Haylie Duff to be Among New Hairspray Cast Members

The producers of Hairspray have announced that rising Hollywood star Haylie Duff will make her Broadway debut as Tracy Turnblad's stuck-up arch-nemesis Amber Von Tussle on July 18 at the Neil Simon Theatre.

Lisa Jolley (The Plank Project, Kings Crossings, solo show Jolley on the Spot) will step into the roles of Prudy Pingleton, Gym Teacher, and Matron on July 4 and tour star Aaron Tveit (Hairspray national tour, Rent tour) will begin Broadway performances as Link Larkin on July 18, the same day as Duff. The three performers will succeed Becky Gulsvig, Andrew Rannells and Julie Halston, respectively.

Duff has been acting professionally since the age of 12, getting her start in the 1997 miniseries "True Women." Her small screen credits include recurring roles on "Boston Public," "Lizzie McGuire," "Joan of Arcadia" and "7th Heaven." Among her film credits is a stand-out role in Napoleon Dynamite. A singer/songwriter, she wrote songs for sister Hillary Duff's albums and the two have also performed together. This summer she will be seen opposite her sister in the movie Material Girls.

The Broadway production of Hairspray currently features Shannon Durig as Tracy Turnblad, Blake Hammond as Edna Turnblad, Stephen DeRosa as Wilbur Turnblad, Tevin Campbell as Seaweed J. Stubbs, Caissie Levy as Penny Pingleton, Darlene Love as Motormouth Maybelle and Isabel Keating as Velma Von Tussle. "American Idol"'s Diana DeGarmo rejoins the cast on September 8th.

Hairspray tells of overweight teenager Tracy Turnblad's ascent into love, happiness and stardom on a 60's dance show, which she helps to racially integrate. The Broadway show was itself based on John Waters' 1988 film. It opened in August of 2002 at the Neil Simon Theatre and garnered 8 Tonys, including Best Musical, Best Original Score for Shaiman and Wittman, Best Book of a Musical for O'Donnell and Meehan, Best Direction of a Musical for Jack O'Brien, Best Actor in a Musical for Harvey Fierstein and Best Actress in a Musical for Marissa Jaret Winokur.
 
A condensed production of Hairspray opened at the Luxor Las Vegas on February 15th, and recently closed on June 11th. A film version, starring John Travolta, Amanda Bynes, Queen Latifah and newcomer Nikki Blonsky, is also in the works.

For more information on Hairspray, visit www.hairspraythemusical.com.