In 1962, Tracy Turnblad is a 16-year-old heavyset high school student living in Baltimore. Along with her best friend Penny Pingleton, Tracy regularly watches "The Corny Collins Show", a local teen dance television show. The show’s young performers attend Tracy and Penny's high school, including Amber von Tussle and her boyfriend Link Larkin, the lead dancers. Amber's mother, Velma, manages the show’s host station WYZT, ensuring that Amber is prominently featured. Corny Collins and the dancers on the show are white, and Velma only allows African-American dancers once a month on "Negro Day", hosted by R&B disc jockey Motormouth Maybelle.