Alexa Vega to Play Hairspray's Penny Pingleton, Beginning 2/13

Movie actress Alexa Vega will assume the role of Penny Pingleton in Hairspray on February 13 at Broadway's Neil Simon Theatre. The part has been played by American Idol runner-up Diana DeGarmo since last fall.

Vega has been a professional actress since age four, when she played Burt Reynolds' daughter in the TV series Evening Shade. Best known for Robert Rodriguez's popular Spy Kids movie trilogy, Vega has also appeared in the films Twister as the young Helen Hunt, Little Giants, Nine Months, Ghosts of Mississippi, The Deep End of the Ocean, Sleepover and State's Evidence. Her television credits include Ladies Man, opposite Alfred Molina, ER, Chicago Hope and the lead in the Lifetime feature Odd Girl Out. She was most recently seen starring in the HBO film, Walkout and just completed the independent film, The Beautiful Ordinary

Hairspray currently stars Shannon Durig as Tracy Turnblad, Paul C. Vogt as Edna Turnblad, Ashley Parker Angel as Link Larkin, Jere Burns as Wilbur Turnblad, Darlene Love as Motormouth Maybelle, Tevin Campbell as Seaweed J. Stubbs, Jonathan Dokuchitz as Corny Collins and Isabelle Keating as Velma Von Tussle.