Newcomer Maddie Baillio makes her debut in ‘Hairspray Live’ --and makes some all-star friends along the way

Maddie Baillio, who makes her professional acting debut as the star of NBC’s live musical production “Hairspray Live” on Wednesday, is lounging on the couch in her sparse dressing room, holding an important paper.

“It’s crazy — I just opened this,” says Baillio, who plays the dance-loving teen Tracy Turnblad, with a smile as she dangles the flowered stationary in the air. “This is my first fan mail!”

Baillio is taking a breather before another round of rehearsals on this November day at the NBC Universal lot in Universal City, where the elaborate staging will unfold live on the small screen.

The author of the handwritten note, “Dave,” wrote of identifying with “Hairspray” and its theme of not fitting in.

“He thinks I’ll do a good job,” she says while scanning the note. “I didn’t think about ever getting fan mail. I’m just here to do the show, but this is so neat and cool and sweet.”

And it all happened because of a 3 a.m call to action.

A student at Marymount Manhattan College, Baillio had seen an ad on Facebook about open-call auditions in New York for the role of Tracy but gave it little thought at the time.

“I woke up the morning of the audition at 3 a.m.,” Baillio recalls. “I didn’t set an alarm clock or anything. I just woke up like it was meant to be. I decided I had to go do this.The audition started at 10 a.m. and I got there just before 7 a.m. thinking I would be one of the first girls there. I was No. 343.”

One callback led to another. Now Baillio, who beat out more than 1,000 aspirants, is the latest in the tradition of newcomers enlisted to step into the dancing shoes of the iconic character, joining Ricki Lake, who played the role in the 1988 John Waters film; Marissa Jaret Winokur, who was in the 2002 Broadway production; and Nikki Blonsky, who appeared in the 2007 film that was based on the musical.

“Tracy is one of my dream roles,” says Baillo, “She’s the ultimate underdog, so everyone can relate to her. And everyone roots for her. She’s such an optimist and believes that everyone should be equal, everyone should be dancing together. She’s a true inspiration.”

The 20-year-old performer, whose mother works at NASA and father is a doctor, says she didn’t watch the original 1988 John Waters film in full until two months ago. Her only attempt to watch it at a friend’s house when she was 10 years old was met with a firm “No” when she called to ask her mom if it was OK.

“She thought there was too much making out,” Baillio says with a laugh. “Now I’m here. It’s so surreal.”

Surreal is putting it mildly. When she finally arrives at rehearsals in sneakers, black tights and a pullover sweatshirt, Baillio is quickly joined by Ariana Grande, who stars as Penny Pingleton, The popular singer is hanging all over Baillio like they’re besties.

At one point, Baillio, Grande and the rest of the cast and crew nuzzle for a photo that Baillio then quickly posts on Instagram.

But it’s Harvey Fierstein, who reprises his Broadway role as Tracy’s mom Edna Turnblad, who has been a source of encouragement to Baillio throughout the process.

“He texts me every night to make sure my journey is going smooth,” she says.

During a break from rehearsal, Fierstein gushes about Baillio.

“I’m a true believer in Maddie,” he says. “I want to see her do this and I’m trying to stay in the moment but I’m almost more eager to see what happens next for her. She wants this, she loves it, she’s coming alive doing this.”

Referring to his own formidable presence and reputation, Fierstein is particularly impressed by the newcomer’s professionalism: “A lot of people would be intimidated; she ain’t intimidated by nothing. If you ain’t intimidated by me, then you’re on to something.”

Baillio is already thinking about life post-”Hairspray.” She was debating whether she would return to college, and pondering the solicited advice from Fierstein and fellow co-star and Broadway heavyweight Kristen Chenoweth (Velma von Tussle). Fierstein thought she should leave school, while Chenoweth felt she should finish her education.

She is now leaning more toward Fierstein’s point of view.

“I’m telling you here today: I’m not going back,” Baillio says with confidence. “I love college, but, I mean, this is what I was going to school for.”

In the meantime, her ultimate final exam in live performing comes Wednesday night.

“I’m nervous about the night of [the show],” she says. “But everyone is so amazing. If someone slips up, somebody has our back. I’ve never performed in front of more than 1,000 people. Now I’ll be in front of millions. That’s scary and anything can happen and something will happen. But it’s exciting. I’ll be dancing away the fears.”

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yvonne.villarreal@latimes.com

Twitter: @villarrealy