Hairspray Film Producers Launch Nationwide Casting Search

New Line Cinema is launching a nationwide casting search for performers to fill the roles of Tracy Turnblad, Seaweed, and L’il Inez in its upcoming feature film based on the Broadway musical Hairspray.

The search will begin on February 4 with an open call on the campus of Georgia State University in Atlanta; on February 11, auditions will be held in New York City at the Hilton Theatre Rehearsal Studios; and on February 18, there will be an open call at the Chicago Academy of Arts. Any actor who wishes to audition but is unable to attend any of these calls may obtain an application through www.hairspraymovie.com and submit it by e-mail or U.S. mail, along with a photo and résumé.

The movie is being produced for New Line by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, the team behind the film version of Chicago, and will be directed by Adam Shankman (Cheaper by the Dozen 2). Hairspray‘s songwriters, Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, are executive producers of the film; Thomas Meehan and Mark O’Donnell, co-authors of the musical’s book, have been signed to write the screenplay. Though no casting has yet been announced, there have been reports that John Travolta, Billy Crystal, and Queen Latifah are respectively in talks to play Edna Turnblad, Wilbur Turnblad, and Motormouth Maybelle in the movie.