NBC's 'Hairspray Live!' Finds Tracy Turnblad -- Meet the New Star!
Good morning, Baltimore! NBC’s Hairspray Live! has a new Tracy Turnblad.
After a nationwide search, newcomer Maddie Baillio has landed the coveted lead role of Tracy Turnblad in the upcoming live musical production.
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The amazing thing? Baillio, who is an accomplished singer and dancer from small-town Texas, has no professional theater experience, and she beat out nearly 1,000 Tracy Turnblad hopefuls. Now that’s impressive.
“I am so excited and to think that I was cramming for my finals two weeks ago,” Baillio said on the Today show, “and now I get to perform with my idols!”
A sophomore at Marymount Manhattan College in New York City, Baillio does have onstage experience, recently starring in Dracula, the Musical and Once Upon a Mattress. Here’s Baillio absolutely killing it in December 2014 at the legendary Birdland Jazz Club.
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But we’re really looking forward to seeing her blow songs like this out of the water.
Baillio is the latest cast member joining Hairspray Live!, which already includes Harvey Fierstein, Jennifer Hudson, Martin Short and Derek Hough.
Hairspray Live! will air Wednesday, Dec. 7 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.
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