos from Wednesday’s final dress and tech rehearsal.
