For Your EMMY Consideration: HAIRSPRAY LIVE's Kristin Chenoweth & Jennifer Hudson!

By: Jun. 13, 2017
Enter Your Email to Unlock This Article

Plus, get the best of BroadwayWorld delivered to your inbox, and unlimited access to our editorial content across the globe.




Existing user? Just click login.

With the TONY AWARDS behind us, it's time to turn our attention to the nominations for the 69th Annual EMMY AWARDS, to be announced on July 13th. Among the possible honorees this year are HAIRSPRAY LIVE! standouts Kristin Chenoweth, who took on the role of Velma Von Tussle in the NBC live broadcast, and Jennifer Hudson, who portrayed Motormouth Maybelle. Both stars could potentially receive Emmy nods in the category of Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Limited Series or Movie. Below, BWW looks back at their show-stopping, Emmy-worthy performances!


Theater fans were thrilled to see "Mama, I'm a Big Girl Now" performed during the latest incarnation of the musical. In the 2007 film, the song was sung by former Tracy Turnblads Ricki Lake, Marissa Jaret Winokur and Nikki Blonsky as the end credits rolled. Below, listen to the number featuring Chenoweth, Dove Cameron, Ariana Grande, Andrea Martin, Harvey Fierstein and newcomer Maddie Baillio.


Front step, cha-cha-cha! It's no surprise that Kristin Chenoweth's Velma Von Tussle clinched the title of "Miss Baltimore Crabs"! Listen to the Tony winner perform the number below:


Jennifer Hudson was proud to declare herself 'Big Blonde and Beautiful' in this popular tune, featuring the ensemble cast:

Viewers at home surely gave J-Hud a 'standing O' for her heart-wrenching rendition of "I Know Where I've Been." Listen to the moving performance below:


Below, the Oscar winner brings the heart-pounding finale "You Can't Stop the Beat" to a spectacular close:


Hudson teamed with Ariana Grande to end the show on a high note with an electric duet of "Come So Far (Got So Far to Go)" The song was originally written by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman to run over the end credits of the 2007 film adaptation.


As an added bonus, watch Hudson's performance of 'I Know Where I've Been' at
the Television Academy's recent 'For Your Consideration' event.

About NBC's HAIRSPRAY LIVE!: Based on the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical, "Hairspray Live!" combines the dazzling excitement of musical theater with a message of love, inclusion, friendship and acceptance. In 1962 Baltimore, teenager Tracy Turnblad's dream is to dance on "The Corny Collins Show." When, against all odds, she wins a role on the show, Tracy becomes a celebrity overnight and uses her newfound fame to campaign for the integration of the all-white TV program. With the support of her mother Edna, her father Wilbur, her best friend Penny, and her new friends, Link Larkin, Motormouth Maybelle, Seaweed J. Stubbs and Little Inez, Tracy teaches the world how to dance together. Starring Maddie Baillio, Dove Cameron, Kristin Chenoweth, Garrett Clayton, Harvey Fierstein, Ariana Grande, Derek Hough, Jennifer Hudson, Martin Short, Ephraim Sykes and Shahadi Wright Joseph. "Hairspray Live!" brings together the creative talents of executive producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, Tony Award-winning director Kenny Leon, script adaptor Harvey Fierstein, the original Broadway adaptation's choreographer Jerry Mitchell, original songwriters Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, two-time Emmy Award-winning live television director Alex Rudzinski, award-winning costume designer Mary Vogt, music director Lon Hoyt, and Emmy-Award winning production designer Derek McLane.

Photo by: Paul Drinkwater/NBC



Videos