A spokesperson for the actress told Playbill.com that beginning June 6 Keating will assume the role of Velma Von Tussle in the hit musical Hairspray at the Neil Simon Theatre. The Tony-nominated performer succeeds Leah Hocking in the role that was created on Broadway by Linda Hart.

For her performance in The Boy From Oz, Isabel Keating received a Drama Desk Award, a Theatre World Award as well as Tony, Outer Critics Circle and Drama League nominations. She made her Broadway debut in Enchanted April, and her other theatrical credits include Travesties, Indian Ink, Dinner with Friends and The Rise and Fall of Little Voice. Keating was recently seen in the Paper Mill Playhouse's production of The Diary of Anne Frank.

Hairspray, based on the 1988 John Waters film of the same name, currently plays the Neil Simon Theatre. The show won 2003 Tony Awards for Best Score (Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman), Best Book (Thomas Meehan and Mark O'Donnell), Best Actress in a Musical (Marissa Jaret Winokur), Best Actor (Harvey Fierstein), Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Dick Latessa), Best Costume Design (William Ivey Long), Best Musical and Best Direction of a Musical.