“Into You” singer Ariana Grande is the latest perform thrown into the mix of NBC’s highly anticipated adaptation of ‘Hairspray,’ the network’s latest live remake of a Broadway classic.
Set to portray Penny Pingleton, word of Ariana’s addition follows reports of fellow big-voiced diva – Jennifer Hudson – headlining the gig (read more on that here) as well as Martin Short, Derek Hough, Kristin Chenoweth, and more in the star-studded cast…
Grande took to Twitter to voice her excitement:
NBC’s Chairman of Entertainment, Robert Greenblatt, echoed her excitement in his official statement:
“We’re absolutely thrilled to round out our all-star ‘Hairspray Live!’ cast with Ariana Grande, one of the biggest recording artists in the world,” said Robert Greenblatt, Chairman, NBC Entertainment. “She’s also a Broadway baby at heart, having debuted on Broadway when she was 15, and will be fantastic in the delightful role of Penny Pingleton. We look forward to her millions of fans seeing yet another side to this multifaceted performer and we welcome her to this incredible ensemble of artists.”
Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, executive producers of three of NBC’s last live hit Broadway remakes ‘The Sound of Music,’ ‘Peter Pan,’ and ‘The Wiz,‘ will reprise their roles behind the scene. They will be joined by ‘The Wiz Live!’ producer Kenny Leon and more.
“Hairspray Live!” is set to air Wednesday, Dec. 7, at 8 p.m. ET and marks the first time NBC’s live musical will be filmed in Los Angeles.
Biggest recording artist in the world? ? K.
Reading is key: “one of the biggest recording artists in the world.” The record holding 1.8 billion streams for My Everything back this statement.
Read it. Same reaction: ? K.
“Problem’ Performer Portrays Penny Pingleton” lol yall love alliteration. I’m glad to see Ariana returning to her Broadway roots. She’s a decent actress and delivers her best vocal showings during theatrical sets. Hairspray is my favorite musicals and I have no doubt this will be epic, especially if Jennifer Hudson is on board.
I love how she was tweeting about this while everyone else was tweeting about Piedmont Park hanging and Alton Sterling. Then 2 hours later she decided to tweet about it. Her PR team made her tweet about BLM.
Lol everyone anyway forgot about her album and single. New Mariah they said.. ?
Already*
Good for her
i’ll probably watch now