casting couch

Kristin Chenoweth Joins Hairspray Live!, Which Will Be Popular! Yes, It’s Gonna Be Pop-u-lar!

PFLAG National's Eighth Annual Straight For Equality Awards Gala
Brace for high notes. Photo: D Dipasupil/Getty Images

How did we make it this long without getting Kristin Chenoweth in a live TV musical? Did no one on the Grease: Live team watch Pushing Daisies? But luckily, the arc of TV development is long, and it bends toward Chenoweth, who has joined the cast of NBC’s upcoming Hairspray Live! Chenoweth will play Velma Von Tussle (Michelle Pfeiffer in the 2007 film), a scheming stage mom and producer on The Corny Collins Show. The rest of the cast includes Harvey Fierstein (Edna Turnblad), Jennifer Hudson (Motormouth Maybelle), and newbie Maddie Baillio (Tracy Turnblad). But enough of those losers — bask in the glow of your new Miss Baltimore Crabs and her deeply enthusiastic social-media campaign: 

Kristin Chenoweth Joins Hairspray Live!