George
Wendt Tries on Edna Turnblad's Muumuu

It's quite a stretch--from TV's Norm to Broadway's Edna.

George Wendt, best known to TV viewers as Norm Peterson on Cheers, joins the New York company of Hairspray on Oct. 23, playing Edna Turnblad in the long-running musical. Based on the cult John Waters movie set in early-1960s Baltimore, the show concerns the full-figured Tracy Turnblad whose fondest wish is to appear on a local-television dance program.

Wendt is no stranger to the stage. He recently completed a cross-country tour of the Roundabout Theatre Company revival of Twelve Angry Men. (AP)