NBC chairman Bob Greenblatt just made the announcement at TCA. Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, the executive producers behind NBC’s live musical franchise, return. I hear the deal closed minutes before NBC’s TCA presentation. Zadan and Meron also produced the 2007 Hairspray movie. This will be NBC’s fourth consecutive live musical, following The Sound of Music, Peter Pan and The Wiz.
Hairspray features a Tony-winning score by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, and a Tony-winning book by Mark O’Donnell and Thomas Meehan. Based on the film by John Waters, it tells the story of Tracy Turnblad, an 
overweight Baltimore teen with dreams of landing a spot on a TV dance show and bringing racial integration with her.
Following the blockbuster ratings success of The Sound of Music, numbers slipped for Peter Pan before rebounding for The Wiz.
Recent Comments
Talking about the first three musicals, Greenblatt noted this about their length, “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,” adding after the audience started laughing, “I don’t mean that disparagingly”.
After the session, Greenblatt was asked whether he would consider a live staging of Broadway smash Hamilton. “I’m fortunate to be a personal investor in Hamilton and I’m friendly and close with all those producers and creative team. Sure, we’d love to be able to film Hamilton in some capacity. I think it will be years before they even look at a movie or filmed version of that show, but it’s a thrilling theatrical experience. It would be a thrilling movie or TV experience. I’d love to do it but I think it’s unrealistic for a decade or so.”
It will get lower ratings than Peter Pan. Bad choice. Can’t they make family musicals anymore? A man playing the mother is not a family musical.
You sound like a peach.
This musical is about acceptance no matter who you are…nothing is more family then that.
Take your hate elsewhere.
A man playing the mother makes Hairspray NOT a family musical? Give me a break! Men have been playing women’s roles in plays for 5000 years! It’s called “acting”!
Says who?
Well, Shakespeare, for one. In the old days, women were not permitted to act, so all female roles were played by men.
Well, aren’t you an ignorant ball of sunshine. Edna Turnblad is a *female* character who happens to be played by a man. The character is not a drag queen. There is nothing dirty or perverted about drag roles. The go back to Shakespeare’s time and before. Your kind of thinking is what is destroying America.
Please keep such ignorant comments to yourself. Maybe It’s not a family musical, but it has nothing to do with who plays the mother.
But don’t worry, dear, they’ll find a way to water this down enough to cater to your less-than-discerning sensibilities.
Hairspray actually is a family-friendly musical. Having actually seen it on Broadway with plenty of families in the audience, I can attest to that. Parents and kids loved it equally. You don’t get to speak for all families as to what’s “family-appropriate” or not.
Oh, for heaven’s sake! The thrust of the story is about overcoming obstacles such as racism and fat-shaming. It’s not about transgender issues or cross-dressing – in fact, it is not even discussed in the story. The fact is Tracy’s mother looks like a man. Makes sense that someone man-ish looking (or a man) would play the part.
Clearly uneducated…
Sorry to hear that HAIRSPRAY isn’t your FAMILY cut of tea. I was an extra in the original 1988 Hairspray filmed in Baltimore. I was there the night HAIRSPRAY opened on Broadway and saw people (and families) jump out of their seats as it ended – screaming and applauding and in a state of excited frenzy at what they had just seen and heard. They loved it! When the MOVIE musical premiered in Baltimore I was there as it was shown at every theater in a seven theater multiplex at the same time. I’m so sorry that a man in drag offends you. You would have hated TV in it’s early days. Milton Beryl did part of his act in drag. And by the way DIVINE, the original Edna Turnblad, only dressed in drag when doing movie roles. Harvey Firestein and John Travolta don’t as a rule dress in drag but accepted this wonderfully unique role knowing they were going to play an iconic character. So tune in and accept that HAIRSPRAY is a family musical after all. It should do real well in the ratings.
Please do it in front of a goddamn live audience this time. The Wiz had so many uncomfortable silences it was like watching Lady Gaga’s acceptance speech.
Amen, sister. And NBC, please, please forget the star casting and let Edna be played by the only person who should be playing her, the originator of the role: Harvey Fierstein.
“Amen, sister. And NBC, please, please forget the star casting and let Edna be played by the only person who should be playing her, the originator of the role: Harvey Fierstein.” After what that droopy ballbag did to the Wiz, Harvey Fierstein needs to be sent to live on an island inhabited entirely by beautiful naked women with no way of ever, ever leaving. And have his eyelids removed first.
Now, Ethel — go make me a sandwich.
We’re talking about acting, not writing, and I doubt Harvey was responsible for whatever flaws THE WIZ had. I saw him play Edna on Broadway and it was one of the great performances of our generation. Travolta absolutely ruined it in the film.
No thanks, but let me know when you guys decide to do The Book of Mormon Live. I’ll tune in for that.
They’ll never do that live, it would piss off too many people.
I say HAIRSPRAY is a good choice. (I did not care for the musical.) Stage show is so current, fun, colorful. Am glad to see live musicals on television again and that talent seems to want to do these projects. I like the idea of an audience, too. Is that a viable option? That vibe is missing when I watch these presentations. PETER PAN was a miss for me. Saw no reason for its revival. It just did not carry the magic for me as Mary Martin’s stagings did for me. Maybe PETER PAN was not meant for an adult man who did grow up!
gotta give it up to the greatest cannibalizers and rehashers in show biz,
Zadan and Meron.
Chris Colfer would be the perfect Link Larkin!
No. That role requires at least a little “boy next-door” charm. Chris, though wildly talented, is more like the “girl next-door.”
Now, Darren Criss on the other hand….
lol; agreed; just hope they don’t even think about leah m; zack might be too old but would luv to see him reprise his role
good morning baltimore
first time i’ll actually watch one of these live musicals
NBC – PLEASE CAST AGE APPROPRIATELY. You could have a whole other show about your nationwide search for the teenage cast (similar to what ALW did). You don’t need celebrities to fill those roles and you’d be giving a huge break to lots of talented kids!
Great…. they can continue their well-meaning habit of ruining otherwise wonderful musicals by putting commercial breaks in to kill any sense of momentum or continuity, making casting choices based on anything but stage performing skills and teaching people to accept truly mediocre production values.
It takes a lot to make Latifah look bad — but the Wiz was such an unmitigated disaster, maybe it’s time NBC figured out that Musical Theater, by design, is just too grand an art form to be “dumbed down” and stuck on TV.
Matthew Mortison as Corny Collins. He originated Link on Broadway.
suspect a couple of glee alumni will be in the cast
I think this is a great idea (I loved the film version of Hairspray), I wonder if they can get Travolta to be the Mom again, that would be cool.
NO TRAVOLTA. They should cast HARVEY FIRESTEIN and have a GOOD EDNA in HIM…he’ll BRING IT the way he did on Broadway. Hope they do that, they owe it to him!!
Two Suggestions:
1) A LIVE AUDIENCE to capture the actual energy of seeing a show would dispel the tedious sensation that you are watching a dress rehearsal… LIVE THEATRE NEEDS APPLAUSE
2) COMMERCIAL FREE accept for a logical break constituting an “intermission” so the pacing of the story as it was written won’t be ruined… commercial breaks ARE LIKE YELLING “CUT!”
I was in the BROADWAY CAST of HAIRSPRAY, and was on tour for 3 years as MOTORMOUTH MAYBELLE!! What an amazing show to be a part of ! I pray to be able to AUDITION for THIS T. V. production, and earn it the same way I got the 1st national tour! There OUGHT to be people in this who KNOW the show and who KNOW how to bring it! Give us a chance to work, and be authentic. No Phoning-it in, no chewing the scenery! As Jerry Mitchell used to say, ‘ FULL OUT’!! Also this story takes place in 1962 Baltimore, and the racial dynamics haven’t changed much in 50 years. !!
This story ought to be told RIGHT and not white washed.