MLT teen has starring role in ‘Hairspray’

For years, Hannah Lake dreamed of playing the lead role in the musical “Hairspray.”

This week, she finally gets to make that dream come true.

Lake, 18, is playing the part of Tracy Turnblad in Village Theatre’s Kidstage SummerStock production of “Hairspray,” the story of how a peppy, oversized teen’s desire to dance in a local television show ends up helping integrate the city of Baltimore.

Lake was hooked when she saw the musical with her aunt in Seattle.

“This is my dream role — I’ve wanted to do it ever since it came to the Paramount in 2004,” she said.

Lake, of Mountlake Terrace, first caught the acting bug in the eighth grade, when she enrolled in what was then called Edmonds Homeschool Resource Center. The alternative school, now Edmonds Heights K-12, doesn’t have sports but it does have a big theater program.

“I just kind of fell in love with it,” Lake said.

Her first role was Miss Hannigan in “Annie Junior.”

“It wasn’t the biggest production ever, but I was so excited to have a role,” she said.

Since then she’s performed a variety of lead, supporting and ensemble characters. One role that she says is especially dear to her was Mrs. Bennett in “Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice: A Musical.” Her performance earned her a Fifth Avenue High School Musical Theatre Award.

The chance to put her own spin on a familiar character is part of what draws Lake to the theater.

“You can build your own character,” she said. “You can make yourself a new person and share that with the audience.”

Having the opportunity to sing and dance — and the chance to make new friends — also are pluses, she added.

The recent graduate plans on taking a year off from school to work and audition for more roles. She likes the friendly spirit of community theater, which is a world away from the competitive nature of professional theater.

She plans to attend Edmonds Community College for a degree in music education before enrolling in a four-year school. She’d like to work as a musical director, a role she’s had in previous student plays. The musical director takes charge of the band and orchestra and works with the cast of the show.

“I’d like to continue acting for the rest of my life,” Lake said. “It’s a big part of my life and something I really, really enjoy.”

‘Hairspray’
When: 7:30 p.m. Aug. 3-7, 2 p.m. Aug. 7
Where: Francis J. Gaudette Theatre, 303 Front St. N, Issaquah
Tickets: $14-$16, available at www.villagetheatre.org