NBC picks a 20-year-old sophomore student at Marymount Manhattan College to play the plum role in the next NBC musical event.
- June 8, 2016
AceShowbiz -
NBC has finally found its Tracy Turnblad for the upcoming "Hairspray Live!". 20-year-old newcomer Maddie Baillio is tapped for the coveted role. The sophomore at Marymount Manhattan College was picked out of nearly 1,000 hopefuls at an open casting call.
Although she's new to TV, Baillio has starred in "Dracula" and "Once Upon a Mattress" as part of the musical theater training program of York Theatre Company. She has performed at well-known venues such as the Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center.
The college student said she only told her parents and no one else about her casting. "I just told my mom and my dad. I didn't tell my siblings. I didn't tell any of my friends," she said. "No one at Marymount [knew]. They all knew that I was auditioning, but I have been keeping my mouth shut. I don't know how!"
Baillio is joined by Harvey Fierstein and Martin Short as Tracy's parents, Edna and Wilbur respectively. Derek Hough will play Corny Collins and Jennifer Hudson will portray Motormouth Maybelle.
