HAIRSPRAY is next NBC Musical...

[whatacharacter]

Titus Burgess as Motormouth?  

[ilovebabyv]

I will only watch it if Jeremy Jordan is Link and Vanessa Hudgens is in it. Maybe as Amber? She could die her hair.

[ucjrdude902]

I also heard a rumor that Jennifer Nettles was interested in Velma. 

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/nbc-sets-creative-team-hairspray-867391

 

Kenny Leon will direct with Jerry Mitchell reprising his role as choreographer and Harvey Fierstein will adapt the book for TV.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Very happy to see Leon involved again. I just rewatched THE WIZ last night and his work was astonishing. His casting of Sharice Williams and the rest of the cast was perfection, and the acting was so even, everyone felt like they were in the same show, unlike the other NBC live shows.

[Fosse76]

Jeffrey Karasarides said: "http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/nbc-sets-creative-team-hairspray-867391

Kenny Leon will direct with Jerry Mitchell reprising his role as choreographer and Harvey Fierstein will adapt the book for TV."

They really need to leave the scripts of these shows alone. The Wiz sounded exactly like what you'd expect a white person (who thinks he knows what a black person sounds like) wrote it, and Peter Pan dispensed with Barrie's book and padded the show with unneeded songs. If Greenblat is the Broadway fan he claims to be, leave it alone. The Sound of Music suffered due to bad acting. They are already screwing it up.

[CindersGolightly]

Well. Harvey is veto'd then. Here's hoping they cast an actual fat person for Edna.

[Fosse76]

My favorite quote:

“We’re thrilled to have director Kenny Leon, who knocked The Wiz Live way out of the park. . ."

Sorry, but not even close. Was it better than Peter Pan? Yes. And its lead actress was certainly a better actress than Carrie Underwood. But on the technical side these are still not very well done. Just looking at Grease Live and the UK's Sound of Music Live prove that these can be done and look like they aren't being recorded through someone's digital video camera.

[helvizz]

CindersGolightly said: "Well. Harvey is veto'd then. Here's hoping they cast an actual fat person for Edna."

Why can't they still cast him? He has plenty of time to rewrite the book and then star in it. Thoso works aren't mutually exclusive.

 

[CindersGolightly]

I sincerely doubt that's how things'll go. But hey, I hope you're right!

[Jayar2]

I'm being lazy by not reading the whole conversation here, but is it common knowledge that Marissa Rosen was/is being considered for Tracy?

[gypsy101]

Jayar2 said: "I'm being lazy by not reading the whole conversation here, but is it common knowledge that Marissa Rosen was/is being considered for Tracy?"

 

Who the hell is that

 

[JohnyBroadway]

Ya'll do know that Harvey was a ghost writer on the original book of Hairspray......they aren't completely off in bringing him on. I'm sure Meehan didn't want to do it.

[cuz-i-can]

Fosse76 said: "My favorite quote:

 

“We’re thrilled to have director Kenny Leon, who knocked The Wiz Live way out of the park. . ."

 

Sorry, but not even close. Was it better than Peter Pan? Yes. And its lead actress was certainly a better actress than Carrie Underwood. But on the technical side these are still not very well done. Just looking at Grease Live and the UK's Sound of Music Live prove that these can be done and look like they aren't being recorded through someone's digital video camera.

 

"

You hit the nail right on the head, I couldn't figure out why I liked Grease Live more then the Wiz from a viewers stand point, obviously you cant compare the show based off content and genre, but the way Grease was **** made it more pleasurable. And I love how Grease didin't load up the lead roles with mega stars, which was a nice touch for the Wiz. I'm really excited for Hairspray and see what the producers will do differently after seeing how Grease was handled

[Theater_Nerd]

Kenny Leon is an excellent director, one of the best in the business. It really wasn't his fault that "The Wiz" telecast was grounded to a proscenium stage. The producers were obviously using the telecast as sort of a test for the upcoming Broadway revival. Leon worked and did his best with what he was given. 

 

I hope they go in a different direction with "Hairspray" and I suspect they will especially after "Grease" just raised the bar. 

[Kad]

I think Leon is at best a merely competent director, but lacks really any outstanding or unique artistic vision. His productions deliver the expected, and rarely anything beyond that. 

[Theater_Nerd]

Kad said: "I think Leon is at best a merely competent director, but lacks really any outstanding or unique artistic vision. His productions deliver the expected, and rarely anything beyond that."

 

Ok.

 

 

 

[BroadwayNYC2]

 

I think Leon is at best a merely competent director, but lacks really any outstanding or unique artistic vision. His productions deliver the expected, and rarely anything beyond that. 

Completely agree. Perfectly generic. 

[Theater_Nerd]

I wouldn't be surprised if they went ahead and tried to include a live audience at this point, especially after what was accomplished with "Grease". I can see them including a live audience for "The Corny Collins Show". 

 

I can't wait to see what they come up with.

[CindersGolightly]

I met this perfectly generic boy, on a perfectly generic network, with three perfectly generic live musicals under his belt.

[Theater_Nerd]

CindersGolightly said: "I met this perfectly generic boy, on a perfectly generic network, with three perfectly generic live musicals under his belt.

 

Sounds very generic if you ask me. lol. 

 

[cuz-i-can]

Kad said: "I think Leon is at best a merely competent director, but lacks really any outstanding or unique artistic vision. His productions deliver the expected, and rarely anything beyond that. 

 

"

I agree with you completely, Kenny in my opinion is a good director not a great one, especially from a stylistic standpoint. I don't put him in the same league as Diane Paulus or George C. Wolfe in terms of artistic vision. But what I do applaud him with is being a actor's director. He in my opinion has managed to pull very quality performances from less then capable actors ie, Mary J. Blige and Sean Puffy Combs. Hopefully Hairspray will force him to really explore outside his own box and put a personal stamp on this production. I hope it's not done  on a stage like The Wiz. It worked for the Wiz and mae sense to do it that way but I feel Hairspray gives more wiggle room. Grease Live really threw down the gauntlet for this new age of tv musical, and I'm hoping Leon and NBC, have a strong answer

[Theater_Nerd]

I'm really hoping that Fierstein gets to play "Edna". It would be great to have his interpretation of the role preserved on film. I didn't really care for John Travolta's interpretation of the role in the 2009 film adaptation. 

[cuz-i-can]

Theater_Nerd said: "I'm really hoping that Fierstein gets to play "Edna". It would be great to have his interpretation of the role preserved on film. I didn't really care for John Travolta's interpretation of the role in the 2009 film adaptation. 

 

"

I really hope they get John Goodman or Louie Anderson to Play Edna, I'd really be interested then.

[Theater_Nerd]

cuz-i-can said: I really hope they get John Goodman or Louie Anderson to Play Edna, I'd really be interested then."

 

Those are good (if pretty obvious) choices.

 

Not that Fierstein isn't but I selfishly want his performance preserved. 

 

[cuz-i-can]

Theater_Nerd said: "cuz-i-can said: I really hope they get John Goodman or Louie Anderson to Play Edna, I'd really be interested then."

 

 

 

Those are good (if pretty obvious) choices.

 

 

 

Not that Fierstein isn't but I selfishly want his performance preserved. 

 

 

 

"

Lol I completely understand, I've been wanting to see John Goodman do this role for a very long time, not actually thinking he ever would. I honestly didn't know those were obvious choices, I've never seen anybody bring those two up