Over the three day weekend, Ritenour students participated in the life of Hairspray: The Musical. The long time known musical has become a phenomenon since it was introduced. The musical has even become a movie with a following CD to cover the music.

Students at Ritenour auditioned to be a part of this massive production that wowed the audience for three nights in a row. As each day progressed, the audience became bigger because of the exceptional comments given.

Although the music was the key part of the production, the story line was put on sharply by the cast and crew. The music and lyrics were a great success too, booming throughout the auditorium loud enough to make people in the audience clap and dance along. The cast and crew did such a excellent job with every part of the musical, including the props and costumes/makeup.

Tracy Turnblad, played by sophomore Janessa Brewer, was a top hit in the musical. Some of the cast seemed nervous at the beginning of night one of the production, but gained more confidence throughout the night. Link Larkin, played by junior Rance Drexler, was also a key character throughout the musical. Drexler, a mainstay in past plays and musicals, did a good job at staying calm and collected throughout the production with no signs of nervousness.

Other characters known for being a part in other Ritenour productions were also contributing to the musical over the weekend. junior Isaiah Lewis, popular actor in Ritenour’s plays and musicals played Seaweed J. Stubbs in Hairspray. His performance, as usual, was a great experience because of the use of his nice voice. Senior Dana Rue played Motormouth Maybelle with her strong voice projecting across the auditorium building.

Overall, the musical was a success for Ritenour and the crew, cast, and producers. Ritenour’s cast actually live through their characters as if they were them, simply because that is essential and playing your role to perfection.