Michael McKean will step in for Harvey Fierstein in Hairspray

Michael McKean will be Broadway's new Edna Turnblad in Hairspray. McKean joins the cast of the hit musical on May 4, replacing Harvey Fierstein as the full-figured Edna. The 56-year-old actor, who won a Grammy on Sunday for cowriting the title song for the film A Mighty Wind, also is up for an Oscar later this month. He's nominated for best original song, written with his wife, Annette O'Toole, for another tune from A Mighty Wind, titled "A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow." McKean is best known for playing the role of Leonard "Lenny" Kosnowski on television's Laverne and Shirley. He also was a regular on Saturday Night Live, and his films include This Is Spinal Tap and Best in Show (wherein he played the gay owner of a show dog). Fierstein leaves Hairspray on May 2. The show, based on the John Waters movie about a chubby girl and her obsession with a television dance show in 1960s Baltimore, opened on Broadway in August 2002.