''Hairspray Live!'' is an American

television special A television special (often TV special, or rarely television spectacular) is a standalone television show which may also temporarily interrupt episodic programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Some specials provide a full range of ent ...

that aired live on the American television network

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

on December 7, 2016. Produced by

Craig Zadan Craig Zadan (April 15, 1949 – August 20, 2018) was an American producer and writer. Working alone and with Neil Meron, his partner in the production company Storyline Entertainment, he produced such films as ''Footloose'', ''Chicago'' and ...

and

Neil Meron Neil Meron (born October 26, 1955) is an American film producer known for producing the 2002 film ''Chicago'' and the 2007 film ''Hairspray''. With partner Craig Zadan he ran the production company Storyline Entertainment until Zadan's death in ...

, and hosted by

Darren Criss Darren Everett Criss (born February 5, 1987) is an American actor, singer, and songwriter. He rose to fame starring on the television series '' Glee'' (2010–2015) and received Emmy and Golden Globe acting awards for his leading role as spree ...

, it is a performance of a new adaptation of the 2002

Broadway musical Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...

Hairspray Hairspray may refer to: * Hair spray, a personal grooming product that keeps hair protected from humidity and wind * ''Hairspray'' (1988 film), a film by John Waters ** ''Hairspray'' (1988 soundtrack), the film's soundtrack album ** ''Hairspray ...

''.

Premise

''Hairspray Live!'' takes place in 1962

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. Teenager Tracy Turnblad's dream is to dance on ''The Corny Collins Show'', a local TV program. When, against all odds, Tracy wins a role on the show, she becomes a celebrity overnight and meets a colorful array of characters, including Link, the resident dreamboat; Amber, the ambitious mean girl; Seaweed, an African-American boy she meets in detention; and his mother, Motormouth Maybelle, owner of a local record store. Tracy's mother is the indomitable Edna Turnblad, and she eventually encourages Tracy on her campaign to integrate the all-White ''Corny Collins Show''.

Cast and characters

Main castHetrick, Adam
"Billy Eichner Added to 'Hairspray Live!' — Full Cast Revealed"
Playbill, September 21, 2016 *

Maddie Baillio Maddie Baillio (born February 15, 1996) is an American actress and singer who appeared in the television special ''Hairspray Live'' and the film ''Dumplin. She is a graduate of Marymount Manhattan College Marymount Manhattan College is a pr ...

as Tracy Turnblad *

Harvey Fierstein Harvey Forbes Fierstein ( ; born June 6, 1952) is an American actor, playwright and screenwriter. He is best known for his theater work in '' Torch Song Trilogy'' and '' Hairspray'' and movie roles in '' Mrs. Doubtfire'', ''Independence Day'', an ...

as Edna Turnblad * Martin Short as Wilbur Turnblad *

Jennifer Hudson Jennifer Kate Hudson (born September 12, 1981), also known by her nickname J.Hud, is an American singer, actress, and talk show host. Throughout her career, she has received various accolades for her works in recorded music, film, televisio ...

as Maybelle "Motormouth" Stubbs * Garrett Clayton as Link Larkin * Ariana Grande as Penny Pingleton *

Kristin Chenoweth Kristin Dawn Chenoweth (; born Kristi Dawn Chenoweth; July 24, 1968)Kristin Cheno ...

as Velma Von Tussle *

Derek Hough Derek Bruce Hough (; born May 17, 1985) is an American professional Latin and ballroom dancer, choreographer, actor and singer. From 2007 to 2016, Hough was a professional dancer on the ABC dance competition series ''Dancing with the Stars'', w ...

as Corny Collins *

Dove Cameron Dove Olivia Cameron (born Chloe Celeste Hosterman; January 15, 1996) is an American singer and actress. She became famous for her double role of the eponymous characters in the Disney Channel comedy series ''Liv and Maddie'', for which she won ...

as Amber Von Tussle *

Ephraim Sykes Ephraim Manessah Sykes (born July 17, 1985 in St. Petersburg, Florida) is an American actor and singer. Sykes played the role of George Eacker in the Broadway musical ''Hamilton''. In December 2016, he played Seaweed J. Stubbs in NBC's live pro ...

as Seaweed J. Stubbs * Shahadi Wright Joseph as Inez Stubbs Minor roles *

Andrea Martin Andrea Louise Martin (born January 15, 1947) is an American-Canadian actress, singer, and comedian, best known for her work in the television series '' SCTV'' and ''Great News''. She has appeared in films such as '' Black Christmas'' (1974), ''W ...

as Prudy Pingleton * Paul Vogt as Mr. Harriman F. Spritzer * Billy Eichner as Rob Barker *

Sean Hayes Sean Patrick Hayes (born June 26, 1970) is an American actor, comedian, and producer. He is best known for playing Jack McFarland on the NBC sitcom ''Will & Grace'', for which he won a Primetime Emmy Award, four SAG Awards, and one American Com ...

as Mr. Pinky *

Rosie O'Donnell Roseann O'Donnell (born March 21, 1962) is an American comedian, television producer, actress, author, and television personality. She began her comedy career as a teenager and received her breakthrough on the television series '' Star Search'' ...

as The Gym TeacherHolloway, Stanley
"Rosie O'Donnell, Sean Hayes Join 'Hairspray Live' Cast"
''Variety'', August 2, 2016 Council members * Riley Costello as Brad * Marissa Heart as Tammy * Mason Trueblood as Fender * Jacque Lewarne as Brenda * Ricky Schroeder as Sketch * Helene Britany as Shelley * Sam Faulkner as I.Q. * Kelli Erdmann as Lou Ann * Katherine Roarty as Kooks * Heather Tepe as Belle * Tommy Martinez as Corey * Karl Skyler Urban as Jon The Dynamites * Kamilah Marshall * Judine Somerville * Shayna Steele Motormouth Kids * Joshua Alexander as James * Will B. Bell as Duane * Joanna Jones as Genie Mae * Tiana Okoye as Lorraine * Amos Oliver III as Thad * Re'sean Pates as Jackie * Rhon Saunders as Gilbert Various ensemble * Zack Everhart, Annie Gratton, Thomasina Gross, Allie Meixner, Eliotte Nicole, Tyler Parks, Andrew Pirozzi, Joy Marie Thomas, Keenan Washington, and Jason Williams Cameos *

Ricki Lake Ricki Pamela Lake (born September 21, 1968) is an American television host and actress. She is known for her lead role as Tracy Turnblad in the 1988 film ''Hairspray'', for which she received a nomination for the Independent Spirit Award for B ...

(Tracy Turnblad in the original 1988 film) and

Marissa Jaret Winokur Marissa Jaret Winokur (born February 2, 1973), sometimes credited as Marissa Winokur, is an American actress and singer known for her Tony-winning performance as Tracy Turnblad in the Broadway musical '' Hairspray,'' an adaptation of John Wate ...

(original Tracy Turnblad on Broadway) as Mr. Pinky's Girls

Personnel

Musicians *Pete Anthony – conductor, keyboards *Wade Culbreath – percussion *Greg Howe – lead guitar *George Doering – rhythm guitar *Don Payne – electric bass *Chad Wackerman – drums *Jim Cox – piano, keyboards *Jenny Scheming, Moses Holland – violins *Keith Norman – viola *Richard Schenker – cello *Jerry Hey, Gary Grant – trumpets *Bill Reichenbach Jr. – trombone *Kim Hutchcroft, Larry Williams – saxophones, flutes *Allie Feder, Baraka May, Jackie Seiden, Dorian Holley, Fred White, Arnold McCuller – backing vocals *Dorian Holley – vocal coach Dancers *Thomasina Gross *Andrew Pirozzi *Allie Meixner *Tyler Parks *Keenan D. Washington *Zack Everhart Jr. *Annie Gratton *Unissa Cruse Ferguson *Joy Marie Thomas *Drew Hoffman *Eliotte Nicole

Musical numbers

The musical numbers from the track list of the soundtrack."Hairspray LIVE! Original Soundtrack of the NBC Television Event"
Amazon, Retrieved October 24, 2016

Production

Development

''Hairspray Live!'' served as NBC's fourth entry in its series of made-for-TV musical telecasts, behind ''

The Wiz Live! ''The Wiz Live!'' is an American television special that aired live on NBC on December 3, 2015. Produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, it is a performance of a new adaptation of the 1975 Broadway musical ''The Wiz'', a soul/ R&B reinterpretation ...

'', ''

Peter Pan Live! ''Peter Pan Live!'' is an American television special that was broadcast by NBC on December 4, 2014. The special featured a live production of the 1954 musical adaptation of ''Peter Pan'', televised from Grumman Studios in Bethpage, New York, sta ...

'', and ''

The Sound of Music Live! ''The Sound of Music Live!'' is an American television special that was originally broadcast by NBC on December 5, 2013. Produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, the special was an adaptation of Rodgers and Hammerstein's 1959 Broadway musical ''T ...

''. As with its predecessors, it was executive produced by

and

. The project was revealed by NBC's entertainment head Bob Greenblatt during a

Television Critics Association The Television Critics Association (TCA) is a group of approximately 200 United States and Canada, Canadian television television criticism, critics, journalists and columnists who cover television television programme, programming for newspapers, ...

press tour in January 2016. In response to early reports that NBC was considering a live version of ''

The Music Man ''The Music Man'' is a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and leader and sells band instruments ...

'', ''

West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play '' Romeo and Juliet'', the story is set in the mid ...

'', or '' Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella'', Greenblatt stated that "people have been saying to me since ''The Wiz'', 'Do this show, do that show.' I've heard obscure titles and famous titles. Not everything's going to be a big name to the whole audience. I don't think there's an infinite number of these that can be done. But we're still doing it." He explained that the production would not try to emulate the 2007 film (also produced by Zadan and Meron), but that he would have been thrilled if John Travolta reprised his role in it.

Kenny Leon Kenny Leon is an American director, producer, actor, and author, notable for his work on Broadway, on television, and in regional theater. In 2014, he won the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play for ''A Raisin in the Sun''. Career He gain ...

returned in his role as director from ''The Wiz'', and was joined by Alex Rudzinski—who co-directed '' Grease: Live'' for Fox. The musical was adapted for television by

from the original book by

Mark O'Donnell Mark O’Donnell (July 19, 1954 – August 6, 2012) was an American writer and humorist. Early life Born in Cleveland, Ohio, he received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard College in 1976. He was a member of '' The Harvard Lampoon'', whe ...

and Thomas Meehan.

Jerry Mitchell Jerry Mitchell is an American theatre director and choreographer. Early life and education Born in Paw Paw, Michigan, Mitchell later moved to St. Louis where he pursued his acting, dancing and directing career in theatre. Although he did not ...

, the choreographer of the Broadway version of ''Hairspray'', was also involved with the adaptation. In contrast to NBC's previous musicals, ''Hairspray Live!'' was produced from the Universal Studios backlot; Greenblatt explained that a "fair amount" of the show would be staged in outdoor settings, and thus "have a real exuberance in the open air." Additionally, live audiences were integrated into relevant scenes as extras on-stage, such as bystanders in Baltimore, and as the studio audience of ''The Corny Collins Show''.Clement, Olivia
"Exclusive: 'Hairspray Live!' to Feature Live Audience and New Songs"
Playbill, April 26, 2016 Two numbers written for the 2007 film, " Ladies' Choice" and "Come So Far (Got So Far to Go)", were incorporated into the production. "The Big Dollhouse", from the Broadway show, was cut, while "The New Girl In Town", written for the stage show but cut and only used in the film, was not added.Gioia, Michael
"Musical Numbers for 'Hairspray Live!' Revealed"
Playbill, November 4, 2016 (An instrumental version of the song is, however, heard very briefly as a bit of background music.)

Casting

In addition to adapting the book, Fierstein reprised the role of Edna Turnblad from the Broadway musical; Greenblatt felt that his performance of Edna was "iconic", and that his involvement with ''Hairspray Live!'' made it "come full circle". NBC cast the lead role of Tracy Turnblad through an open call in New York City, hoping to repeat the "phenomenal discovery" of Shanice Williams for ''The Wiz Live!''. The role went to college sophomore

, as her first professional role. In November 2016, it was announced that

and

(who portrayed Tracy Turnblad in the 1988 film and the Broadway version respectively) would make cameo appearances;Gioia, Michael
"Ariana Grande and Jennifer Hudson Will Duet on 'Hairspray Live!' Finale"
Playbill, November 16, 2016 Winokur and Lake appeared as employees of Mr. Pinky's boutique.

served as an on-air host, hosting a half-hour ''Countdown to Hairspray Live!'' show on NBC with

Kristin Chenoweth Kristin Dawn Chenoweth (; born Kristi Dawn Chenoweth; July 24, 1968)Kristin Cheno ...

and

, as well as behind-the-scenes reports throughout the live broadcast.

Marketing

Oreo Oreo () (stylized as OREO) is a brand of sandwich cookie consisting of two biscuits or cookie pieces with a sweet creme filling. It was introduced by Nabisco on March 6, 1912, and through a series of corporate acquisitions, mergers and split ...

Reddi-wip Reddi-Wip is an American brand of sweetened whipped cream propelled from its container by nitrous oxide. It is produced by Conagra Brands and is sold in varieties such as Original, Extra Creamy, Fat Free, Zero Sugar, and Barista. In 2019, two ne ...

, and

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

broadcast live, themed commercials during ''Hairspray Live!''; Oreo's ad featured the character of Corny Collins, Reddi-wip's ad featured a

milkman Milk delivery is a delivery service dedicated to supplying milk. This service typically delivers milk in bottles or cartons directly to customers' homes. This service is performed by a milkman, milkwoman, or milk deliverer. (In contrast, a cow ...

character (Evan Strand) backstage and performing a dance number, while Toyota's ad featured a vintage Toyota Corolla and a current model in celebration of the vehicle's 50th anniversary.

Reception

Critical response

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the special holds a 76% rating based on 25 reviews, with an

average In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7 ...

of 8.2/10. The site's consensus states: "''Hairspray Live!'' shimmers with outstanding performances, an engaging story, and songs that let its stars shine." It has a score of 66 from 14 critics on

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Neil Genzlinger Neil Genzlinger is an American playwright, editor, book reviewer, and theatre and television critic who frequently writes for ''The New York Times''. Family Genzlinger is a grandson of the late '' The Philadelphia Bulletin'' columnist Don Rose. ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' wrote: "NBC lassoed some talented performers with fine singing voices but sacrificed cohesion by cramming the evening with too much interstitial fluff.... Only Jennifer Hudson, who played Motormouth Maybelle, found the real strength of this Tony-winning musical, delivering a knockout rendition of 'I Know Where I've Been'..." He noted that Baillio "did pretty well, though no novice is going to compete with voices like those of Ms. Hudson and Kristin Chenoweth..." Sonia Saraiya of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' wrote that it "took a few musical numbers to settle into a rhythm. But once it did (the energy seemed to kick in with "Welcome to the '60s") the musical easily became the best NBC has attempted. It's hard to imagine better casting for the production. Jennifer Hudson stole the show... Ariana Grande, certifiable pop star, came away as the show's MVP, acting as both reliably overlook-able sidekick and, once the situation required it, showstopping diva. Harvey Fierstein was predictably great... Martin Short... found the right profile for himself as Wilbur." Rebecca Bunch of ''The TV Ratings Guide'' called the production "a great experience through and through." She called he cast "top notch", and praised Grande and Hudson in particular. She also named "You Can't Stop the Beat" the best musical moment of the night and stated that "they really knocked it out of the park", stating that "NBC really put together something amazing here." Caroline Siede of ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...

'' wrote that "As a piece of social commentary, tonight's production of ''Hairspray Live!'' was just about flawless." She stated that Dove Cameron and Ephraim Sykes were "consistently fun to watch", Chenoweth and Hudson "were the biggest scene-stealers.", and Fierstein, Short, and Martin "were all wonderful as well." She rated the telecast a B+. In his 2019 essay collection ''Mr. Know-It-All'',

John Waters John Samuel Waters Jr. (born April 22, 1946) is an American filmmaker, writer, actor, and artist. He rose to fame in the early 1970s for his transgressive cult films, including '' Multiple Maniacs'' (1970), '' Pink Flamingos'' (1972) and '' Fe ...

called the special "OK—but the weakest" of ''Hairspray''s various iterations, expressing reservations about some of the casting decisions, as well as lamenting that neither he nor any surviving cast members of ''

The Buddy Deane Show ''The Buddy Deane Show'' was a teen dance television show, created by Zvi Shoubin, hosted by Winston "Buddy" Deane (1924–2003), and aired on WJZ-TV (Channel 13), the ABC affiliate station in Baltimore from 1957 until 1964. It was similar to Phi ...

'', the real-life basis of ''The Corny Collins Show'', were consulted for the production.

Viewership

''Hairspray Live!'' was seen by 9.05 million viewers, with a ratings share of 2.3 in the 18–49 demographic, and a 5.9 overnight household rating. It was the most-viewed program of the night, with numbers on par with those of ''Peter Pan''. An encore presentation, which aired on December 27, was seen by 2.5 million viewers.TV News Desk
"Encore Telecast of NBC's HAIRSPRAY LIVE! Delivers 2.5 Million Viewers Overall"
Broadway World, December 27, 2016

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hairspray Live 2016 television specials 2010s American television specials American dance films American live television shows American teen comedy films American teen musical films American teen romance films English-language television shows Films about television Films based on musicals based on films Films set in 1962 Films set in Baltimore Films scored by Marc Shaiman John Waters Musical television films Musical television specials NBC television specials Television shows set in Baltimore Films directed by Kenny Leon