Can’t Stop the Beat – Hairspray

10. THE BIG DOLLHOUSE

WOMEN

I gotta get out

I gotta get out

I gotta get out

How’d I get in this slammer

This cooler

This big dollhouse!

MATRON

Alright, ladies, welcome to the “Big Dollhouse!” For those of you new to the Baltimore Women’s House of Detention, think of me as a mother… one who eats her young!

VELMA

Locked up with all these

Lowlife women

EDNA

And horizontal stripes

Ain’t exactly slimmin’

AMBER

Is there anybody here

Who can dry clean my blouse?

MATRON

It’s the maid’s day off

ALL

In the big dollhouse

LI’L INEZ

Lady justice,

Where have you gone?

EDNA
Îîí, wilbur, check,

I think I left the iron on!

VELMA

Did you see Corny laughing?

I could murder that louse!

MATRON

Honey, that’ll getcha life

HOOKERS

In the big dollhouse

ALL

Big house!

VELMA

Locked up here in the pen

ALL

Big house!

AMBER

No phone!

EDNA

No food!

MOTORMOUTH

No men!

EDNA

I need a conjugal visit

From my loving spouse

MATRON

Honey, just drop the soap

ALL

In The Big Dollhouse

ENDA (to MATRON)

Yoo hoo,

My stomach’s a little sour

I haven’t had food

In over an hour

MATRON

You just had a pizza,

Six burgers, a mouse!

ALL

There’s no food left

In the big dollhouse

VELMA

Hey, matron,

I have got to complain

HOOKER

Mira, mami, don’t I know you

From 1st and main?

VELMA

Eek, call my attorneys

Lipshitz and Strauss

I gotta get sprung

From the big dollhouse

ALL

Big house!

LI’L INEZ

No fair!

EDNA

No food!

PENNY

No fun!

ALL

Big house!

MOTORMOUTH

And our fight had just begun

‘Cause it’s freedom’s flame

Velma’d like to douse

So we must break out of this

ALL

Big Dollhouse

TRACY

Penny, I can’t take

All this waiting

I’ve lost my man

Plus, my hair’s deflating!

PENNY

Well Tracy,

I hate to grumble or grouse

MATRON (screaming at Tracy)

But it’s your fault that we’re in

This big dollhouse!!

BEATNIK CHICK

Hey, cool it, ladies

No need to shout

And don’t ya got an old man

To bail you out?

VELMA

Ha! Her daddy’s a pervert,

A loser, a souse!

EDNA (pawing Velma)

Well, it’s iust us girls

In the big dollhouse

ALL

Big house!

AMBER

God, I’m too young to fry!

ALL

Big house!

EDNA

I’m busting out!

MOTORMOUTH

Girl, so am I!

ALL

Lady justice, hear my plea

‘Cause the big dollhouse

The big dollhouse

The big dollhouse

Ain’t big enough for me!

For me!

For me!

EDNA

For me!!!

11. GOOD MORNING BALTIMORE (Reprise)

TRACY

Oh, oh, oh

I’m all alone

My heart has grown

But it’s broken, too

This morning

Life was a Baltimore fairy tale

Now I can’t make bail!

My mother’s in shock

My father’s in hock

I much prefer Link’s arms

To jailhouse cells

So Link, please rescue me now

‘Cause I love you

And this prison smells.

Link, hear the bells!

And get ready, Baltimore

There’s a bright, brand-new

Day in store

Let me out so this dream’s

Unfurled

I’ll eat some breakfast,

Then change the world!

And I promise Baltimore

Once I cha-cha right out of

That door

The world’s gonna wake up

And see

Link’s in love with me!

12. (YOU’RE) TIMELESS

WILBUR

Styles keep a changin’

The world’s re-arrangin’

But Edna, you’re timeless to me

Hemlines are shorter

A beer costs a quarter

But time cannot take what comes free

You’re like a stinky old cheese, babe

Just gettin’ riper with age

You’re like a fatal disease, babe

But there’s no cure

So let this fever rage

Some folks can’t stand it

Say time is a bandit

But I take the opposite view

Cause when I need a lift

Time brings a gift

Another day with you

A twist or a waltz

It’s all the same schmaltz

With just a change in the scenery

You’ll never be old hat

That’s that!

You’re timeless to me

EDNA

Oh, Wilbur!

Fads keep a-fadin’

Castro’s invading!

But Wilbur, you’re timeless to me

Hairdos are higher

Mine feels like barbed wire

But you say I’m chic as can be!

You’re like a rare vintage ripple

A vintage they’ll never forget

So pour me a teeny weenie triple

And we can toast the fact we ain’t dead yet!

I can’t stop eating

Your hairline’s receding

Soon there’ll be nothing at all

So, you’ll wear a wig

While I roast a pig

Hey! Pass that geritol

Glenn Miller had class

That Chubby Checker’s a gas

But they all pass eventually

You’ll never be passe

Hip hooray!

You’re timeless to me

(They dance.)

EDNA

You’re like a broken down Chevy

All you need is a fresh coat of paint

WILBUR

And Edna, you got me goin’ hot and heavy

You’re fat and old, but baby, boring you ain’t!

WILBUR & EDNA

Some folks don’t get it

But we never fret it

‘Cause we know that time is our friend

It’s plain to see

That you’re stuck with me

Until the bitter end

And we got a kid

Who’s blowin’ the lid

Off the Turnblad family tree

EDNA

You’ll always hit the spot

Big shot!

You’re timeless to me

WILBUR

You’ll always be du jour

Mon amour

You’re timeless to me

EDNA

You’ll always be first string

WILBUR

Ring-a-ding-ding!

WILBUR & EDNA

You’re timeless to me

EDNA

You’re timeless to me

WILBUR

You’re timeless to me

WILBUR & EDNA

You’re timeless to me!!

13. WITHOUT LOVE

SEAWEED (climbing in Penny’s window)

Psst Penny! What happened?!

PENNY (strapped into bed)

My mother’s punishing me for going to jail without permission!

SEAWEED

Well, I’m here to save the fair maiden in her tower.

PENNY

Oh, Seaweed!

LINK (sneaking into jail)

Tracy, you took beautiful behind bars!

TRACY

It must be the low-watt instutionai lighting!

LINK

Oh Tracy, they can keep us from kissing,

but they can’t stop us from singing!

LINK

Once I was a selfish fool

Who never understood

I never looked inside myself

Though on the outside, I looked good!

Then we met and you made me

The man I am today

Tracy, I’m in love with you

No matter what you weigh

‘Cause…

LINK & ENSEMBLE

Without love

Life is like the seasons with

No summer

Without love

Life is rock ‘n’ roll without

A drummer

Tracy, I’ll be yours forever

‘Cause I never wanna be

Without love

Tracy, never set me free

No, I ain’t lyin’

Never set me free, Tracy,

No, no, no!!

TRACY

Once I was a simple girl

Then stardom came to me

But I was still a nothing

Though a thousand fans may

Disagree

ENSEMBLE

Tracy!!

TRACY

Fame was just a prison

Signing autographs a bore

I didn’t have a clue

‘Til you came banging on my door

TRACY & ENSEMBLE

That without love

Life is like my dad without his bromo

Without love

Life is making out with Perry Como!

Darling, I’ll be yours forever

‘Cause I never wanna be

Without love

So darling, throw away the key

LINK & TRACY

I’m yours forever

TRACY

Throw away the key

LINK, TRACY & ENSEMBLE

Yeah, yeah, yeah!

SEAWEED

Living in the ghetto

Black is everywhere ya go

Who’d ‘ve thought I’d love a girl

With skin as white as winter’s snow

PENNY

In my ivory tower

Life was just a hostess snack

But now I’ve tasted chocolate

And I’m never going back

PENNY, SEAWEED & ENSEMBLE

‘Cause without love

SEAWEED

Life is like a beat that you can’t follow

PENNY, SEAWEED & ENSEMBLE

Without love

PENNY

Life is Doris Day at the Apollo

PENNY, SEAWEED & ENSEMBLE

Darling, I’ll be yours forever

‘Cause I never wanna be

Without love

SEAWEED

So darling, never set me free

PENNY & SEAWEED

I’m yours forever

Never set me free

PENNY, SEAWEED & ENSEMBLE

No, no, no!

LINK

If you’re locked up in this prison, Trace

I don’t know what I’ll do

TRACY

Link, I’ve got to break out

So that I can get my hands on you

SEAWEED

And girl, if I can’t touch you

Now I’m gonna lose control

PENNY

Seaweed, you’re my black white knight

I’ve found my blue-eyed soul

SEAWEED & ENSEMBLE

Sweet freedom is our goal

LINK

Trace, I wanna kiss ya!

TRACY

Then I can’t wait for parole!

(Link & Seaweed break their girls out of their respective prisons

and continue singing… of course)

ALL

‘Cause without love

SEAWEED

Life is like a prom that won’t invite us

ALL

Without love

LINK

Life’s getting my big break and laryngitis

ALL

Without love

PENNY

Life’s a ’45’ when you can’t buy it

ALL

Without love

TRACY

Life is like my mother on a diet

ALL

Like a week that’s only mondays

Only ice cream never sundaes

Like a circle with no center

Like a door marked “do not enter!”

Darling, I’ll be yours forever

‘Cause I never wanna be…

Without love

PENNY & LINK

Yes now you’ve captured me

ENSEMBLE

Without love

SEAWEED & TRACY

I surrender happily

ENSEMBLE

Without love

PENNY

Oh Seaweed

ALL

Never set me free

PENNY & SEAWEED

No, no, no

TRACY & LINK

No, I ain’t lyin’

PENNY & SEAWEED

Never set me free

ALL

No, no, no

No, I don’t wanna live without

PENNY

Love, love, love

LINK

Yeah, yeah, yeah

ALL

Darling, you had best believe me,

Never leave me without love!

14. I KNOW WHERE I’VE BEEN

MOTORMOUTH

There’s a light

In the darkness

Though the night

Is black as my skin

There’s a light

Burning bright

Showing me the way

But I know where I’ve been

There’s a cry

In the distance

It’s a voice

That comes from deep within

There’s a cry

Asking why

I pray the answer’s up ahead

‘Cause I know where I’ve been

There’s a road

We’ve been travelin’

Lost so many on the way

But the riches

Will be plenty

Worth the price we

Had to pay

There’s a dream

In the future

There’s a struggle

We have yet to win

And there’s pride

In my heart

‘Cause I know

Where I’m going

And I know where I’ve been

MOTORMOUTH & ENSEMBLE

There’s a road

We must travel

There’s a promise

We must make

‘Cause the riches

Will be plenty

Worth the risk

And chances that we take

There’s a dream

In the future

There’s a struggle

We have yet to win

Use that pride

In our hearts

To lift us up

To tomorrow

‘Cause just to sit still

Would be a sin

ENSEMBLE

I know it, I know it

I know where I’m going

MOTORMOUTH

And lord knows I know..

Where I’ve been

MOTORMOUTH & ENSEMBLE

Oh! When we win,

I’ll give thanks to my God

‘Cause I know where I’ve been

15. (IT’S) HAIRSPRAY

CORNY

And now, live, from the certified up-to-code Baltimore Eventorium…

…for the first time ever on nationwide television…

it’s The Corny Collins Spectacular…

COUNCIL GIRLS

He’s Corny!!

CORNY

…brought to you by Ultra Clutch Hairspray!

CORNY & ENSEMBLE

What gives a girl

Power and punch?

Is it charm, is it poise?

No, it’s hairspray!

What gets a gal

Asked out to lunch

Is it brains, is it dough?

No, it’s hairspray!

If you take a ride

With no can at your side

Then your flip will be gone

With the wind

But if you spray it and lock it,

You can take off in a rocket

And in outer space

Each hair will be in place

Why take a chance

When you get up and dance

If you twist, I insist

You use hairspray

And tell your mother

Her head she should smother

With “ultra-clutch” faithfully

So if you’re a redhead,

A blonde or brunette

Just take my advice

And you might just get

The only thing better than hairspray

CORNY

That’s me!

ENSEMBLE

Ska-doo-dle-e-ya

Doo-dle-e-ya do wah

CORNY

Forget the milkman

The only thing better than hairspray

ENSEMBLE

Hairspray! Wow!

CORNY

That’s me!

CORNY & ENSEMBLE

What makes a man

Reach out and touch?

Ultra clutch!

So if you’re a redhead,

A blonde or brunette

Just take my advice

And you might just get

CORNY

The only thing better than hairspray

That’s me!

ENSEMBLE

Ska-doo-dle-e-ya

Doo-dle-e-ya do wah

COUNCIL GIRLS

He’s Corny Collins!

CORNY

The only thing better than hairspray

ENSEMBLE

Hairspray! Wow!

CORNY

That’s me!

ENSEMBLE

Ska-doo-dle-e-ya do wah

Ska-doo-dle-e-ya do wah!

Do wow!

CORNY

“Hey, baby, you look like you could use a stiff one!”

BRENDA

Ska-doo-dle-e-ya-do do wah!!!!

16. COOTIES

AMBER

Tracy Turnblad, this is for you.

They came from way far out

In outer space

And with her help

They may destroy the human race

AMBER & GUYS

She’s got cooties!

GIRLS

…Cooties

AMBER

They’ve found a place to nest

GUYS

She’s got cooties

GIRLS

…Cooties

AMBER

If I were her I’d be depressed

Long tailed, sharp nailed

Fuzzy legs, laying eggs

“Eww, get ’em away from me,

get ’em away from me … ewww!!”

In science class

She’s like a walking show-and-tell

Her pet skunk ran away

‘Cause it couldn’t take the smell

GUYS

She’s got cooties

GIRLS

…Cooties

AMBER

Nobody want to sit by her

GUYS

She’s got cooties

GIRLS

…Cooties

AMBER

She don’t need a coat

‘Cause she’s got fur!

Circle, circle,

ALL

Dot, dot, dot

AMBER

Hurry, get your cootie shot!

“Come on everybody, let’s stamp ’em out!”

GUYS

She’s got cooties

GIRLS

…Cooties

AMBER

She’s just as friendly as can be

GUYS

She’s got cooties

GIRLS

…Cooties

AMBER

She shows them cootie hospitality

GUYS

She’s got cooties

GIRLS

…Cooties

AMBER

She’s like a living “twilight zone”

GUYS

She’s got cooties

GIRLS

…Cooties

AMBER

Quick, get Rod Serling on the phone!

Black, white, red, green

AMBER & ENSEMBLE

Every color in between

AMBER

Dresses like a circus clown

AMBER & ENSEMBLE

Somebody oughta hose her down

AMBER

Grew up in a cootie zoo

I bet her two-ton mama’s got ’em too!

“And that’s for you!”

17. YOU CAN’T STOP THE BEAT

TRACY

You cant stop an avalanche

As it races down the hill

You can try to stop the seasons, girl

But ya know you never will

And you can try to stop my dancin’ feet

But I just cannot stand still

‘Cause the world keeps spinning

‘Round and ’round

And my heart’s keeping time

To the speed of sound

I was lost til I heard the drums

Then I found my way

TRACY & LINK

‘Cause you can’t stop the beat

Ever since this old world began

A woman found out if she shook it

She could shake up a man

And so I’m gonna shake and shimmy it

The best that I can today

‘Cause you can’t stop

The motion of the ocean

Or the sun in the sky

You can wonder if you wanna

But I never ask why

And if you try to hold me down

I’m gonna spit in your eye and say

That you can’t stop the beat!

(Penny appears onstage transformed into a hot teenage tigress.)

TRACY

What do ya’ have to say, Penny?

PENNY

I am now a checkerboard chick!

You can’t stop a river

As it rushes to the sea

You can try and stop the hands of time

But ya know it just can’t be

And if they try to stop us, seaweed,

I’ll call the n – double-a – c – p!

‘Cause the world keeps spinning

‘Round and ’round

SEAWEED

‘Round and ’round

PENNY

And my heart’s keeping time

To the speed of sound

SEAWEED

Speed of sound

PENNY

I was lost till I heard the drums

Then I found my way

PENNY & SEAWEED

‘Cause you can’t stop the beat

PENNY, SEAWEED, TRACY & LINK

Ever since we first saw the light

A man and woman liked to shake it

On a Saturday night

And so I’m gonna shake and shimmy it

With all my might today

‘Cause you can’t stop

The motion of the ocean

Or the rain from above

They can try to stop the paradise

We’re dreaming of

But they cannot stop the rhythm

Of two hearts in love to stay

‘Cause you can’t stop the beat!

EDNA

Tracy, I have a little something

I’d like to add, if you don’t mind.

You can’t stop my happiness

‘Cause I like the way I am

And you just can’t stop my knife and fork

When I see a christmas ham

So if you don’t like the way I look

Well, I just don’t give a damn!

EDNA & ENSEMBLE

‘Cause the world keeps spinning

‘Round and ’round

And my heart’s keeping time

To the speed of sound

I was lost til I heard the drums

Then I found my way

EDNA, WILBUR & COMPANY

‘Cause you can’t stop the beat

Ever since this old world began

A woman found out if she shook it

She could shake up a man

And so I’m gonna shake and shimmy it

The best that I can today

‘Cause you can’t stop

The motion of the ocean

Or the sun in the sky

You can wonder if you wanna

But I never ask why

And if you try to hold me down

I’m gonna spit in your eye and say

That you can’t stop the beat!

EDNA

Wilbur, be a dear and get me my oxygen… NOW!

MOTORMOUTH (to Velma)

Step aside, Miss Buttercup… it’s

time to wrap this mutha’ up!

Oh, oh, oh,

You can’t stop today

ENSEMBLE

…No!

MOTORMOUTH

As it comes speeding down the track

ENSEMBLE

Oîí îîí îîí, child, yes

MOTORMOUTH

Child, yesterday is hist’ry

ENSEMBLE

Be gone!

MOTORMOUTH

And it’s never coming back

ENSEMBLE

Look ahead

MOTORMOUTH & ENSEMBLE

‘Cause tomorrow is a brand new day

MOTORMOUTH

And it don’t know white from black

ENSEMBLE

Yeah!

MOTORMOUTH & ENSEMBLE

‘Cause the world keeps spinning

‘Round and ’round

And my heart’s keeping time

To the speed of sound

I was lost til I heard the drums

Then I found my way

‘Cause you can’t stop the beat

ALL

Ever since we first saw the light

A man and woman liked to shake it

On a Saturday night

And so I’m gonna shake and shimmy it

With all my might today

‘Cause you can’t stop

The motion of the ocean

Or the rain from above

They can try to stop this paradise

We’re dreaming of

But you cannot stop the rhythm

Of two hearts in love to stay

You can’t stop the beat!

Aah, aah, aah

Aah, aah, aah

Aah, aah, aah

Come on, you von Tussles

Go on, shake your fanny muscles

VELMA & AMBER

We can’t!

ALL

Yes, you can!

VELMA & AMBER

No, we can’t!

ALL

Yes, you can!

VELMA & AMBER

Yes, we can…!!!

ALL

You can’t stop the beat

VELMA & AMBER

Ever since we first saw the sun

It seems von Tussle girls are always

Tryin’ to please someone

But now we’re gonna shake and shimmy it

And have some fun

Today!

ALL

‘Cause you can’t stop

The motion of the ocean

Or the rain from above

They can try to stop the paradise

We’re dreaming of

But you cannot stop the rhythm

Of two hearts in love to stay

‘Cause you can’t stop the beat!

You can’t stop the beat!!

You can’t stop the beat!!!

Act One   |   Back to Hairspray Index