Theatre Under The Stars (TUTS) is delighted to announce the cast selected to lead the award-winning production and TUTS debut of the Broadway smash hit, Hairspray, scheduled to play October 5 - 17 at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts.

Director Roy Hamlin comments on this talented cast "I'm thrilled to be working with this group of people. The vocal talent is unbelievable and we're incredibly fortunate to have this caliber talent to work with. This is a TUTS debut and I know it will be a show audiences remember for a long time. This is the perfect cast to open our season."

North Carolina native, Katrina Rose Dideriksen, takes the lead in the big hair & bigger-hearted role of lovable heroine Tracy Turnblad. Dideriksen originated the role of Tracy for The Luxor production of Hairspray in Las Vegas opposite Harvey Fierstein after playing the same role on the national tour.

Humble-housewife Edna Turnbald is played in classic drag-diva style by Paul Vogt, formerly of MADtv. Vogt also played the role on Broadway following Harvey Fierstein. An actor and comedian, Vogt's credits also include appearances in popular movies The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement and recent release, Valentine's Day. Vogt's 2010 TV appearances include Grey's Anatomy and Glee.

Opposite Dideriksen in the role of high school hunk Link Larkin (played by Zac Efron on the big screen), is none other than TUTS' own Austin Miller, whom audiences will remember as a finalist on the televised competition Grease: You're The One That I Want!. A graduate of the Humphreys School of Musical Theatre (HSMT), Miller went on to national tours of Grease, Smokey Joe's Café and Victor/Victoria. Miller was last on the TUTS stage with the 2009 summer production of 42nd Street at Miller Outdoor Theatre.

Tracy's adoring father, Wilber Turnblad, (wonderfully played by Christopher Walken in the acclaimed film) is Bob Walton whose credits include the Broadway revivals of 42nd Street, Once Upon a Mattress, and Show Boat. Walton was also in the original Broadway production of City Of Angels. Gaelen Gilliland fills the role of the ever-glamorous Velma von Tussle, and has appeared on Broadway in Wicked, Legally Blonde, and 9 to 5, the new musical coming to the TUTS stage this November.

Returning to the TUTS stage in the role of dashing TV dance show host Corny Collins, is Michael Gruber, last seen here in Irving Berlin's White Christmas. Gruber's recent Broadway credits include the 2007 production of A Chorus Line. The Queen of Baltimore Soul, radio DJ Motormouth Maybelle, is played by Houston native and talented vocalist Shaunyce Omar. Seen just last year in the Ensemble Theatre presentation of Tazewell Thompson's play Constant Star, the Houston Chronicle's Everett Evans commented on Omar's "mighty voice in song and potent brass in her scenes."

The role of Penny Pingleton, Tracy's best friend, is played by Carly Vernon, a Houston native returning for the role, and local HSMT student Gerra Gistand plays the sassy and street-wise character of Little Inez. Amber von Tussle is played by Gretchen Bieber of the original Broadway cast. Also of the original Broadway cast of Hairspray is Arbender Robinson in the role of Seaweed. Robinson's other Broadway credits include The Little Mermaid in addition to the revivals of Hair and Ragtime.

Rounding out the ensemble are Houston native and Tommy Tune Awards nominee Barry Busby, Brooke L. Engen, Tiffany L. Engen, Nathaniel Flatt, Jordan Hall, Carla J. Hargrove, Mike Kelton, Houstonian Susan O. Koozin, Keith McCann, Destinee McGinnis of Huntsville, Timothy McNeil, and Kelly Peters of The Woodlands. Also in the ensemble are Houstonian Jimmy F. Phillips, Gabrielle Porter, returning Houstonian Sarah Roussos, TUTS Interns Cole Ryden and Justin Finch, Candice Marie Woods and Kristopher Stanley Ward of Crowley, Tx.