Your musical prayers have been answered: Jennifer Hudson will star in NBC's 'Hairspray Live!'
How will NBC try to top the awesomeness that was The Wiz? With Jennifer Hudson, that's how.
The Oscar, Golden Globe, SAG and Grammy Award winner has been booked to star in NBC's Hairspray Live! -- the next chapter in the network's live musical effort, coming in December. She will play Motormouth Maybelle, a part Queen Latifah took on in the musical's 2012 film adaptation.
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Multiple Tony winner Harvey Fierstein has also been cast in the show. He'll take on the role of Edna, which Fierstein originated on Broadway; John Travolta played the part in the film.
“We are beyond thrilled with this incredibly talented duo of stars for Hairspray Live!,” said Robert Greenblatt, chairman of NBC Entertainment.
“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.”
The project will mark the reunion of Hudson, who is currently appearing in The Color Purple on Broadway, with executive producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, who worked with her previously on NBC’s Smash.
The production has also recruited TV director Alex Rudzinski to help helm, jut a few months after he earned rave reviews for directing Grease Live! on Fox.
Hairspray Live! will air Wednesday, Dec. 7 at 8 p.m. ET, from Los Angeles.
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Topics NBC
Sandra Gonzalez was a Senior Television Reporter at Mashable. A Texas native, she spent almost four years in New York City before leaving the land of superstorms for Los Angeles, where she was introduced to these terrifying things called "rolling earthquakes."Previously, she was with Entertainment Weekly, where she wrote about every show that could fit into her perfectly crafted TV schedule and anything ever touched by Shonda Rhimes.You can reach her at [email protected] or on Twitter @theSandraG
