Lance Bass Joins Hairspray

Stunt-casting alert: former 'N Sync member Lance Bass will join the Broadway cast of Hairspray in August. Bass will take on the role of Corny Collins. The current cast also features former "Mad TV" cast member Paul Vogt as Edna and...get this...Jerry Mathers as Wilbur. (Yes, it's the Beaver!)

In an additional attempt at shoring up the box office for the long-running it, the producers have also cast some chick named Ashley Spencer, who I guess featured prominently on that Grease reality TV show. And there's also another guy in the cast, a supposed celebrity by the name of Ashley Parker Angel as Link Larkin, although I haven't the slightest idea who he is. Was he yet another "American Idol" cast off? Was he from the Cleveland cast of "The Real World?" Was he eliminated from Bravo's "Top Chef?" (Actually, he was on "Making the Band," but you get my point.)

Geez, that's an awful lot of stunt casting going on. And it does seem to be working on the TKTS crowd: the show has been playing to near capacity, although the average ticket price has been about $65. But Hairspray's Broadway grosses have been very healthy, north of $700,000 in most recent weeks.

Makes me think that the producers of Grey Gardens should have tried taking a page from Hairspray's B-list celebrity book. Maybe cast Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Little Edie, or Doris Roberts as Edith. Perhaps Orlando Bloom as Joe Kennedy? Kelsey Grammer as Major Bouvier? Dakota Fanning as a young Jackie O?

Nah. Come to think of it, I'm kind of glad that my beloved Grey Gardens is heading out with its integrity intact.

Comments

[Steve On Broadway (SOB)]

Of course, depending upon how well the film is received, all the stunt casting may not matter. If the movie's a hit, the stage show will undoubtedly enjoy a resurgence of popularity. If it fails, well, it may need all the stunt casting it can get.

By the way, I caught the first tour of Hairspray, which featured Austin Miller as Link (Austin, like Ashley Spencer, was a runner-up in the Grease reality show). He had the perfect chops for Link.