The Business
Harvey Fierstein returns to 'Hairspray,' this time on live TV
Broadway legend Harvey Fierstein won one of his several Tonys for his performance as Edna Turnblad in Hairspray. Now, he's reprising the role for NBC's live version of the musical, which airs December 7. He tells us about the weighty task of transforming into Edna and changes he made to the script when adapting it for television.
By Kim Masters • • 28m ListenBroadway playwright and star Harvey Fierstein is reprising his Tony-winning performance as big mama Edna Turnblad for NBC's upcoming live production of Hairspray. Fierstein also wrote the teleplay. We visit the set, where Fierstein tells us about the heavy process of transforming himself into Edna, and about some of the changes he made to take the script from broadway to live TV. And on the news banter, we discuss how a Hollywood money man went from big losses in Relativity Media to a cabinet appointment in the Trump administration.
Photo: Harvey Fierstein as Edna Turnblad with the cast of NBC's Hairspray Live! Trae Patton/NBC
