Musical theatre geek Ariana Grande joins NBC's 'Hairspray Live'

Mama, Ariana's a big girl now.
 By 
Sophie Hirsh
 on 
Musical theatre geek Ariana Grande joins NBC's 'Hairspray Live'
LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 15: Recording artist Ariana Grande speaks onstage during The 58th GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on February 15, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/WireImage) Credit: Kevin Winter/WireImage/getty images

Mama, Ariana's a big girl now.

Pop star Ariana Grande just announced on Twitter that she will be playing Penny Pingleton in NBC's Hairspray Live.

After a series of tweets building up to the official news, Ariana Grande quoted one of Penny's lines from Hairspray to let us know.


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Grande will be playing Penny, the lovable, nerdy and rebellious sidekick to Tracy Turnblad, a teen who dreams of fame. Amanda Bynes played Penny in the 2007 film adaptation, and Kerry Butler originated the role in the 2002 Broadway production.

The self-proclaimed musical theatre geek continued to release her excitement on Twitter.

The pop star started her professional career in 2008 when she appeared in the Broadway musical 13, so she's no stranger to live theatre.

Grande joins previously announced cast members Kristin Chenoweth (Velma Von Tussle), Martin Short (Wilbur Turnblad), Harvey Fierstein (Edna Turnblad, and he is also one of the show's writers), Jennifer Hudson (Motormouth Maybelle), Maddie Baillio (Tracy Turnblad) and Derek Hough (Corny Collins).

Hairspray is an uplifting musical comedy that also delves into the issues of racial segregation that faced Baltimore in the early 1960s. Hairspray Live will air on NBC on Dec. 7 at 8 p.m. ET from Los Angeles.

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Sophie Hirsh

Sophie was a Viral Content Intern for the Watercooler channel. More writing and other stuff by Sophie can be found at www.sophiehirsh.com.

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