A teenage girl living in Baltimore in the early 1960s dreams of appearing on a popular TV dance show.
Acting
Harvey Fierstein stepping into Divine's shoes with zero hesitation
Production
Live NBC broadcast insanity with 20+ set changes
Score
Marc Shaiman's Motown pastiche that out-catchies most pop radio
Director
Kenny Leon
Maddie Baillio
Tracy Turnblad
Dove Cameron
Amber Von Tussle
Kristin Chenoweth
Velma Von Tussle
Ariana Grande
Penny Pingleton
Harvey Fierstein
Edna Turnblad
Derek Hough
Corny Collins
Jennifer Hudson
Motormouth Maybelle
Martin Short
Wilbur Turnblad
Ephraim Sykes
Seaweed J. Stubbs
Paul Vogt
Mr. Harriman F. Spritzer
Shahadi Wright Joseph
Little Inez
Billy Eichner
Rob Barker
Sean Hayes
Mr. Pinky
Andrea Martin
Prudy Pingleton
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This was NBC's third live musical after The Sound of Music and Peter Pan, and the first to feature an original Broadway cast member (Fierstein) reprising his Tony-winning role.
The 1988 John Waters original was rated PG, making it his only family-friendly film — this live version scrubs even further, losing some of Waters' subversive Baltimore grit.
US
