Written and directed by John Waters, the original “Hairspray” movie cast Ricki Lake, Divine, Debbie Harry and Jerry Stiller in major roles and made just $6.7 million at the box office in 1988, but established itself as a cult classic.
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It’s looking like it will soon be mashed potato time on NBC: The peacock network is planning to tackle “Hairspray” as its next live musical production.
Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, who produced all three of NBC’s last live musicals, have signed on again to executive produce “Hairspray“, which will air in December 2016.
NBC specifically cited Trump’s comments that Mexican immigrants are “bringing drugs, they’re bringing crime, they’re rapists and some, I assume, are good people” in its June business decision. Also, we’ve been given no indication that NBC plans to film this show in front of a live studio audience.
Ahead of developing The Wiz past year, NBC had been weighing the potential between that project and doing the 1957 hit The Music Man – which some expected to potentially be the next musical after The Wiz.
Asked about published reports that Fallon parties too hard, Greenblatt said that “he doesn’t have a drinking problem that any of us know about”.
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“The Sound of Music was the right length, The Wiz was a little short, while Peter Pan felt like it should’ve have been shorter”, Greenblatt noted. As for Tracy, I think they’ll go with another unknown like they did with Shanice Williams in The Wiz. Theater legend Audra MacDonald did NBC’s The Sound Of Music Live and would make an incredible Motormouth Maybelle since Queen Latifah is unlikely to return.
