Interview: Marissa Jaret Winokur on Channeling Tracy Turnblad From HAIRSPRAY in SANTA BOOTCAMP

20 years after Hairspray opened on Broadway, Tony winner Marissa Jaret Winokur is once again channeling Tracy Turnblad in the new Lifetime holiday movie, Santa Bootcamp.

The film follows event planner Emily Strauss (Emily Kinney) is hired by mall magnate Ed Mancini (Patrick Cassidy) to stage the ultimate Christmas Gala for his most important investors, Emily finds herself being sent to bootcamp - Santa Bootcamp - to find the perfect Santa and the inspiration she will need to make the evening a success.

While there, Emily meets Belle (EGOT winner Rita Moreno), the bootcamp's drill sergeant with a heart of gold, who helps Emily rediscover the magic of Christmas and find romance along the way. Additional stars include Justin Gaston, John Schuck, and deaf actors Deanne Bray and Zyra Singleton.

BroadwayWorld caught up with Winokur to discuss the new film, working with Rita Moreno, Hairspray's 20th anniversary, and more.

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What can audiences expect from this new movie?

I actually just feel like we double down on Christmas. So like, there's probably 30 Christmas movies. I don't know, I feel like Lifetime puts out one every day before Christmas. I don't really know the numbers so don't quote me on that one. But this isn't just like a rom-com. I feel like sometimes Christmas movies are just like, "It's a rocom, but it's at Christmas time!" or it's like bringing family back together. No, ours is literally like, you're dressed up as Christmas costumes all the whole time. We are at Santa's Bootcamp. It's a double down on Christmas.

I felt like the entire time we were filming it, I was like, "This has gotta be the most insane costume I'm wearing." And then the next day I'm like, "Okay, this has gotta be the most insane Christmas costume I'm wearing." Like every single day. It felt like that. The bows in my hair, I was like, "Okay, this is the biggest bow, right?" Then it would be like the next day she's like, "We're doing bigger bows."

It definitely looked like so much fun to film, as well. What were your days on set like? How did you guys get into the holiday spirit?

We were shooting in this mansion in Nashville, which is this crazy location beause it wasn't like we weren't pulling up to a set and then you're like, "Okay, there's a fake fireplace." Like we were literally in someone's massive home. So we would pull up on set and our set was this massive house that I've never been in a house so big, but there was an archway when you walk in and the whole place was decorated and ready for Christmas for the movie. So like every room was just fully Christmas and ready to go to shoot. So it was like a thousand Christmas trees and like big wreaths around the front door. No matter where we went, everybody was always in like crazy costumes. We had the reindeer and it wasn't just Santa's, it was reindeers and Mrs. Claus and Mr. Claus and every single person and elves and it was kind of ridiculous but at the end of the day, how could you not feel like Christmas? You walk int and you feel like you're in a Christmas town.

It's also very exciting that Rita Moreno is in this movie. What was it like working with her?

Well obviously they were like, "Oh, do you wanna do this Christmas movie? Rita Moreno's gonna be in it." I'm like, "Well, is she in it? Or like, just like a cameo?" Because normally it'll say starring Rita Moreno but then she has like a cute couple of lines and you don't really see her. But for this she was number one on the call sheet, not because of name but because of her character, as well. Like she was in every shooting day. She stars in this movie. She was on set every day for 12 hours. She was incredible. She was teaching everybody a lesson on that set because it was like you couldn't complain about anything because she wasn't complaining. She's like she's like 90 years old and she would stay on set and do all her off camera blocking, all the off camera lines.

Alot of times people will have someone do their off-camera lines while they're getting ready for the next beat or something. But never her. She would stay, she did her lines, she like gave you eye contact. She was such a pro. I was like, "Watch her everybody because like this is the way you're supposed to do things." That's why she's so successful and why people want to work with her because she's such a star, but such a professional. I've never seen anything like it. I've worked with a lot of people that are less of a star than her that have acted way worse. She's the best.

She's so incredible and cares so much and it was why I wanted to do the movie, even before I read it. When they were like, "She's in it." I was like, "How do you turn down working with a legend?" Like you do that movie. You get up and you fly to Nashville and you do this Christmas movie and you get to work with Rita. That's what you do. Anyone that's in the business that would've turned down working with Rita Moreno, then they're not really serious about this business. It's very few times that you're like offered a job to work with an icon and a legend. I felt so lucky to be able to.

Watching your scenes, I couldn't help but notice a little Tracy Turnblad from Hairspray in your character. Were you able to like see any differences between the two?

Oh my god, a little? I did Tracy 20 years ago. Can you believe it? 20 years ago. We opened 20 years ago. I haven't gotten to play someone so over the top with so much joy since Tracy. Like, literally since Tracy. I'm literally giving everybody like what they want the most from Marissa. They're like, "Give me bows, give me lipstick, give me hair, give it all." But the character called for it. That wasn't just me giving it my own spin. I can't imagine it being played any other way.

I was like, "Oh my God, the audience is just gonna be like, 'Oh yay, we know her." It did not go unnoticed to me that the bigger the bows got, the more like crazy my character was just channeling Tracy Turnblad. She definitely was not as good, I mean she's good-spirited because it's Christmas and she had a purpose and a job, whereas Tracy was trying to change the world. This girl's just trying to make a good Santa Bootcamp. But definitely what people loved about me playing Tracy is happening again in this character, for sure.

Holiday movies are very special to people every year. How do you think this movie and its underlying message fit into the Christmas catalog?

I feel like Christmas movie could become its own genre now, you know? They do a romantic comedy under the Christmas umbrella. Like the Christmas umbrella now is the genre, like a musical. This fits in so great. It has all the things that you look for in a Christmas movie. Its got all the Christmas sweaters, but then it also has the romance and then it has the message and then it like breaks your heart and makes you want to cry and makes you want to call your mom. You know what I mean? It has literally all the reasons. You watch it and you're like, "Oh, I don't wanna go home for Christmas because my family drives me crazy." It is gonna hit you one way or another. It checks all the boxes.

I wish Rita, me and John had sung a song because then that would've been the trifecta of all the things that you could possibly have done with these characters in the movie. That was the only thing missing. But I feel like we're so colorful that it's like we're singing so it's okay.

What did you personally take away from the message of the movie?

Oh, well that's a good question. I'm so bad at that question because I'm like, I did my job and I was funny and then I leave. Like that's literally what happens with me. So that's a really bad answer. I think what's gonna be great about this movie is there's also a whole hearing impaired storyline and there's a whole sign language thing that people will see. So I think there's so much more than just the Christmas sweaters because there's like a whole underlining message of just sometimes getting out of your comfort zone and trying to to help other people in doing things for others, not just for yourself.

I think that the character of Emily is coming to Christmas bootcamp to get something for herself, but then she's basically learning how to give to other people while she's trying to get something for herself as well. I think she goes in with agenda and comes out with another, which I think is kind of always a great Christmas message. It's not always about you. Right? That's kind of what, as a nice mixed Jewish girl doing Christmas movies, I feel like that's what the of movies are always about. Trying to help help each other out. After the couple years we've all had, I think Christmas movies are exactly what we need right now.