Nikki Blonsky Instagram – About last night! What an incredible night! It was an absolute honor to perform at a birthday party for @marc_shaiman Marc is the incredibly talented man behind the music of Hairspray! I always knew how amazing he was but to see the extent of his work on films such as “When Harry Met Sally”, “Sister Act”, “Hairspray” and the new Mary Poppins Film was so inspiring. Marc, Along with the producers and director @adamshankman made my dreams come true 12 years ago when they cast me in the film version of “Hairspray”. Being there last night reminded me how incredibly lucky I am that they chose me. Life can be funny sometimes, one day you’re just a high school kid from Long Island working in a ice cream store and the next you’re on set working with John Travolta and Christopher Walken as your movie parents. I’ll never fully be able to express the amount of gratitude and love I have for Marc and the crew, they changed my life but not just by giving me a part in a movie, they gave me a once in a lifetime chance to be the best version of myself and to live out my wildest dreams. Last night I sat there and listened to Bette Midler and Billy Crystal give speeches and watched Jennifer Lewis bring the house down with a performance. I sat there and found myself saying “how did I get here?” Well I’ll tell you how, I was a kid with a dream and those people that worked on Hairspray decided to give that kid a shot and here I stand so many years later. The moral of the story is never give up, no matter how scary life is sometimes, if you have a burning passion inside of you to do something and accomplish your dreams then please go for it! My Nanny always used to tell me “you never know unless you try” and boy was she right! I tried and I did it and if I can do it I promise you that you all can too! Find your confidence, find your passion, find your drive and go full steam ahead because the only person that can get in your way and stop you is YOU!!! Last night was so incredible on so many levels, I found myself happily reminiscing about a film I worked on with all of these great people but I also found myself more excited than ever for the future. Thanks for having me Marc!