LET THE MUSICAL MAGIC OF "HAIRSPRAY" ENVELOPE YOU AT THE PALACE THEATER

Can you imagine a whole generation being defined by its hair styles? If you can, then you are ready to make the acquaintance of a special teenager from Baltimore.

With a hairdo that looks like it was inflated by a bike tire pump, teenager Tracy Turnblad has a heart big enough to take over the whole world. She recognizes fairness and inequality and would ban prejudice if she had it in her power. When she gets a chance to dance as a regular on the Corny Collins TV Show, she ignores the fact that she doesn't fit the svelte image of the other kids already chosen and dances her Baltimore best.

The 1960's come alive in this sparkling musical comedy "Hairspray" based on the movie by John Waters, and the award-winning show has a book by Mark O’Donnell and Thomas Meehan, with music by Marc Shaiman and lyrics by Shaiman and Scott Wittman. The Palace Theater in Waterbury will be injecting energy and enthusiasm Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, January 16-18.

Even if you don’t have a weekly hair appointment at your local salon, you’re not a certified cosmetologist, you’ve never spent three hours teasing and pouffing your hair into a football helmet-like coif, you’ll still find a lot to love about the musical “Hairspray.” Caroline Wiseman is a terrific and tremendously talented Tracy Turnblad who may be just a teenager but one on the verge of big-sized discoveries about life.

Tracy and her teen friends, including her BFF Penny, an adorable Scarlett Jacques, will be dancing their bobby socks off and making their poodle skirts bark and howl. When Tracy, a plump dance queen wannabe, wins a coveted spot on the Corny Collins Show, a local television program, she becomes an overnight sensation. Her adoration for the show's teen heart throb Link Larkin, a hunky Skyler Shields, puts her in direct competition with the snobby star of the show Caroline Portner as the opinionated Amber Von Tussle. Amber with her mom Velma, a manipulative Sarah Hayes, have been in control of all the goings on and like it that way. Corny Collins, an open-minded Andrew Scoggin, and the show's sponsor, the owner of Ultra Clutch Hairspray, played by Micah Sauvageau in a variety of roles, are steam rolled by Velma's bossy attitude.

Tracy uses her new fifteen minutes of fame to launch a campaign to allow colored and white students to bogey on the show at the same time, an unheard of reality in 1960’s American society and one that Baltimore is not quickly or easily going to accept. Her friendship with a fellow student Seaweed, a versatile Josiah Rogers, and his impressive mom Motormouth Maybelle, a charismatic Deidre Lang, help her mount her platform against prejudice.

All kids should have supportive parents like Tracy, her mom Edna, portrayed with skillful fun by Greg Kalafatas, and her dad Wilbur, brought to life by a caring Ralph Prentice Daniel, are in direct contrast to Penny's worrisome mother who fears everything in her daughter's life, played by Emmanuelle Zeesman, who also tackles all the female authority figures. Jack O'Brien directs this bursting at the seams happy fest of a show that is stuffed with great songs like "Good Morning, Baltimore," "Mama, I'm a Big Girl Now," "I Can Hear the Bells" and "You Can Hear the Beat.” Watch for Kaila Symone Crowder as Little Inez.

For tickets ($47and up), call the Palace Theater, 100 Main Street, Waterbury at 203-346-2000 or online at palacetheaterct.org. Performances are Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

Follow this enthusiastic and principled girl as she questions the rules and is willing to risk everything, even being imprisoned, for her beliefs. With the help of her parents and her best friends, Tracy inspires a conga line of loyal followers as she makes all her dreams come true.

Let your hair down or bouffant it up, your choice, as you cha-cha to Waterbury for a turn around the dance floor with that most trustworthy and talented teen Tracy Turnblad.