Liv & Maddie’s Dove Cameron and Garrett Clayton of the Teen Beach Movies have joined the cast of NBC’s Hairspray Live! in key roles.
Follow the jump for details.
DOVE CAMERON AND GARRETT CLAYTON JOIN NBC’S ALL-STAR ‘HAIRSPRAY LIVE!’ CAST
Millennial Fan Faves to Tackle Roles of Amber and Link, Respectively, in Highly Anticipated Production
UNVERSAL CITY, Calif. — Aug. 1, 2016 — Dove Cameron, a star of Disney Channel’s popular series “Liv and Maddie,” has been cast as Amber Von Tussle, while Garrett Clayton, co-star of a pair of TV movie musicals, will play Link Larkin on NBC’s 8 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 7 telecast of “Hairspray Live!”
Cameron and Clayton, who are each previous Teen Choice Award nominees, join an already announced stellar cast that includes Harvey Fierstein, Jennifer Hudson, Ariana Grande, Kristin Chenoweth, Martin Short, Derek Hough and exciting newcomer Maddie Baillio.
“Hairspray Live!” marks a reunion between Cameron and Chenoweth, who teamed together on Disney’s TV movie “Descendants.” In the film, directed by Emmy Award winner Kenny Ortega, Cameron played Mal with Chenoweth portraying her mom. The two will have the same relationship in “Hairspray Live!”
In 2015, Cameron and Ryan McCartan partnered up and formed the pop duo The Girl and the Dreamcatcher, combining their singing and songwriting talents. The duo have released three singles and recently released their first EP, “Negatives.” It currently ranks #2 on pop charts at #14 worldwide.
Clayton starred in the TV musicals “Teen Beach Movie” and “Teen Beach Movie 2.” He has also appeared in series such as “The Fosters” and “The Real O’Neals.” He’ll star in the upcoming film “King Cobra,” opposite Christian Slater and James Franco.
In “Hairspray Live!,” teenager Tracy Turnblad’s dream is to dance on “The Corny Collins Show,” a local TV program. When against all odds Tracy wins a role on the show, she becomes a celebrity overnight and meets a colorful array of characters, including the resident dreamboat, Link; the ambitious mean girl, Amber; an African-American boy she meets in detention, Seaweed; and his mother, Motormouth Maybelle, the owner of a local record store. Tracy’s mother is the indomitable Edna, and she eventually encourages Tracy on her campaign to integrate the all-white “Corny Collins Show.”
In addition to Chenoweth, “Hairspray Live!” stars Harvey Fierstein, who will recreate his iconic Tony Award-winning role; Oscar, Golden Globe and SAG Award winner Jennifer Hudson; musical superstar Ariana Grande, whose new album “Dangerous Woman” debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200 Chart; Tony and Emmy winner Martin Short; and Emmy winner Derek Hough. Also recently cast was newcomer Maddie Baillio, who will play Tracy Turnblad.
Acclaimed live television director Alex Rudzinski (“Dancing with the Stars”) will join Tony-winning director Kenny Leon (“The Wiz Live!”). Craig Zadan and Neil Meron (Oscar-winning “Chicago,” “The Wiz Live!” and the upcoming “A Few Good Men Live!”) serve as executive producers of “Hairspray Live!” Harvey Fierstein will also provide a new teleplay and Tony winner Jerry Mitchell (“Kinky Boots,” “On Your Feet”) will serve as choreographer for the live production with music and lyrics by Tony winners Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman (“Smash,” the upcoming feature ”Mary Poppins Returns” and the Broadway-bound “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”).