WHAT better show for the start of the Easter school holidays than Hairspray's burst of teenage exuberance?

York Stage Musicals follow up the equally effervescent Sister Act by staging the Broadway and West End musical for the first time on a professional stage in York, playing the Grand Opera House from tomorrow until next Saturday.

Directed and choreographed byJessica Hardcastle, with musical direction by Adam Tomlinson, Hairspray follows the plight of lovable Baltimore teen-dreamer Tracy Turnblad, a big girl with big hair and an even bigger heart who becomes the unexpected star of her local TV dance programme, The Corny Collins Show, much to the frustration of the station’s villainous producer, Velma Von Tussle.

In 1960s Baltimore, black is black and white is white and "pleasantly plump" girls certainly don’t dance on TV, but never shy of standing up for what she believes in, Tracy launches a riotous campaign to integrate The Corny Collins Show. As she dances her way into the nation’s hearts, she helps her mother, Edna, turn from frumpy Fifties housewife to swinging Sixties chick.

The roles of Turnblad daughter and mother go to Maya Tether, 17, and York stage regular Joe Wawrzyniak, while York blues singer/songwriter Jess Gardham is an eye-catching addition to the YSM ranks in her company debut as DJ Motormouth Maybelle.

"It's a new thing for me, but I've known Nik Briggs [YSM's artistic director] from the York music scene and he really knows my vocal range," says Jess.

"So, as soon as this show came up, he said, 'I really think you should go for it'. I hadn't seen the show, but I looked it up, went for the audition, got the part! How do I feel? Ecstatic! I'm loving it."

Maya was "certainly determined" to be cast as Tracy. "I think she's a great character because she tackles problems head on that are incredibly important and matter to everyone. She says what she thinks, does what she believes in, and so it's a fantastic role to play because what she does makes a difference," she says.

"And I think she's a good part for me because she's very different from me."

Just as competition is fierce for a place on The Corny Collins Show, so it was for Hairspray, but at least that was open to everyone and around 120 people put themselves forward for the show.

"It was one of the hardest auditions I've been through, really having to think on the spot," says Joe. "For me, at 28, playing a woman in her late forties, early fifties, the part of Edna is a great acting challenge.

"I think a lot of people think it's like a pantomime dame, but it's not. She's a woman, but played by a male actor. and one of the hardest things is not to go too far. There's been a lot of playing around with the character in rehearsal and also watching 'bigger ladies' like Edna to see how they walk, because they move differently."

Both Maya and Joe have had their fat suits made for their roles. "I actually look rather like Pat Butcher in EastEnders; just the jewellery is missing," says Joe.

He is playing opposite Andy Stone in the role of Edna's husband, Wilbur.

"It's been an absolute pleasure to work with Andy. Playing husband and wife is hard enough when you're a man and a woman, but as a man and a man, getting it right is even harder, but I think we will," Joe says.

For Jess, performing in a musical, rather leading her band, is not an entirely alien experience.

"I'm 32 now, and I work as a dental nurse, but I did theatre studies when I was 16/17 at York Sixth Form College," she says. "I remember we did Joe Orton's The Erpingham Camp, where I played a (male) gay vicar, though that's all I can remember! How can I forget that?

"But actually I've always enjoyed acting, thought I have just never given myself the option to delve into it further because I put my songwriting first, being in a band and singing at gigs.

"Then this show came up and now I'd really love to do more of this because, as a performer, I always want to show that I'm versatile. I feel confident on stage anyway but Motormouth is an interesting role to play and to research the character's feelings."

For Maya, a musical theatre student at York College, Hairspray is "the best opportunity I've ever had". "Being part of this company is fantastic; the cast is full of talented people and I've learnt so much." she says. "Meeting people who care so much about what I care about too has been a wonderful experience."

York Stage Musicals present Hairspray: The Broadway Musical at Grand Opera House, York, from tomorrow until April 4. Box Office: 0844 871 3024 or atgtickets.com/york