Ariana Grande sure knows that when it comes to the theatrical stage, all is fair and no one is a star. The 23-year-old singer does not want any special treatment for her nor her character Penny Pingleton for NBC’s “Hairspray Live!”
The stage production revealed that it won’t be adding any new songs to the show despite Grande’s star power and massive fan base. This was different with how “Grease” added one new song when they cast pop star Carly Rae Jepsen in the musical stage production.
Executive producer Neil Meron spoke at the live musical’s 2016 Television Critics Association summer press tour panel and said that one of the exciting things about Ariana was that she wanted to play the part how it was written and doesn’t want to add or change anything.
The “Into You” singer is set to play Penny Pingleton, the best friend of plus-sized teen Tracy Turnblad, who will be played by newcomer Maddie Baillio.
Penny causes a stir in the story when she campaigns the inclusion of the 1960s dances to the show where she and Tracy are part of. In the movie version, Penny was played by another former Nickelodeon star, Amanda Bynes.
During the 2002 musical, based on John Waters’ 1988 movie, Penny sings in group numbers and has a featured part in four major songs.
Despite her inclusion in “You Can’t Stop the Beat” being her big breakout moment, she doesn’t have a solo of her own and Grande is actually fine with that.
The “Dangerous Woman” songstress says that she doesn’t want to change anything about the role or how she develops. Ari adds that she loves the character and being able to play her is already a great honor.
She reiterates that she doesn’t want any special icing or parts and says that there’s no need to expand her role just because of her star power.
She also gushed over her co-star actress Kristin Chenoweth saying it was overwhelming sharing a stage with her.
The “Problem” hitmaker says that she’s really just happy that she got the part even though it’s just a supporting role. Ari says that she’s happy to take the backseat and let the characters shine on stage.
During the TCA press tour, two new cast members were announced. Rosie O’Donell will play the gym teacher and Sean Hayes will play dressmaker Mr. Pinky.
“Hairspray Live!” will star Harvey Fierstein, who reprises his Broadway turn as Edna Turnblad, Jennifer Hudson as Motormouth Maybelle, Martin Short as Wilmer Turnblad, and Kristin Chenoweth as Velma von Tussle.
Joining them are Derek Hough who plays Corny Collins, Dove Cameron as Amber von Tussle, and Garrett Clayton as Link Larkin.
Fans of the pop star will know that Ari is a theater geek at heart. In fact, her first professional job was the Broadway musical “13” before being a Nickelodeon star.
The MAC Viva Glam ambassador says that she’s seen the “Hairspray Live!” with the original Broadway cast when she was about 10 or 11 and has loved Penny ever since. “Hairspray Live!” will air on December 7 on NBC.
While fans have to wait for five more months to watch Ariana as Penny, she treated her fans on Tuesday by dropping two unreleased tracks from her 2013 “Yours Truly” album.
Grande shared “Voodoo Love” and an alternate take on the album’s opening song “Honeymoon Avenue” featuring the Dap Kings on her Soundcloud account.
Fans say that despite the songs are very different from the music that she’s creating now, they can’t help but dance to the bubblegum-pop beat of it. Ari released the songs so it could vouch for the Song of Summer category.