Harvey Fierstein will reprise his role as Edna Turnblad in NBC’s Hairspray Live!, the network’s next televised Broadway musical event.
Fierstein won the Tony Award for the role when it debuted on Broadway in 2002.
Also joining the cast is Oscar and Grammy Award winner Jennifer Hudson. Hudson will play Motormouth Maybelle, the owner of a downtown record store.
“We are beyond thrilled with this incredibly talented duo of stars for Hairspray Live!,” said Robert Greenblatt, Chairman, NBC Entertainment.
The musical was a hit on Broadway and won a total of eight Tony Awards in 2003.
Based originally on the 1988 John Waters’ film of the same name, Hairspray follows the rise of an overweight teenager as she becomes a star on a local dance show in the middle of the civil rights movement of the 1960s.
Hairspray Live! will air on NBC in the fall.
