Seven Days: Vermont's Independent Voice

You Can't Stop the Beat

Hairspray — that 1960s story of “inappropriate hair height” and social injustice — has made its musical way to the big stage and the big screen since the release of John Waters’ campy 1988 cult classic. But could it be produced in Vermont? “This is a show that not a lot of people thought could be done locally because it requires such a diverse cast,” explains Lyric Theatre Company producer Erin Evarts. The troupe wasn’t about to let that preconception stop the beat. With 18 new cast members, many of them college or high school students, “Lyric is so proud to be able to bring the show to Burlington,” says Evarts. Catch the indomitable spirit of the ’60s — and an appreciation for aerosol — starting on Thursday.