Students at Menlo-Atherton High School are staging a production of the Tony award-winning musical "Hairspray" the weekends of Nov. 9 and Nov. 16.

The setting for the musical is 1960s Baltimore. It follows teenager Tracy Turnblad, who dreams of dancing on a TV dance program, and is an energetic homage to the musical style of the late 1950s and early 60s, according to M-A teacher Danette Bathauer, the show's director.

In the play, Tracy becomes friends with the students of color at her school and in her community, and becomes outraged when she learns how people are discriminated against because of their physical appearance, Bathauer wrote in an email.

"When I started researching the different protests occurring in the 1960s, I was struck by the shocking reality that our current students are still marching/fighting/protesting many of the same issues," she wrote.

Bathauer said she chose the play because she wanted to "unify and celebrate our campus' diversity."

Cast members include: Sean Fabrega in the role of Tracy Turnblad, Rebekah Lindsay as Penny Pingleton, Emma Denend as Velma Von Tussle, and Blake Mathews as Link Larkin.

Tickets are $10 for students and seniors, and $15 for adults.

The showtimes are as follows:

•Friday, Nov. 9, at 7:30 p.m.

•Saturday, Nov. 10, at 7:30 p.m.

•Sunday, Nov. 11, at 2 p.m.

•Friday, Nov, 16, at 7:30 p.m.

•Saturday, Nov. 17, at 7:30 p.m.

•Sunday, Nov. 18, at 2 p.m.

Tickets can be purchased online. Tickets will also be on sale at the box office 30 minutes before showtimes.

Performances are at the Menlo-Atherton High School Performing Arts Center at 555 Middlefield Road in Atherton.

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