STAGE TUBE: HAIRSPRAY Tour Stars Perform at White House

Last night, July 19, Barack and Michelle Obama celebrated the arts, innovation and creativity with the Broadway Celebration: In Performance at the White House event, featuring top Broadway talent including Nathan Lane, Idina Menzel, Audra McDonald, Brian D'Arcy James, Chad Kimball, Tonya Pinkins, Marvin Hamlisch, Karen Olivo, and Assata Alston. The event was streamed live on BroadwayWorld.

For the event, 20 dance students from Duke Ellington School of the Arts and the Joy of Motion Dance Center participated in an educational workshop and rehearsing a segment from the Broadway show Hairspray, led by choreographer Jerry Mitchell, at the Atlas Performing Arts Center in Washington, DC.

In the evening, this youth ensemble joined the ranks of major Broadway artists and new talent who will perform selections from American musicals that reflect the spirit, energy and ambition of America. Participants include Nathan Lane, Idina Menzel, Audra McDonald, Brian D'Arcy James, Chad Kimball, Tonya Pinkins, Marvin Hamlisch, Karen Olivo, and Assata Alston. "A Broadway Celebration: In Performance at the White House" will be televised on public broadcasting stations nationwide on October 20, 2010 at 9:00 p.m. ET as part of the PBS music series "In Performance at the White House."

As part of the evening, Danielle Arci, who plays Tracy Turnblad on the HAIRSPRAY national tour, co-star Constantine Rousouli, and students of the Duke Ellington School for the Arts and the Joy of Motion Dance Center performed 'You Can't Stop the Beat' for President Barack Obama, Michelle Obama. Click below for the performance!