Lance Bass to Join Broadway's Hairspray in August

The New York Daily News reports that former 'N Sync member Lance Bass will make his Broadway debut in the cast of Hairspray.

Bass will begin performances in the role of dance show host Corny Collins on August 14th.  The next day, Hairspray will celebrate its fifth Broadway anniversary.

Bass, who is currently at work on his memoir Out of Sync, about his time with the boy band, has appeared on screen and on TV in such projects as Lovewrecked, "Seek and Hide," On the Line, "7th Heaven," "Touched by an Angel," and Longshot. 

The current cast of Hairspray features Shannon Durig as Tracy Turnblad, Paul C. Vogt as Edna Tunblad, television legend Jerry Mathers as Wilbur Turnblad, Ashley Parker Angel as Link Larkin, Tevin Campbell as Seaweed, Brynn O'Malley as Amber, Isabel Keating as Velma, Darlene Love as Motormouth Maybelle, Naturi Naughton as Inez, and Alexa Vega as Penny Pingleton.

In Hairspray, "it's 1962—the '50s are out and change is in the air. Baltimore's Tracy Turnblad, a big girl with big hair and an even bigger heart, has only one passion—to dance. She wins a spot on the local TV dance program, "The Corny Collins Show" and, overnight, is transformed from outsider to irrepressible teen celebrity. But can a plus-size trendsetter in dance and fashion vanquish the program's reigning princess, win the heart of heartthrob Link Larkin, and integrate a television show without denting her 'do?," as the show is described in press materials.

Hairspray is based on the New Line Cinema film written and directed by John Waters, who serves as a creative consultant on the musical comedy. The highly anticipated upcoming film version of the Broadway musical, which will be released this month, stars John Travolta, Queen Latifah, Michelle Pfeiffer and others.

The show, which celebrates its fourth anniversary on Broadway in August 2007, is the winner of eight 2003 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Actor (Harvey Fierstein), Best Actress (Marisa Jaret Winokur), Best Featured Actor (Dick Latessa), Best Score (Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman), Best Book (Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan), Best Director (Jack O'Brien), and Best Costume Design (William Ivey Long). Hairspray also swept every one of the year's best musical awards, winning, in addition to the Tony, the New York Drama Critics Circle Award, the Drama Desk Award, the Outer Critics Circle Award, and the Drama League Award.

Hairspray is produced by Margo Lion; Adam Epstein; The Baruch, Viertel, Routh,Frankel Group; James D. Stern/Douglas L. Meyer; Rick Steiner/Frederic H. Mayerson; SEL & GFO; New Line Cinema, in association with Live Nation; A. Gordon/E. McAllister; D. Harris/M. Swinsky; J. & B. Osher

For more information about Hairspray, please visit the Hairspray website at www.hairsprayonbroadway.com.