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| Topic Started: Feb 5 2010, 07:10 AM (477 Views) | |
| mouser | Feb 5 2010, 07:10 AM Post #1 |
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This is the press release made by th Marcus Center for the arrival of Grease to their theatre. I found the "interesting facts" at the bottom......ah.........interesting !!! STARRING PLATINUM-SELLING RECORDING ARTIST AND “AMERICAN IDOL” WINNER TAYLOR HICKS AS “TEEN ANGEL” IS COMING TO THE MARCUS CENTER FEBRUARY 23-28, 2010 MILWAUKEE, WI (January 21, 2010)- The new Broadway production of the Tony Award nominated musical GREASE™, opens in Milwaukee on February 23-28 presented by Broadway Across America-Milwaukee and the Marcus Center as part of the Time Warner Cable Broadway at the Marcus Center Series. Tickets are on sale now. Ticket prices start at $25 and will be available at the Marcus Center Box Office 929 N Water St, Downtown Milwaukee, by calling the box office at 414-273-7206, online at MarcusCenter.org, all Ticketmaster outlets, by visiting Ticketmaster.com or by calling 800-982-2787. Group orders of 10 or more may be placed by calling 414-273-7121 ext. 210. After spending a hopelessly devoted summer with Sandy Dumbrowski, the new girl in town, Danny Zuko's world is thrown upside down when Sandy appears at Rydell High on the first day of school. What follows is a rock n' roll celebration of growin' up, cruisin' with friends and goin' steady. The new production of GREASE™ features songs from the smash hit 1978 motion picture for the first time ever in a Broadway production including “Sandy,” the Academy Award nominated song “Hopelessly Devoted to You,” “Grease” and “You’re the One That I Want” - both of which were #1 hits on the Billboard Top 100 list. These songs will be heard in addition to the Jacobs/Casey songs made famous by the original stage production including “Summer Nights,” “Greased Lightnin’” and “We Go Together.” Platinum-selling recording artist and “American Idol” winner, Taylor Hicks, stars in the production as “Teen Angel.” Hicks made his Broadway debut in the role of “Teen Angel” and has been on the road with GREASE™ since the tour began on December 2, 2008. “I had such a great experience performing on Broadway,” says Hicks. “This is a great opportunity to visit old fans and new fans across the country while bringing them a great Broadway show!” Taylor Hicks achieved widespread fame in 2006 as a contestant on the hugely successful FOX singing competition “American Idol.” On May 24, 2006, Hicks was named the winner of the fifth season of “Idol” with over 63.4 million votes in total, during the live finale which aired to a worldwide audience of over 200 million viewers. On March 10, 2009, Taylor Hicks released his much anticipated new studio album The Distance, featuring the single “Seven Mile Breakdown.” GREASE™ originated in Chicago and made its premiere at The Kingston Mines Theater in 1971 before making its New York premiere off-Broadway at the Eden Theatre on February 14, 1972. After 128 sold-out performances, the show made the transition to Broadway taking up residence at the Broadhurst Theatre on June 7, 1972. GREASE™ was nominated for seven Tony Awards in its spectacular initial run. On November 21, 1972, the show moved to the Royale Theatre before making its final transfer on January 20, 1980 to the Majestic Theatre. It closed as the longest running show in Broadway history after playing 3,388 performances. In 1978, GREASE™ became a hugely popular feature film starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John in the lead roles. GREASE™, which opened on Broadway on Sunday, August 19, 2007, was born out of NBC’s landmark talent competition TV series, “Grease: You’re The One That I Want.” The weekly talent competition drew 90 million viewers, and allowed America to vote for its favorite contestants to play the lead roles of “Sandy” and “Danny” on Broadway. Directed and choreographed by two-time Tony Award-winner Kathleen Marshall (The Pajama Game, Wonderful Town), GREASE™ features book, music and lyrics by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. Additional songs from the film are by Barry Gibb, John Farrar, Louis St. Louis and Scott Simon. GREASE™ features scenic design by Tony Award winner Derek McLane (33 Variations), costume design by two-time Tony Award winner Martin Pakledinaz (Thoroughly Modern Millie, Kiss Me Kate), lighting design by Tony Award winner Kenneth Posner (The Coast of Utopia, Wicked) and sound design by Brian Ronan (Spring Awakening, Curtains). GREASE™ is produced on tour by Paul Nicholas and David Ian, Nederlander Presentations, Inc. and Terry Allen Kramer by arrangement with Robert Stigwood. FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE VISIT: www.greaseontour.com GREASE™ will play Tuesday, February 23 through Sunday, February 28. Performances are Tuesday through Thursday evenings at 7:30 pm, Friday evenings at 8:00 pm, Saturday at 2:00 pm and 8:00 pm, and Sunday at 1:00 pm and 6:30 pm. Prices start at $25 and vary depending on performance, seat location, and date of purchase. The Milwaukee engagement of GREASE™ is presented by Broadway Across America - Milwaukee and the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts as part of Time Warner Cable Broadway at the Marcus Center Series. # # # THE NATIONAL TOUR OF STARRING PLATINUM-SELLING SINGER/SONGWRITER AND “AMERICAN IDOL” WINNER TAYLOR HICKS WELCOMES NEW CAST MEMBERS LAURA D’ANDRE, ALLISON FISCHER, JESSE JP JOHNSON AND JAMISON SCOTT (January 21, 2010) The producers of the Tony Award nominated new Broadway production of GREASE™ are pleased to announced the following new cast members for the national tour: Laura D’Andre as “Rizzo,” Allison Fischer as “Patty Simcox,” Jesse JP Johnson as “Doody,” and Jamison Scott as “Eugene.” The new cast members join the tour in Charlotte, NC, where the show plays Ovens Auditorium December 1 – 6. As was previously announced, Lauren Ashley Zakrin stars as “Sandy.” Lauren Ashley Zakrin was most recently seen as the understudy for “Elle Woods” in the first national tour of Legally Blonde The Musical. She was a finalist on MTV’s “Legally Blonde The Musical: The Search for Elle Woods.” Laura D’Andre’s credits include Petra in A Little Night Music (White Plains) and Eponine in Les Miserables (San Diego). Allison Fischer originated the role of “Patty Simcox” in the new Broadway production of GREASE™ and the role of “Claudia” in the Broadway production of Lestat. Jesse JP Johnson appeared on Broadway and Off-Broadway in Xanadu, Glory Days and Altar Boyz. Jamison Scott originated the role of “Eugene” in the new Broadway production of GREASE™ and appeared in the Las Vegas companies of Hairspray and Saturday Night Fever. “American Idol” Season 5 winner Taylor Hicks continues to star as “Teen Angel.” Taylor Hicks made his debut on Broadway in the role. He achieved widespread fame in 2006 as a contestant on the hugely successful FOX singing competition “American Idol.”The tour also stars Will Blum as “Roger,” Bridie Carroll as “Jan,” Kate Morgan Chadwick as “Frenchy,” Kelly Felthous as “Marty,” Dominic Fortuna as “Vince Fontaine,” Roxie Lucas as “Miss Lynch,” David Ruffin as “Kenickie,” and Nick Verina as “Sonny.” The ensemble features Joseph Corella, Preston Ellis, Erin Henry, Ruby Lewis, Dayla Perkins, Mark Raumaker, Mike Russo, Matthew William Schmidt, Christina Sivrich and Elizabeth Stacey. After spending a hopelessly devoted summer with Sandy Dumbrowski, the new girl in town, Danny Zuko's world is thrown upside down when Sandy appears at Rydell High on the first day of school. What follows is a rock n' roll celebration of growin' up, cruisin' with friends and goin' steady. The new production of GREASE™ features songs from the smash hit 1978 motion picture for the first time ever in a Broadway production including “Sandy,” the Academy Award nominated song “Hopelessly Devoted to You,” “Grease” and “You’re the One That I Want” - both of which were #1 hits on the Billboard Top 100 list. These songs will be heard in addition to the Jacobs/Casey songs made famous by the original stage production: “Summer Nights,” “Greased Lightnin’” and “We Go Together.” Directed and choreographed by two-time Tony Award-winner Kathleen Marshall (The Pajama Game, Wonderful Town), GREASE™ features book, music and lyrics by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. Additional songs from the movie are by Barry Gibb, John Farrar, Louis St. Louis and Scott Simon. GREASE™ features scenic design by Tony Award winner Derek McLane (33 Variations), costume design by two-time Tony Award winner Martin Pakledinaz (Thoroughly Modern Millie, Kiss Me Kate), lighting design by Tony Award winner Kenneth Posner (The Coast of Utopia, Wicked) and sound design by Brian Ronan (Spring Awakening, Curtains). GREASE™ is produced on tour by Paul Nicholas and David Ian, Nederlander Presentations, Inc. and Terry Allen Kramer by arrangement with Robert Stigwood. # # # All press materials are available through Molly Sommerhalder at 414-273-7121 ext. 399. Please note to use all photo credits provided by Molly. FACTS AND FIGURES ON THE ALL-AMERICAN MUSICAL ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● [GREASE: ON BROADWAY • GREASE features book, music and lyrics by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. • GREASE originated in Chicago and made its premiere at The Kingston Mines Theater in 1971. • GREASE made its off-Broadway premiere at the Eden Theater on February 14, 1972. • The original Broadway production of GREASE opened at the Broadhurst Theatre on June 7, 1972. • The original Broadway company of GREASE starred Barry Bostwick (Danny), Carole Demas (Sandy), Adrienne Barbeau (Rizzo), Timothy Meyers (Kenickie) and Walter Bobbie (Roger). • GREASE was nominated for 7 Tony Awards during its spectacular initial Broadway run. • GREASE closed on Broadway after 3,388 performances, closing as the longest running musical in Broadway history. • A Broadway revival opened at the Eugene O’Neill Theater on May 11, 1994 and played 1,503 performances. • Over the years, alumni of Rydell High have included John Travolta, Olivia Newton- John, Stockard Channing, Richard Gere, Patrick Swayze, Debbie Gibson, Frankie Avalon, Davy Jones, Chubby Checker, Lucy Lawless, Marilu Henner, Rosie O’Donnell, Linda Blair, Debby Boone, Sheena Easton, Jasmine Guy, Mackenzie Phillips, Brooke Shields, Dannii Minogue and Megan Mullally. GREASE: THE MOVIE AND SOUNDTRACK • 1978, GREASE became a hugely popular feature film starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John in the lead roles of “Danny” and “Sandy.” • The film version of GREASE produced one of the best-selling soundtracks in history. • The two Travolta/Newton-John duets, “You’re The One That I Want” and “Summer Nights” were both #1 hits and appear on the United Kingdom’s All- Time Best-Selling Singles list. • The song “Hopelessly Devoted to You” was nominated for an Academy Award (1979) for Best Music - Original Song. • “Grease” was a #1 smash hit single for singer Frankie Valli. “GREASE: YOU’RE THE ONE THAT I WANT” • NBC’s talent competition series “GREASE: You’re the One that I Want” aired 12 weeks of auditions for the lead roles of “Sandy” and “Danny” for the new Broadway production. • Thousands of hopefuls turned out at auditions in Chicago, New York and Los Angeles. • Approximately 90 million people tuned in over the course of 12 weeks to see who would win the coveted lead roles in the musical (approximately 7.5 million viewers per episode). • The Broadway production of GREASE would have to completely sell out every performance each day of the year for 18 years in order to reach the same amount of people who saw one episode of “GREASE: You’re the One that I Want.” • The winning duo was announced live on the series finale at 8 p.m. on Sunday, March 25, 2007. 29 million votes were logged, making Max Crumm and Laura Osnes http://www.marcuscenter.org/documents/Grease%20press%20kit.pdf Edited by mouser, Feb 5 2010, 07:11 AM.
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| Gr8fulheart | Feb 5 2010, 08:40 AM Post #2 |
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Wow! This Grease thing isn't just big ~ Its Huge! This is the first time I've seen where Patrick Swayzee was involved. Where have I been?  I loved Patrick as an actor. That guy could dance! 
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| Oldiebutgoodie | Feb 6 2010, 08:36 AM Post #3 |
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I can imagine Patrick Swayze as Kenicke and making "Greased Lightning" really "greasy"!! As far as Davy Jones, I can only hope it was as Vince Fontaine or Teen Angel, because that accent just wouldn't work any other way- One name I thought of when I read the list of characters was Elvis-HE would have been fantastic as Danny-and of course with it being Elvis there would have been no other part- |
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| mouser | Feb 6 2010, 09:49 AM Post #4 |
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Yep. Davy Jones was the Teen Angel. Couldn't find a video of him doing Beauty School Dropout, but he is so short that I hope Frenchy at the time was under 5'2". LOL Patrick Swayze played Danny. There were three women who played Teen Angel ( just can't get a visual or vocal on that ) . Darlene Love , who was a doowopper. Jennifer Holliday was in the Broadway Revival, 1994 as a replacement for Teen Angel Mary Bond Davis was also a replacement in the 1994 production of Grease . Both Ms. Holliday and Ms. Davis replaced the original Billy Porter ( who was fabulous ). I really think that Frankie Avalon ( because of his star quality at the time and because of the movie version ), Billy Porter ( because of his awesome vocal rendition of Beauty School Dropout ) and Taylor Hicks ( because of his original interpretation of the character, the unique costume and the introduction of instrumentation to the song ) should be considered the most powerful Angels. Billy Porter with the doowop chorus . Talk about over the top !!!! |
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| BEARSON | Feb 6 2010, 07:21 PM Post #5 |
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Any one know IF Taylor will be having a Shadow show???? In Milwaulkee I hope so, but haven't heard anything yet. |
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| Gr8fulheart | Feb 6 2010, 09:29 PM Post #6 |
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I haven't seen or heard of anything planned yet Bearson. It would be nice if he slipped one in there. Here's hoping for you♥ |
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| Gr8fulheart | Feb 6 2010, 09:31 PM Post #7 |
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The Billy Porter version was ~ well, lets just say it reminded me of Adam Lambert. 
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| mouser | Feb 18 2010, 12:22 PM Post #8 |
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: Taylor Hicks comes home to Milwaukee Taylor Hicks plays Teen Angel in "Grease" next week at the Marcus Center. By Tim Cuprisin Media Columnist Published Feb. 18, 2010 The Alabama in his voice proves Taylor Hicks doesn't come from around these parts, but the 2006 "American Idol" winner did spend a lot of time here a couple years back. And when he arrives for next week's run of "Grease" at the Marcus Center, he expects to revisit some local haunts. "I definitely might pop up in some clubs in Milwaukee for sure," Hicks said in a Wednesday phone conversation. "I might just go club-hopping with my harmonica." Hicks plays "Teen Angel" in the national tour of "Grease," a role he started in a Broadway revival of the 1950s-themed musical. But in addition to the role -- played in the film version by Frankie Avalon -- he performs one of his own songs after the play ends. "The single I perform is "Seven Mile Breakdown," and it's off the "The Distance," the record. I just think it's really a grassroots way to get out and meet with the fans night in and night out." His part is "Grease" may be small, but Hicks said it's the perfect size for this point in his post-"Idol" career. "It allows me to get my feet wet in acting and musical theater that will lead to bigger roles," he said, revealing some of his career strategy. "This is a marathon, not a sprint, as far as a career is concerned. The smaller parts and the smarter parts that you play, the better your chances are to build the arc, so to speak, with your career." He enjoys the extended periods he stays in a city, as opposed to one-night stands on a musical tour. Hicks is finishing up a two-week run of "Grease" in Washington, D.C.. And he experienced the massive snowstorm that hit the nation's capital. "I compare it to some of the snowstorms that I've seen in Milwaukee," leading him to wax nostalgically about Milwaukee. "Loved it," he continued. "I hate to say it, but I wanted to experience in Milwaukee in the winter." You may recall that back in 2007, when he was spending a lot of time in Milwaukee and even got a house in town, Hicks was the subject of national tabloid reports linking him to Caroline Lyders, then an anchor/reporter for Channel 12. Neither talked publicly about their relationship, other than saying they were friends. Lyders is now an anchor at WJLA-TV, the ABC affiliate in Washington, D.C., so I asked Hicks if he had talked to her during his weeks there. His answer was a simple, straight-forward "No... Period." http://onmilwaukee.com/movies/articles/taylorhicks.html?21788 |
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| Gr8fulheart | Feb 19 2010, 09:49 AM Post #9 |
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Is the Morning Blend suppose to be live today? Can't seem to find any streaming of the show? |
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| mouser | Feb 19 2010, 10:01 AM Post #10 |
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Good question. We may be able to find it at this link: Regardless, they put podcasts up of their interviews. Hope it is LIVE http://www.todaystmj4.com/ |
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