Production Designer Derek McLane, Costume Designer Mary Vogt Talk HAIRSPRAY LIVE!

Today, BWW participated on a conference call with HAIRSPRAY LIVE's production designer Derek McLane and costume designer Mary Vogt. The creatives answered questions and shared the latest developments on the highly anticipated show!

BWW: A few weeks ago, Craig Zadan and Neil Meron revealed that there will be two instances where a live audience will be present, one as members of the Corny Collins Show audience, and the other, as a general audience who will be there to watch and react. Who, if any, of these participants will be in costume?

Mary Vogt: Well, ideally I wish they could be all in costume, I wish they could all come for costume fittings, but I don't know how realistic that is. But what we were thinking of doing is creating a web site that would provide pictures and guidance that would try to help them create something that would go in with our film. And also, if they are coming from Los Angeles, to get discounts at local vintage stores what could help them as well. We want them to look like they're in our show, that they don't make an odd note, so it's definitely something that's a concern - that they should look and feel like they're part of the show. And I was thinking that maybe we can have a web site that even has color palettes of the period, because we definitely don't want it to look like there's a Halloween party in the background.

BWW: The day of the GREASE LIVE broadcast turned out to be a rare rainy day in Southern California. I was wondering if there are contingency plans in place in the event of rain the day of the broadcast, and has the possibility of rain hindered your designs in any way.

Derek McLane: Well, we've decided it's not going to rain on the day, that's our decision! [laughing] We have a lot of contingency plans and obviously we all hope that it doesn't rain, but we have to have a plan, so a couple of different things. Some areas we'll be able to cover, and there are some things that if it's raining really, really hard, we'll have to move inside. We're still developing all those contingency plans. And there are some things we can just do in the rain, it just depends on the moment and how much dancing is involved. So that's an ongoing conversation as we get closer and closer to developing a whole variety of contingency plans for inclement weather. But the scenery itself will all be fine if it rains.

Mary Vogt: Well the makeup department has already decided that they are going to do waterproof makeup on everything, and our hairdresser is talking about special hairspray that will hold hair more than usual. And with the clothes, we may be scotch guarding some things to try and help with the rain. But as Derek says, we'll also be incorporating umbrellas and for example, 'Welcome to the '60's', we may have hoods on things which normally we wouldn't have.

You know it could rain, it's been raining here more than it did last year and it's definitely something to take into consideration. I thought the rain really worked great on Grease Live, I thought it looked fantastic. So it's definitely something we're working into the design with the clothes. But I would really be more worried about the actors getting wet and getting cold, particularly when they're dancing. So we may underdress them in a waterproof kind of thing that you'd wear camping, thermals and things that will keep their bodies dry. But the clothes would have to get really wet to look wet.

BWW: I love the irony that you might need special hairspray for HAIRSPRAY!

Mary Vogt: [laughing] Yes, exactly!

HAIRSPRAY LIVE! airs Wednesday, Dec. 7 (8/7c) on NBC!

Based on the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical, "HAIRSPRAY LIVE!" is a bold new television production. Set in 1962 Baltimore, teenager Tracy Turnblad's (newcomer Maddie Baillio) dreams come true when she earns a spot dancing on the "Corny Collins Show," and uses her newfound fame to campaign for the integration of the all-white TV program. "Hairspray Live!" also stars Dove Cameron, Kristin Chenoweth, Garrett Clayton, Harvey Fierstein, Ariana Grande, Derek Hough, Jennifer Hudson, Ephraim Sykes and Shahadi Wright Joseph.

Find the latest news on "Hairspray Live!" HERE

Derek McLane serves as production designer on NBC's "Hairspray Live!" A Tony, Emmy, Obie and Drama Desk Award winner, McLane's Broadway designs include "Noises Off," "Fully Committed," "Beautiful," "Gigi," "The Heiress," "Nice Work," "The Best Man," "Follies," "Anything Goes," "How to Succeed," "Bengal Tiger," "Million Dollar Quartet," "Ragtime," "33 Variations," "The Pajama Game" and "I Am My Own Wife." His Off-Broadway credits include "Into the Woods," "Two Gentlemen," "The Spoils," "Sticks and Bone," "The Last Five Years," "Ruined," "Lie of the Mind" and "Hurlyburly." He also designed the 2013-16 Academy Awards.

Mary Vogt serves as costume designer on NBC's "Hairspray Live!" Vogt is known for bringing character, color and emotion to her projects by conceptualizing the costume based on the characters' place in the story, the unique qualities each actor brings to his or her role, and how that character evolves through sketches, fittings, and directorial input. Vogt famously put the "Men in Black" in black when she designed the now iconic costumes for all three "MIB" films. Recent film credits include "Broken Horses," "Grudge Match" and the upcoming "Kong Skull Island" starring Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson and John C. Reilly. Earlier, Vogt served as costume designer on "A Thousand Words," starring Eddie Murphy, and "Dinner with Schmucks" for director Jay Roach, after working with him on the HBO telefilm "Recount" in 2008. Additional film credits include "Fantastic Four: The Rise of the Silver Surfer," "RV," "Son of the Mask," "Unconditional Men," and "Inspector Gadget." The Science Fiction Academy presented Vogt with a Saturn Award for her costume design on "Hocus Pocus" and nominated her for a Saturn Award for her work as co-designer on "Batman Returns" for director Tim Burton. Television credits include "Night Stalker" and "Pushing Daisies," for which she received an Emmy Award nomination. In theatre, she designed costumes for 2005's "Private Lives" at the Pasadena Playhouse, and her designs for the show received a nomination for an L.A. Theater Critics Award. Vogt's eclectic background makes her one of the few who not only do their own illustrations, but also have the hands-on experience to build a costume from pattern through draping and cutting, and on to the finished garment. A native of Long Beach, N.Y., she graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan and got her first professional job as a fashion illustrator at Lord & Taylor, one of the city's leading department stores. She made the move to California to study at the Pasadena Art Center College of Design and got her start in Hollywood as a sketch artist. In pursuit of her lifelong goal of BECOMING a motion picture costume designer, she worked in a number of craft positions and eventually assisted several leading designers.

Derek McLane photo: Walter McBride / WM Photos

Mary Vogt photo courtesy of NBC