Jennifer Hudson and Harvey Fierstein have joined the cast of
NBC’s “Hairspray Live!”
Oscar winner Jennifer will play Motormouth Maybelle, “the owner of a local record store,”
according to NBC, which announced the news on Monday.
Harvey returns to the shoes of Edna Turnblad, a role he won
a Tony for, and which he played for the first two years of
“Hairspray’s” seven-year run at Broadway’s Neil Simon Theatre. He is
also writing the teleplay.
WATCH: Jennifer Hudson On Making Her Broadway Debut In ‘The Color Purple’
“We are
beyond thrilled with this incredibly talented duo of stars for ‘Hairspray
Live!,’” Robert Greenblatt, Chairman, NBC Entertainment, said in a statement.
“Harvey Fierstein created the role of Edna Turnblad on Broadway in an
indelible Tony-winning performance that demanded to be memorialized on film,
and we’re happy he wanted to step into her shoes one last, unforgettable
time. We’re also so grateful that the incomparable Jennifer Hudson will
play Motormouth Maybelle and we know her rendition of ‘I Know Where I’ve Been’
will literally stop the show.”
Television director Alex
Rudzinski has also joined the production’s
creative team.
READ:NBC’s ‘Hairspray Live’ Gets Premiere Date
As previously
reported on AccessHollywood.com, Craig Zadan and Neil Meron
are the executive producers of “Hairspray Live!”
The
production will air on Wednesday, Dec. 7 at 8 PM ET/PT on NBC, originating from
Los Angeles.
— Jolie Lash
Copyright © 2024 by NBC Universal, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
This material may not be republished, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.