The producers of the Tony Award nominated new Broadway production of GREASE™ are pleased to recognize the one year anniversary of the show’s first national tour. The cast celebrated this exciting milestone this week during the tour’s stop in Charlotte, N.C. This engagement also marked the addition of the following new cast members to the national tour: Ace Young as “Danny,” Laura D’Andre as “Rizzo,” Allison Fischer as “Patty Simcox,” Jesse JP Johnson as “Doody,” and Jamison Scott as “Eugene.” The tour also stars Lauren Ashley Zakrin as “Sandy.”
The tour opened Dec. 2, 2008 in Providence, R.I. and is slated to run until the June 1 – 13 engagement at the Opera House in Boston.
Ace Young made his Broadway debut in GREASE™ in the role of “Kenickie” last fall. An “American Idol” finalist in Season 5 and a Grammy nominated songwriter, Ace has guest-starred on Fox’s “Bones,” co-hosted “American Idol Extra” and co-produced his debut album, Ace Young.
Lauren Ashley Zakrin continues to star 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.”
“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.”
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.
The national tour of GREASE™ continues as follows:
- December 1 – 6, at Ovens Auditorium, Charlotte, NC
- December 8 – 13, at the Overture Center for the Arts, Madison, WI
- December 15 – 20, at the Chevrolet Theatre, Wallingford, CT
- January 12 – 24, at the Fox Theatre, St Louis, MO
- January 26 – 31, at Proctor’s Theatre, Schenectady, NY
- February 9 – 21, at the National Theatre, Washington DC
- February 23 – 28, at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts, Milwaukee, WI
- March 9 – 14, at the Benedum Center, Pittsburgh, PA
- March 16 – 21, at the Auditorium Theatre, Rochester, NY
- March 23 – 28, at Shea’s Performing Arts Center, Buffalo, NY
- April 7 – 18, at the Canon Theatre, Toronto, ONT
- April 20 -25, at the Hershey Theatre, Hershey, PA
- April 27 – May 2, at the Times Union Center, Jacksonville, FL
- May 4 – 9, at the Walton Arts Center, Fayetteville, AR
- May 11 – 23, at the Palace Theatre, Cleveland, OH
- June 1 – 13, at the Opera House, Boston, MA
The North Carolina Blumenthal Performing Arts Center serves the Carolinas as a leading cultural, entertainment and education provider. For more information, call (704) 372-1000 or visit BlumenthalCenter.org. The Center receives operating support from the Arts & Science Council and the North Carolina Arts Council. The Center is also supported through the generous aid of its sponsors, including U.S. Airways, Official Airline of Blumenthal Performing Arts Center; Presbyterian Hospital, the preferred healthcare provider for the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center; and Duke Energy, sponsor of the Duke Energy Broadway Lights Series.
Photo credit: Daniel A. Swalec
The Cast of Grease
Dominic Fortuna and Taylor Hicks
