"John Travolta is our generation's greatest musical star," says Hairspray producer Neil Meron. "With those two movies, he became an icon of movie musicals. And there aren't many left." Reported USA Today.
Filmmakers for Hairspray needed the right man who could pull off acting, singing and being the perfect woman. Director Adam Shankman, knew Travolta could definitely pull off drag; he plays Edna Turnblad, whose daughter Tracy (new Nikki Blonsky) confronts racism in '60s Baltimore. Travolta inherits the role from Divine in the original 1988 film and Harvey Fierstein in the Broadway show.
Source: usatoday