Michelle Pfeiffer and Brittany Snow Join Cast of Hairspray Film

Three-time Oscar nominee Michelle Pfeiffer will play Velma Von Tussle in the film version of the Tony Award-winning musical Hairspray, and former American Dreams star Brittany Snow will play her daughter Amber, according to published reports in Variety and The Hollywood Reporter.

The film will begin shooting this fall and is expected to open on December 21, 2007. It will be directed by Adam Shankman. The screen play is by Leslie Dixon.

Velma, the bigoted and greedy owner of a local Baltimore television station, has been played on stage by such actresses as Linda Hart, Barbara Walsh, Leah Hocking, and Susan Anton. In a recent interview with TheaterMania, Hairspray co-lyricist Marc Shaiman said that he has written a new song for the character to replace her current solo, “Miss Baltimore Crabs.” The role of Amber was originated by Laura Bell Bundy and is currently being played on Broadway by teen star Haylie Duff.

Pfeiffer has sung on film in The Fabulous Baker Boys (which featured her sultry rendition of “Makin’ Whoopee”), The Prince of Egypt, and Grease 2. Her many other movie credits include Frankie and Johnny, Dangerous Liaisons, The Witches of Eastwick, Love Field, and White Oleander. She will soon appear with Paul Rudd in I Could Never Be Your Woman.

Snow’s other television credits include Guiding Light and Nip/Tuck. She will be seen in the upcoming films John Tucker Must Die and On the Doll.

The movie version of Hairspray will also star John Travolta as Edna Turnblad, Nikki Blonsky as Tracy Turnblad, Zac Efron as Link Larkin, Amanda Bynes as Penny Pingleton, and Queen Latifah as Motormouth Maybelle.