Fun dance moves, catchy songs, some sexual innuendos and a whole lot of Ultra Clutch Hairspray-really, what else does a musical need? Hairspray may pull rank as one of the most entertaining and cheerful shows the Broadway stage has seen; the fact that it manages to be so bubblegum-happy while still delivering a strong political message of equality and togetherness is quite admirable. Last weekend, Hillel Theater Group brought this musical, featuring the story so many of us know and love, to campus.In the spirit of Hairspray, the show was open cast. Directed by Bronte Velez '16 and Dennis Hermida '16, the musical summoned hundreds of students, staff members, friends and family to the Shapiro Campus Center Theater. Even though its opening weekend also marked the beginning of Passover break, Hairspray managed to sell out three out of its four shows.

The cast worked well together. Bethany Adam '15, starring as Tracy Turnblad, had the classically innocent and excited "Tracy smile" down perfectly, and Dov Gold '16 charmed the audience as Link Larkin, just as Zac Efron did back in the 2007 film version of the musical. Jessica Eichinger '17 was absolutely perfect in her role as Penny Pingleton-she was sweet and funny, and all eyes were on her whenever she stepped onstage. Spencer Stevens' '16 performance as Edna Turnblad was also hilarious and on point. There is no question, however, that it was Nyah Macklin '16 who stole the show through her portrayal of Motormouth Maybelle. The audience was left in awe at both her singing and acting skills, and she deservedly got the first standing ovation of the opening night showing Thursday night. There were a few moments in which some of the actors lost focus and got a little out of character, which made the play seem a little disorganized. Numbers that featured the entire ensemble, such as "Good Morning Baltimore" and "You Can't Stop The Beat," turned slightly messy at points. However, all of the performers seemed to be having an incredible time throughout the show.

The sets and costumes were beautifully designed, and made the production feel professional; everything looked like it was actually from the 1960s. The clothing choices were on point and the hairstyles were very well done and planned out. Gabi Scheinthal '16 was in charge of set design, while Shayna Rubenstein '16 was the costume designer. All of their work was very well put together and went smoothly with the storyline, as well as with the traditional, cheerful Hairspray theme. Even though some of the characters' looks must have been very challenging to achieve-especially Stevens' transformation from a young man to a middle-aged woman. Everyone looked true to their parts, which contributed the show's great outcome.

The fantastic musical numbers added to the already incredible performance. Conducted by Alex Faye '15, the band sounded great and complimented the performers' voices and actions perfectly. There were, however, several technical difficulties with sound, which, at certain points, affected the quality of the performers' voices.

One of the most impressive scenes found Tracy, Edna, Penny, Prudy Pingleton (Alexandra Patch '14), Amber Von Tussle (Margot Grubert '17) and Velma Von Tussle (Joanna Nix '14), along with the ensemble, singing "Mama I'm A Big Girl Now." The number had just the right amounts of humor and sexuality, and all of the singers' performances were flawless, passionate and portrayed the spirits of their characters very accurately.

All in all, HTG's Hairspray was extremely well put together, and it was clear to everyone in the audience that the cast and production members had put all of their energies and efforts into making it a success. In spite of a few technical difficulties here and there with sound execution, it was an amazing play filled with very talented performers and production members-everyone left the theater with big smiles and lots of tunes stuck in their heads.