Can Penny be played by a male?

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March 19, 2025
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My school is doing Hairspray and we were thinking of having Penny be gender swapped. We’ll change l her name, pronouns, and every time she is referred to as a female, but not any other part of the show. Would this be allowed?

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Staff Answer
March 31, 2025

Hi! You cannot make changes to the libretto and/or songs without permission from MTI on behalf of the authors. If you have any proposed changes, email them to your licensing representative for approval. Please note: this is not a guarantee of approval.