Special Photo Blog Exclusive #24: Marissa Jaret Winokur 'Dancing With The Stars' - I'm Flying!

Tony Award-winning star of Hairspray, Marissa Jaret Winokur, will be one of the contestants this season on "Dancing with the Stars."  When news broke of her involvement, she couldn't wait to share that experience with BroadwayWorld.com and its readers.  Marissa will be checking in from now until she wins (YAY!) or is eliminated (BOO!) with exclusive photos and a glimpse into what's going on as she takes on the other celebrities in the ultimate "dance off!"

Marissa says: "Okay - this week I am doing the waltz! It's so hard and I will need all of your votes. I am supposed to feel like a princess - but I feel more like a queen (a drag queen) haha. To help with the spinning, and feeling like I am floating, I went to an aerial arts studio and hung from a hoop on a chain - and they lifted me up in the sky and spun me!"

To vote for Marissa, Call: 1800-868-3409

"Dancing with the Stars" pairs twelve celebrities – six men and six women – with acclaimed dancers, and pits them against each other in attempts to outshine one another. Last season, viewers got a chance to size up the male vs. the female stars, as each gender hit the dance floor on separate nights during the first week of competition. Each week, one couple's fate is determined the following night.

The line-up of celebrities for Season 6 of "Dancing with the Stars" includes Tony Award-winner Marissa Jaret Winokur (Hairspray) and Priscilla Presley. The cast will also include former Olympic ice-skater Kristi Yamaguchi and Telenovela star Christian De La Fuente; plus actress Marlee Matlin and entertainer Penn Jillette; and radio jock Adam Carolla (dancing with Julianne Hough). Plus tennis champ Monica Seles, R&B singer Mario, actor Steve Guttenberg (3 Men and a Baby, Police Academy), Miami Dolphin Jason Taylor, actress Shannon Elizabeth (American Pie).Season 6 of "Dancing with the Stars" will premiere on ABC on Monday, March 17 in a special 2-hour episode. For more information visit ABC.com.

Marissa Jaret Winokur is best known for creating the role of "Tracy Turnblad" in the hit Broadway musical Hairspray, a performance for which she won a Tony Award, Drama Desk Award and an Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actress. Winokur has since been seen in the Farrelly Brothers film Fever Pitch and the television series Stacked. She just finished filming the series lead in a new pilot called Fugly, for 20th Century Fox and CBS and is currently working as one of the leads in the Lifetime movie Betrayals.