On NBC.com’s “Hairspray Live” page, Dove Cameron gets first billing.
OK, the list is alphabetical. But still …
The Bainbridge Island-raised Cameron is part of the all-star cast of NBC’s latest foray into live-theater telecasts. which airs at 8 p.m. Dec. 7. In the adaptation of John Waters‘ cult movie hit, she plays Amber Von Tussle, the lead dancer on the Corny Collins TV show who feels her top-of-the-heap status challenged by “pleasingly plump” newcomer Tracy Turnblad.
Cameron, a veteran of Disney Channel series “Liv and Maddie” — in which she plays both title roles as identical-twin sisters — and movies like “Descendants”
and “Cloud Nine,” again will be teamed with Kristin Chenoweth, a veteran Broadway and movie star and Dove Cameron supporter who played Cameron’s mother in “Descendants.” She’s cast as Velma Von Tussle, Amber’s bigoted mother.
The cast also features Harvey Fierstein, Ariana Grande, Martin Short, Jennifer Hudson and Andrea Martin. Tracy will be played by newcomer Maddie Baillio.
“Hairspray Live” will attempt to break a string of less-than-enthusiastic reactions to NBC’s earlier live-theater telecasts, which began with 2014’s “Peter Pan” and have also included “The Sound of Music” and “The Wiz.”
As part of the promotional blitz for “Hairspray Live,” the cast was featured in a remote performance during NBC’s coverage of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, which you can watch here: http://www.nbc.com/hairspray-live/video/hairspray-live-macys-thanksgiving-day-parade-performance/3429754
Prior to relocating to Hollywood to pursue her acting and singing careers, Cameron performed in several productions at Bainbridge Performing Arts.
— MM
