Allison Janney Joins Hairspray Movie as Prudy Pingleton

Four-time Emmy winner Allison Janney is the latest star to join the cast of the film version of Hairspray. According to Variety, Janney will play Prudy Pingleton, the strait-laced mother of Penny Pingleton. The role was originally played by Jackie Hoffman in the Broadway production of the musical.

Janney's Broadway credits include A View From the Bridge, which she received a Tony nomination and Present Laughter for which she won a Theatre World Award. Her off-Broadway credits include Ladies, Making Book, Five Women Wearing the Same Dress, Breaking Up, New England, Blue Window and a Central Park production of The Taming of the Shrew. Janney has starred on The West Wing for seven seasons as CJ Cregg. Some of her film credits include The Chumscrubber, The Hours, American Beauty and 10 Things I Hate About You. Variety also announced that Janney has signed a deal to produce and star in a CBS sitcom, aiming for a fall 2007 timeslot.

The Hairspray movie, based on the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical, will be directed by Adam Shankman. As previously announced, the cast will also include John Travolta as Edna Turnblad, Christopher Walken as Wilbur Turnblad, Queen Latifah as Motormouth Maybelle, Brittany Snow as Amber von Tussle, Michelle Pfeiffer as Velma von Tussle, Nikki Blonsky as Tracy Turnblad, Zac Efron as Link Larkin and Amanda Bynes as Penny Pingleton. Production begins in September for a summer 2007 release.