Taylor Hicks had a surprise in store for the audience attending last Saturday evening's performance June 6th with prop that stopped the show with laughter and applause. While on stage in Appleton, Wisconsin (the CHEESE state), Hicks decided to surprise the local audience when he appears from inside the ice cream cone by wearing a cheese hat!
Kate Morgan Chadwick, who plays Frenchy, quipped: "As if this number could get any cheesier!"
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. Produced by Simon Climie (Eric Clapton, Carlos Santana, Faith Hill), the album was released on Hicks' Modern Whomp Records label.
Born in Birmingham, Alabama, Taylor Hicks' passion for music began at an early age. He toured the Southeastern Unites States during his teenage years and released two independent albums. Known for his energetic performances with influences derived from classic soul, blues and R&B music, he quickly grew a large fan base among the millions of viewers and voters who tuned in to "Idol" each week. His fans ultimately dubbed themselves the "Soul Patrol." Immediately following "Idol," Hicks signed a recording contract with 19 Records Limited / Arista Records. His debut single, "Do I Make You Proud," debuted in the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 and was subsequently certified Gold. His eponymous debut album, Taylor Hicks was released on December 12, 2006 and debuted in the #2 spot on the Billboard 200 charts and was later certified as a Platinum Album. Since becoming Season 5 winner of "American Idol," Taylor Hicks has seen his self-titled debut album certified platinum, performed with Willie Nelson, Widespread Panic, The Allman Brothers and Jackson Browne, toured through Asia, and penned the Random House memoir Heart Full of Soul.
This new production of 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 America voted 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), GREASETM 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.
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."
GREASE features scenic design by Tony Award nominee Derek McLane (The Pajama Game), 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.
