Ariana Grande Says ‘Hairspray Live!’ Is What the World Needs

In the steadily escalating battle of the TV musicals, NBC’s “Hairspray Live!” is the most ambitious contender yet. Veterans like Kristin Chenoweth, Jennifer Hudson, Derek Hough and Martin Short blended perfectly with Ariana Grande, Dove Cameron, Garrett Clayton and Ephraim Sykes – with each having a moment to shine.

The musical goes on to tell the story of the bubbly white teenager’s attempts to integrate the TV dance competition known as The Corny Collins Show.

Newcomer Maddie Baillio, 20, of League City, Texas, stars as Tracy, while Harvey Fierstein reprises his Tony Award-winning role as Tracy’s mom, Edna.

The show made sure to pay tribute to the former Hairspray stars, who also sent their well wishes to Baillio during a commercial break.

With themes of racial equality, fame and community, “Hairspray” is resonating at a time of division in the United States.

While it’s unclear if any lip-syncing is happening during the special, Hairspray Live! technical director Alex Rudzinski confirmed to Billboard that he has tracks prepared in case of an emergency. The actress, who at 18 years old won the starring role of the plus-size optimist in Waters’ cult film and inspired a young Jaret Winokur – who starred in the 2002 Broadway show – to go for a career in Hollywood, donned a pink costume in the performance.

Exactly, said Meron, who is producing “Hairspray Live!” with Craig Zadan.

“Hairspray” was born as a movie, directed by John Waters and introducing Ricki Lake as Tracy.

She “has a voice that is just wonderful”.

Before Wednesday night, my feelings about the live-TV-musical trend echoed the chorus from an infectious song from “Hairspray” called “Mama, I’m A Big Girl Now” – “Stop!” She’s excited about life. That show reached 11.5 million people. We haven’t seen or heard from Rosie in a while and part of me is hoping her character makes some type of jab at Donald Trump.

Which stars should I look out for during the broadcast? And, even beyond that, no matter how you voted, we need to find ways to unify ourselves. That’s half the problem, understanding that.

Be proactive – Use the “Flag as Inappropriate” link at the upper right corner of each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Plus, shouldn’t she get bonus sympathy points for the camera cutting away from her bow at the end of the show?! She delivers a much-needed message of acceptance to a very judgmental and divided community.