Ariana Grande Won't Get a New Song In Hairspray Live!

Derek Hough, Jennifer Hudson, Grande and the rest of the cast talked about the December production

By Jean Bentley Aug 03, 2016 1:12 AMTags
Hairspray Live! Cast, 2016 Summer TCAMatt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images

Grease Live might've added a new tune for Frenchie once singer Carly Rae Jepsen was added to the cast, but Hairspray Live! won't be adding any new songs to the show despite the fact that they've cast one of the biggest pop superstars around, Ariana Grande.

"I think one of the thrills is Ariana wanted to play the part as written," executive producer Neil Meron said at the live musical's 2016 Television Critics Association summer press tour panel. "She loved the fact that she kind of held off those powerful pipes until the very end."

Grande plays Penny, the BFF of plus-sized teen Tracy Turnblad (newcomer Maddie Baillio), who causes a stir when she launches a campaign to integrate the 1960s dance show on which she stars. Though Penny sings in group numbers throughout the show, she doesn't have a solo of her own—but Grande wants the role to remain as is.

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"I don't want to change anything about the role or how she develops," she said on the panel. "I just love Penny and it's just such a great honor to play her. I don't want any sort of special icing or parts. This is just really great and I'm so happy."

Grande, whose first professional job was the Broadway musical 13, is a theater geek at heart. "I got to see the Original Broadway Cast [of Hairspray], I think I was 10 or 11, so yes, way too young," she revealed. "Penny's been my favorite character from the start. My theater geek inside, which is what I am, I can't take it!"

In fact, she might like it even more than being a pop star. "At heart, theater is everything to me. Pop music is fun, but this is way much more fun," she confessed.

Hairspray Live! will air in December on NBC.

Watch: Maddie Baillio Had Trouble Keeping "Hairspay Live" Role a Secret
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