After three days of auditions, one day of callbacks, and seven hours of casting, the work of putting on Wenatchee High School’s fall choral department production is only beginning with the announcement of the cast of Hairspray on Sept. 14.

Senior Maddy Atwood will star as the main character, Tracy Turnblad, and will be accompanied by English teacher Brian Higgins as Edna Turnblad, Tracy’s mother. Senior Alex Stroming will play Velma Von Tussle, senior Marnie Rimes will play Penny Pingleton, senior Ashley Techavimol will play Motormouth Maybelle, junior Isabella Dahl will play Amber Von Tussle, freshman Luke Ferrell will play Link Larkin, and sophomore Richardson Jackson will play Seaweed J Stubbs.

More than 100 students came to the auditions, which began on Sept. 8, according to choral director Dawn McCormick.

“For me, out of 104 [students], I was outstanded by the talent that came out on stage, and [the students] just putting it out there and not just being strong but very expressive in their singing,” McCormick said.

Director Paul Atwood credits the large turnout to the musical’s popularity among students.

“This [musical] is like this generation’s Grease,” Paul said. “It is by far one the of the best written Broadway musicals.”

Taking place in Baltimore during the 1960s, Hairspray tells the story of teenager Tracy’s efforts to integrate a local dance TV show.

“The music is just classic upbeat ‘60s,” Rimes said. “The last song, ‘You Can’t Stop the Beat,’ just makes me want to dance everytime I hear it.”

The musical also gets attention for addressing discrimination and bullying. “The main girl is talking about how just because she is not as skinny as everybody else, just because she isn’t as tall as everybody else, she can do just as much as everybody else,” junior Maranda Blankenship, who plays a Pinkette, said. “The whole play is about how size, color, and appearance shouldn’t matter.”

The production will run Nov. 13-15 and 20-22. Tickets will be $15 for students and $18 for adults, and will go on sale no later than Oct. 13, producer Selina Danko said. They will be on sale at Pak-it-Rite or the WHS website.

Until then, the cast will enter weeks of practices and rehearsals in preparation for taking the stage.

“I’m excited to share the stage again,” sophomore Zac Pope said, “with the people I’ve done past productions with.”