George Wendt, beloved for his role as comical barfly Norm Peterson on eleven seasons of the hit sitcom “Cheers,” continued his new career as a Broadway Show Tunes Diva by putting on a super-sized dress and wig to reprise his role as the blubbery mom Edna Turnblad in “Hairspray” at the Charlottetown Festival on Prince Edward Island.
According to “The Globe and Mail,” the 61-year-old Wendt said Edna is a perfect fit for him because the roles for heft men like himself are a rarity in musical theater.
“The roles are few and far between for an obese man, post-middle-age man who doesn’t sign or dance in the musical theatre,” Wendt said. “And then along came Edna.”
Wendt followed in the footsteps of famous cross-dressers Divine, who originated the role in John Waters’ 1988 film and Harvey Fierstein who played Edna in the first Broadway production in 1982.
Despite his fondness for the role, Wendt will take off Edna’s barrel-sized dress and put on a Santa suit when he returns to Broadway in November for “Elf,” a musical based on the popular Will Ferrell comedy.
Hey Norm, looks like this “obese, post-middle-age man” is doing just fine, in and out of women's clothing.
