A show that promotes inclusion and acceptance hits a Border school's stage next week.
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Hairspray, set among dance-loving teenagers in 1960s Baltimore, will be brought to life by a cast of 60 at The Scots School, Albury.
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Head of co-curricular, arts and events Elizabeth Heitmeyer, who directs the musical, said rehearsals had been going well.
"We require quite a range of vocal styles and we just seem to have them, they're amazing," she said.
"There's just a great depth of cast this year."
Mrs Heitmeyer said at first she had been hesitant about staging Hairspray, given its racially mixed character list.
"I was worried about it coming across as disrespectful," she said.
"But it's all in the acting, that's how we're doing it.
"We actually had a process of blind casting.
"We looked at how well they matched the character in terms of their energy and personality, not how they looked, so we opened it up.
"'It's what's on the inside that counts' has been our kind of theme throughout."
The director said although comedic, Hairspray had also been educational as the actors discussed various characters' attitudes and dialogue.
"How sometimes it takes reflecting those things back to an audience to make people understand how being a bigot or being racist or in any way discriminatory, how hurtful it is," she said.
"It's a musical with a message and the cast are really quite committed to that."
Hairspray will be performed February 28, March 1, 2, at The Scots School Albury.
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