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NBC’s Robert Greenblatt Drafts ‘Hairspray’ Vet Harvey Fierstein to Write Live Event Musical

The premiere date for NBC’s Live adaptation of Hairspray was announced for December 7. However, there is even bigger news for all you hair-heads out there. (That is what Hairspray super fans are called, right?) Hairspray vet Harvey Fierstein has been drafted to write the adaptation of the live musical event. Fierstein won the 2003 Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical for originating the role of Edna Turnblad on Broadway. Check out the report below to see what NBC’s Robert Greenblatt had to say about Fierstein’s new role.

Recently, NBC Entertainment chairman Robert Greenblatt released a statement to the press about Fierstein’s involvement in the upcoming production (via US Weekly):

“We also have one of the most celebrated Broadway hyphenates, Harvey Fierstein, back writing the adaptation for TV. No one knows Hairspray better than him since he played the role of Edna Turnblad more than a thousand times and won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. Along with our incredible producing team of Craig Zadan and Neil Meron and arguably the best songwriting team in musicals, Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, Hairspray Live is in the best possible hands.”

At this time no casting information has been released. However, it has been previously reported that NBC is looking for an undiscovered talent to play the lead role of Tracy Turnblad.

What do you think of Harvey Fierstein returning as a writer? Are you excited for the special live event? Who would you like to see cast in the show? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section at the bottom of the page.

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