Tonight's production of Hairspray was a long time coming. The Drama Club was about two or three weeks away from opening Hairspray in 2019 when we were closed due to the pandemic. I always liked the show so I thought now would be a good time to bring it back. Hairspray deals with several themes - Racism, Integration and body shaming. We all know that those issues are still prevalent in our society. In the end, it's the students who make the difference in 1962 Baltimore (before the Civil Rights act of 1964).
In addition, the production team decided that race shouldn't make a difference in casting this show. Therefore, we have Black students playing white students and Hispanic students playing white students. The issues in the show are more important than the races of the cast. This was introduced on Broadway by Lin Manuel Miranda for Hamilton. I think we should follow his lead.
-Tim Dolan
Theater Teacher
HHS