The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Networks encourage dance fever
LOS ANGELES — You can’t stop the beat of network television as they continue to produce musicals. The latest is an NBC offering of “Hairspray Live!,” the story of Baltimore native Tracy Turnblad whose dream is to dance on a local TV show.
This follows NBC productions of “The Sound of Music,” “The Wiz” and “Peter Pan,” while Fox has broadcast TV versions of “Grease” and “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.” ABC is working on “Dirty Dancing.”
Each production has grown in scale since “The Sound of Music” was performed on small soundstage sets. Massive sets were built for “Rocky Horror,” while “Grease” was performed indoors and outdoors. “Hairspray Live!” will originate from Universal Studios Hollywood where the action will take place inside and on the outdoor sets around the movie studio lot. This is the fourth musical produced by Neil Meron and Craig Zadan, who were also producers of the 2007 feature film version of the stage production. The pair have been reinventing how musicals are presented on TV since “The Sound of Music” in 2013.
Kenny Leon, who directed “The Wiz Live!,” is directing “Hairspray Live!” He has found both productions to be generally the same in size and scope. But when he directed “The Wiz,” Leon went with a more contained proscenium approach. In the case of “Hairspray Live!,” the script calls for multiple times where the production will move outdoors.