You Can’t Stop The Beat at Annapolis High School as they welcome the audience to the 60’s with fun, fresh dance moves and hair to the heavens!

“Hairspray,” a musical with music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Mark Shaiman and a book by Mark O’Donnell and Thomas Meehan that was based on the 1988 John Waters film of the same name, tells the story of Tracy Turnblad and her resilient spirit as she comes face to face with bullying, discrimination and heartbreak in 1960’s Baltimore.

Deanna Schmidt portrays the lead, Tracy Turnbald, with quirky dance moves and cute characterization. Aaron Phillips is an endless source of laughter for the audience as he portrays Tracy’s mother, Edna Turnblad, with an excellent comedic performance complemented by a giggling fat suit and stunning face contour.

Kelly Tansey wows as Velma von Tussle throughout the show, particularly in her solo “Miss Baltimore Crabs” as she skillfully belts her face off. De’zjea Allen brings the audience to tear with her powerful performance of “I Know Where I’ve Been.”

The ensemble electrifies the Naptown Theatre with big group numbers as they perform “Welcome to the 60’s,” “Without Love,” and “You Can’t Stop The Beat.”

The unique set design of wooden boxes painted to create pictures and locations of the show by Lindsea Sharp adds greatly to the storytelling. Although many of the ensemble costumes were not accurate to the 1960’s they were very colorful and added a nice pop to the stage. Despite technical difficulties with the sound and fuzzy microphones, the cast continued to tell the story to the best of their ability.

Annapolis High School shares their enthusiasm for telling such an important story that is still relevant today as it deals with societal issues such as civil rights, social justice and body image. Now “Run And Tell That!”

by Sarah Gibney of Glenelg Country