HAIRSPRAY's Nikki Blonsky Out Sick for Two Previews of STUFFED Off-Broadway

BroadwayWorld has confirmed that Nikki Blonsky will not be performing in the first preview of Lisa Lampanelli's Stuffed this evening, October 5, or tomorrow, October 6, due to illness. Her understudy, Lauren Ann Brickman, will play the role of 'Marty' for these performances.

"We look forward to having Nikki back in the show as soon as she's feeling better," her reps said.

Nikki Blonsky is best known for her Golden Globe nominated performance as Tracy Turnblad in the big screen adaptation of the hit musical Hairspray. Her most recent films include Geography Club and Dog Years, opposite Burt Reynolds and Ariel Winter, which premiered at this year's Tribeca Film Festival. A native New Yorker, Blonsky's television credits include NBC'S Smash, Huge on ABC FAMILY, and Ugly Betty, as well as the digital series Valemont.

Comedian Lisa Lampanelli's new play, Stuffed, opens Off-Broadway this fall in a new production at the Westside Theatre (Downstairs, 407 West 43rd Street), following a limited NYC run last fall at WP Theater. Directed by Jackson Gay (These Paper Bullets!), Stuffed begins previews tonight, October 5, and will officially open on October 19.

Marsha Stephanie Blake (NYTW's Othello, Orange is the New Black) and Eden Malyn (House of Lies, Orange is the New Black) join Golden Globe nominee Nikki Blonsky (New Line Cinema's Hairspray) and Lampanelli in the cast. Additional material was contributed to the play by Ashley Austin Morris.

The four characters in Stuffed are a lifelong dieter, a bulimic, a confident overweight gal, and a permanent size-zero. The play features Lampanelli's famously irreverent voice, signature wit, and an extra-large scoop of razor-sharp insight into the crazy-making world of our relationships with food. With Lisa onstage, alongside this talented cast, Stuffed doesn't shy away from tough questions like: Is eating an ice cream sandwich in the shower as emotionally fulfilling as it sounds? When it comes to jeans, what's better -- muffin top or camel toe? And, if Oprah, the most powerful person in the world, can't conquer her food issues, what can the rest of us do but laugh as we try?

The creative team for Stuffed includes set design by Antje Ellermann (Dear Elizabeth), costume design by Jessica Ford (These Paper Bullets!), lighting design by Amith Chandrashaker (FADE), sound design by Elisheba Ittoop (Duat), and casting by Stewart/Whitley.

The New York premiere of Stuffed was produced in 2016 by WP Theater, formerly known as Women's Project Theater (Lisa McNulty, Producing Artistic Director, Maureen Moynihan, Managing Director) and directed by Jackson Gay.