After the success of the recent live production of The Wiz (and the not-so-great The Sound of Music and Peter Pan), NBC has announced Hairspray as its next musical, according to The Hollywood Reporter. While The Sound of Music and Peter Pan were not the most trendy titles, the original 1978 movie The Wiz was more of a modern classic, and the cast certainly helped pull viewers in. So who will star in Hairspray live? A great cast could really seal the deal; The Wiz starred Queen Latifah as the Wiz herself, alongside Mary J. Blige, Common, Ne-Yo, David Alan Grier, Uzo Aduba, and Amber Riley.
The show will be produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, the same duo behind NBC's last three musicals. And the two are no strangers to Hairspray; they also produced the 2007 remake. That time around, fans saw newcomer Nikki Blonsky take over Ricki Lakes's iconic role as Tracy Turnblad, with Amanda Bynes playing Tracy's best friend, Penny Pingleton, and John Travolta taking over for Divine as Tracy's mom, Edna, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Now fans are wondering who Zadan and Meron will cast in their December 2016 live show. The pair does like to recycle: The Wiz's Queen Latifah played Motermouth Maybelle in the 2007 movie, and the duo cast Christopher Walken, who played Wilbur Turnblad, as Captain Hook in Peter Pan. So will fans see some familiar faces, or will a newcomer star? There's no word yet, but here's my dream cast:
An Unknown For Tracy Turnblad
Hairspray 1988 production launched the career of Ricki Lake. The stage musical launched the career of Marissa Jaret Wikokur, and the 2007 film introduced the world to Nikki Blonksy. I think it's only fitting that the next Tracy should also be The Next Big Thing.
Rowan Blanchard As Penny Pingleton
Even though Riley is the star on Girl Meets World, she still plays the mild-mannered sidekick to her best friend, Maya. And we already know Blanchard can sing (that's her belting out the theme song).
Emma Roberts As Amber Von Tussle
I've no idea if she can sing or dance, but does anyone play a beautiful-yet-evil woman better than her?
Nick Jonas As Corny Collins
He can sing and dance, and he's got real-world teen heartthrob experience. But the best asset Jonas would bring to the table is his sense of humor, arguably the best thing about Scream Queens.
Jill Scott As Motormouth Maybelle
Because I believe she would be perfect.
Tyler James Williams As Seaweed J. Stubbs
Fine, he's a little old for the part, but I don't care; I love him and I need him back on TV immediately.
Marsai Martin As Little Inez
Martin is a show-stealer on Black-ish, and her recent Conan appearance proved she's a delight in real life, too. Now I'm kind of hoping for a spin-off that's just all Inez, all the time.
Miss Darienne Lake As Edna Turnblad
I don't want to see some actor doing drag as a gimmick. Divine, from the 1988 movie, was a real drag queen. And thanks to RuPaul's Drag Race, the world is now acquainted with quite a few more. I think Miss Lake (aka Greg Meyer) would be perfect.
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