31 quotes
Concern About Daughter's Location
Amber
I’m calling because I have some information about your daughter’s whereabouts.
Edna
What?
Amber
Right now, as we speak, your daughter has entered a hotbed of moral... !urpentine.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Brenda's Upcoming Leave from the Show
Corny
And now it’s time to say goodbye to our very own fun-lovin’, free-wheelin’ little Brenda. Come on up here, Brenda! Brenda will be taking a little leave of absence from the show. How long are you gonna be gone, Brenda?
[Brenda does so]
Brenda
Just nine months.
[smiling nervously]
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Embracing a New Identity
Penny Pingleton
I am now a checkerboard chick!
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Guiding Youth Towards Racial Conformity
Velma
They’re kids, Corny, that’s why we have to steer them in the white direction.
Corny
The right direction?
Velma
Didn’t I say that?
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Critique of Detroit Sound in Hairspray
Velma
Detroit sound? What’s that, the cries of people being mugged?
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
A Lettuce Leaf and Perception Challenges
Velma Von Tussle
I could do a fan dance with a lettuce leaf and you would remain completely obtuse!
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
A Tragic Accident in Velma's Life
Velma Von Tussle
My husband, he accidentally suffocated.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Commentary on Racial Integration in Community Spaces
Maybelle
Boy, if we get any more white people in here, this is gonna be a suburb.
[watching Edna walk in]
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Embracing Change and Diversity in Society
Tracy Turnblad
Ma, it's changing out there! You'll like it. People who are different, their time is coming!
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Celebrating Inclusion and Diversity in Social Gatherings
Tracy Turnblad
Being invited places by colored people - it feels so hip!
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Unexpected Classroom Responses
Mr. Flak
Oh, and Mr. Larkin, perhaps you’d like to share with the rest of the class Patrick Henry’s immortal last words?
Link
Kiss my ass?
[pause]
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Unexpected Hospitality and Concerns about Iron
Maybelle
Miz Edna, is it? Hi, I mean, you don’t have to rush off, you know.
Edna
Well, I do. I left my iron on.
Maybelle
Oh, your iron? Well, before you go, are you sure you wouldn't like to have a little something to eat?
[shows Edna the soul food spread on the table]
Edna
Is that braised?
[after a long moment]
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Misunderstandings in a Geometry Conversation
Velma Von Tussle
Incredible! I could do a fan dance with a lettuce leaf and you would remain completely obtuse!
Wilbur
Obtuse?
Velma
Yes, obtuse!
Wilbur
I flunked geometry-
Velma
Yeah, well, and biology too, no doubt!
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Demographic Commentary on Social Class
Velma Von Tussle
You know what your demographic is? Cleaning ladies and lawn jockeys.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Voting for People, Not Concepts
Amber
You have to vote for a person, Corny, not one of the Himalayas.
Corny
Always the charmer, Amber!
[tightly]
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
The Value of Character in Adversity
Penny
Without that show I have nothing!
Mrs. Pingleton
Having nothing builds character!
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Dreams of Fame vs. Family Expectations
Edna
No one is auditioning for anything in this household!
Tracy
But why not? Why not?
Edna
Because dancing is not your future. One day, you’re going to own "Edna’s Occidental Laundry".
Tracy
I don’t want to be a laundress, I want to be famous!
Edna
If you want to be famous, learn how to take blood out of car upholstery; That’s a skill you can take right to the bank!
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Amber's Disappointment Over Link's Choices
Amber Von Tussle
(crying after Link has gone with Tracy and the Detention Kids) He just danced on that bus with that Great White Whale and those Negroes!
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Generational Clash Over Music and Focus
Edna
Will you turn that racket down? I'm trying to iron here.
Tracy
Ma, its not racket, its the Corny Collins Show!
Edna
Well, it's turning your brains into mud!
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Navigating Fear and Excitement Together
Penny
I’m very pleased and scared to be here.
Maybelle
Now, honey, we got more reason to be scared on your street.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
A Mother's Rule Against Sweating
Penny Pingleton
My mom says I’m not allowed to perspire!
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Consequences of Ambition and Risk
Velma Von Tussle
I risked communicable diseases, she’ll certainly risk jail.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Excitement of Auditioning and Supporting Friends
Tracy
I can’t believe I’m really here auditioning !
[for ''The Corny Collins Show'']
Penny
I can’t believe I’m really here watching you audition.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Firing Techniques in Entertainment Industry
Corny
Gee, Velma, how do you fire Corny Collins from The Corny Collins Show?
[walks off]
Velma
They do it all the time on “Lassie”!
[starts to speak and then pauses, frustrated]
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
The Challenge of Ambition in Family Dynamics
Wilbur
This is America, babe, you gotta think big to be big.
[to Tracy]
Edna
Big ain’t the problem in this family, Wilbur...
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Misunderstanding Flirting Over Time
Wilbur
Honey, it took me five years to figure out you were flirting! How could I ever?
[to a sobbing Edna, who thinks that he has been cheating on her with Velma]
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Celebrating Diversity in Everyday Life
Tracy
Negro Day’s the best! I wish every day were “Negro Day”!
Seaweed
At our house, it is.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Comment on a new dress's impact
Velma Von Tussle
Let me guess, brand-new dress? Well, you’ll stop traffic!
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Conflict Over Song Choice
Velma
How dare you pick the same song!
[after The Dynamites perform “The New Girl in Town”]
Maybelle
They wrote it.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
An Apology for Hair Disruption
Link Larkin
Sorry, little darlin'. Hope I didn’t dent your do.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Tension and Distraction Among Friends
Amber
Do that again, and there'll be stumps where your feet are, you got that? You little who- -Holy moly.
[to one of the dancers; Link walks up]
Link
It’s time.
[presents Amber with a [[w:Class ring|ring]
Velma
Amber! Save your personal life for the camera, sweetie! Ooh, shiny!
[they break apart; sends Amber off to makeup for more powder]
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.