Can anyone be more excited about getting out of bed in the morning than Tracy Turnblad?

The moment is iconic in both the Broadway and feature-film productions of the musical "Hairspray": Tracy opens her eyes to greet the day and belt out the opening number "Good Morning, Baltimore." When Good Company Players staged the Fresno-area premiere of the show in 2009, it featured an ingenious set piece inspired by the Broadway production in which Tracy, played by Ashley Wilkinson, was tucked under the covers.

As she sang the first few bars of the tune, the bird's-eye perspective made it seem as if she was on her back and you were looking down from the ceiling.

Both Wilkinson and the bed return in Good Company's reprise of the show, which opens today at Roger Rocka's Dinner Theater, along with Fred Bologna's original direction. Most of the principal cast returns as well. We caught up with Wilkinson via email to talk about that startling opening scene -- and what it's like to return to the same character two years later.

Question: Have you ever awakened on your back in bed after a great night's sleep, snapped open your eyes and started singing "Good morning, Clovis"? And if you have, did you ever wish you lived in a city with three syllables?

Answer: I can't say that I've woken up singing ... not gonna lie, I'm not much of a morning person. But I have been known to randomly burst out into song and dance throughout the day ... I mean ... doesn't everyone?

Do you have a lot in common with the character?

Tracy is such a fun character to play, but that's exactly what she is, a character. I do, however, share her love for dance. When I was 18 months old my mom put me in dance class, I fell in love, and that love affair has continued on for the past 21 years. I'm so grateful that she put me in dance because I honestly can't imagine my life without it.

How will this "Hairspray" be the same -- and different -- from the 2009 production?

Richard Ruth is returning as my mom, Edna, and I couldn't be happier about that. It wouldn't have been the same without him. We have Tori Sasso returning as my best friend, Penny Pingleton. Through the last run I came to love her like a sister and I couldn't see myself on stage without her as my Penny. Chente Cervantes is coming back as Seaweed and not only does he do an amazing job on stage, but he also choreographed "Run and Tell That" and a lot of the Dynamite choreography. Janet Glaude is back as Motormouth Maybelle and as always she brings the house down with her amazing talent. And then we have Peter Allwine, who is stepping into the shoes of Corny Collins. Peter always delivers wonderful performances and I'm so glad that after five years we finally get to do a show together again. We have many familiar faces returning, and we have many new faces joining us, but each and every one of my cast mates is extremely talented and without them I wouldn't be able to do what I do.

Has Bologna made any substantial changes to the staging of the show?

Fred made a few changes this time and I think that everything that we've changed is for the better. Nothing is drastically different but there are many things that he wanted to be able to do last time that we weren't able to do because we ran out of rehearsal time. So luckily we were able to add some extra fun things this time around.

What is your favorite moment in the show?

The song "I Know Where I've Been." Singing that song with Janet is the most moving theatrical experience I've ever been a part of. Every night I'm literally moved to tears ... every single time. The song is so powerful with its message and there are no words to describe Janet's delivery, you honestly just have to experience it to understand. Being able to share that moment with such a talented woman is an amazing experience.

What do you think the plot of "Hairspray" has to tell us about society today?

I think the story, the morals and the lessons in "Hairspray" will always be significant. Size, gender and racial equality are always issues that can be improved upon. Acceptance in all areas for all people is something that I hope really hits home with the audience. Our run goes through February, which is Black History Month, and personally I feel honored to be telling this story of breaking racial barriers so younger generations can understand. I'm grateful that we live in a time where acceptance is expected, but it wasn't always that way and remembering where we've been and realizing how much farther we need to go is so important.