Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Thursday Thirteen #18: Grease Is the Word



Thirteen people who appeared on stage in the musical Grease

When it comes to long-running theater properties, "Grease" is in a class by itself. Not only do performers get the chance to sing and dance, but some are afforded the opportunity to portray teenagers when in reality they are probably getting ready for their 10-year high school reunion (at the very least). Below are 13 famous names who treaded the boards in the play about life and love at Rydell High.

1. Adrienne Barbeau- best known for playing Bea Arthur's daughter Carol on the sitcom "Maude", Barbeau was the original Rizzo in the 1972 production. For her role in "Grease", Barbeau was nominated for a Tony Award (Best Featured Actress In A Musical).

2. Barry Bostwick- Bostwick (Spin City, The Rocky Horror Picture Show) originated the role of Danny Zuko in the play's original Broadway run. Just like Barbeau, Bostwick was also a Tony Award nominee (Best Featured Actor In A Musical).

3. Chubby Checker- the King of the Dance Songs (The Twist, Pony Time, Limbo Rock, etc.) appeared on Broadway as the "Teen Angel" during the mid 90s revival of the musical.

4. Micky Dolenz- the ex-Monkee played Vince Fontaine on Broadway during the mid 90s revival.

5. Peter Gallagher- the "O.C." star was a replacement Danny Zuko during Grease's original run.

6. Richard Gere- before achieving movie stardom, Gere played Danny during the original London production of "Grease" back in 1973. He also served as an understudy for several roles in the original Broadway production.

7. Ilene Graff- best known as the mom on the ABC sitcom "Mr. Belvedere", Graff was a replacement "Sandy Dumbrowski" during the play's original run.

8. Jasmine Guy- best known as "Whitley Gilbert" on the long-running college sitcom "A Different World", Jasmine played Rizzo during the mid 90s revival.

9. Marilu Henner- the actress, talk show host and best-selling author was a replacement "Marty" during the 1970s.

10. Mimi Kennedy- best known as "Abby" on the sitcom "Dharma and Greg", Mimi was a replacement "Jan" during the original run of Grease.

11. Ilene Kristen- currently starring as "Roxy" on the ABC soap "One Life To Live", Ilene originated the role of the peppy Patty Simcox on Broadway in 1972.

12. John Travolta- years before playing Danny Zuko on the big screen, he was a replacement "Doody" during the original Broadway run.

13. Tracey Ullman- the award-winning actress/singer/comedienne appeared as beauty school dropout Frenchy during the 1979 London revival.

If you haven't already, please feel free to vote in this week's American Idol-themed poll (located in the upper left part of the sidebar).

Leave your link in comments, so that others can visit you.


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The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!


56 comments:

Holly Smith said...

That's so cool that J. Travolta played a lesser known role before he made it big. For some reason I can't stand Barry Bostwick (sp?). He gives me the creeps. He always hosts those 4th of July specials at the Capitol....maybe I'm just weird. Also, it was neat to learn about Marilu Henner and Mimi Kennedy. I like both of them a lot. Great TT this week!

Country Dawn said...

Richard Gere!!!

Huh! Who knew??

Susan Helene Gottfried said...

Wow. Lots of names I'd have never guessed -- Gere, Guy, and ... Adrienne Barbeau??? Swamp Thing (right?)!!!

That's awesome, Malcolm!

Chelle Y. said...

I actually watched the reality show this summer where you vote for who you wanted to play Sandy and Danny in the new release of the Broadway shows. My picks won and I hope they come out here to the Bay Area one day!

I would love to see it live!

Cynthia said...

No way...Barry Bostwick! Who knew, great list!

ellen b. said...

What a fun musical this is. Thanks for the TT!
http://happywonderer.wordpress.com/2007/10/24/thursday-thirteen-6-odd-town-names/

Sandee said...

Cool, some of this I didn't know. Great job. Have a wonderful TT. :)

SJ Reidhead said...

Confession - I've never seen Grease!

SJ Reidhead
The Pink Flamingo
http://thepinkflamingo.blogharbor.com/blog

Jackie said...

I had NO idea!! Great TT!


Happy TT:)

jenn said...

Wow. I never knew all those people played in Grease at one time or another. Great list.
Happy TT!

Janet said...

Mickey Dolenz was always my fav Monkee ;-)

Oh, man I miss "A Different World"...great show!

Pea in a Pod said...

Oh Richard Gere! :)Great lists here!

Mine is up here;
Thursday Thirteen!
Happy TT!

The Gal Herself said...

#4 is either inspired casting or "Spinal Tap" sad. Can't decide which! (Thanks for visiting mine and leaving the Bogart quote.)

Dreamer said...

we did this play in high school. it was so much fun. great tt!

:-)

Crux said...

Great list! I had no idea that Micky from the Monkeys was in Grease (or most of the others, for that matter).

Mine is at Buck Naked Politics.

Lori said...

Richard Gere?? Really?? I didnt know he had that kind of talent...Great info. Happy TT.

MamaGeek @ Works For Us said...

Wow, I knew none of this. SO interesting!

Addicted to crafting said...

I love love grease!!!! :)

Malcolm said...

Holly: Although he doesn't bother me, I can see why Barry Bostwick would give someone the creeps. Do you remember Marilu Henner's talk show? She had a mini-Grease reunion on one episode. Adrienne Barbeau and Jeff Conaway were two of the "Greasers" who appeared.

I didn't know about Mimi Kennedy appearing as Jan until yesterday. However, I can definitely see her in the role (Brusha brusha brusha. It's the brand new flavor).

Susan Helene: Yup, Adrienne was in the cinematic masterpiece "Swamp Thing".

Chelle Y.: If memory serves me, you are quite the theater buff, right?

SJ Reidhead: It's all good. You'd be amazed at some of the blockbuster films that I haven't seen.

Janet: Micky was my favorite Monkee too. I think he was an underrated comedic talent. Although it's totally unrelated, I now can't get the Miracles' song "Mickey's Monkey" out of my head.

The Gal Herself: Since I am in an optimistic mood, I say that Micky Dolenz as Vince Fontaine was inspired casting.

Morgan Leigh: Were you a spectator or a participant in your school's production of Grease?

Lori: My guess is that his experience in "Grease" prepared him for his role in the movie version of "Chicago".

Lori aka A Cowboy's Wife said...

I Love musicals!! One of my favorites is A Chorus Line. I love Grease though!!

Joyismygoal said...

Wow. I never knew they all played in Grease

Yuriko said...

So cool! I had no idea!

Cecily R said...

No way! Really? Peter Gallager? Richard Gere? What a great list!!!

katherine. said...

I'm sending this on to my daughter...she loves this musical..great idea!

Robin said...

I can still remember being away at sleepaway camp and singing the entire Grease soundtrack with my bunkmates.

MeL said...

Whoa! I didn't knew that those people participated in the musical Grease. Tnx for the info! ;)

Lori said...

Even though I enjoy some of the songs from Grease, I've never seen the stage production or the movie. When I think of Grease the only two names to come to mind are John Tavolta and Olivia Newton John. So thanks for the education.

The Mistress of the Dark said...

Didn't Davy Jones play Fontaine too? I know he was in the touring company for a time back in the 90's.

Madame Queen said...

Wow, that was kind of cool! Grease is one of my faves (though I have to shamefully admit that I prefer Grease 2!).

thanks for visiting my TT!

Anonymous said...

What a cool list. Since I was only four in 72 I didn't make it to the original, but I remember the movie. I must have been in about the fifth grade.

I never actually knew there was an original until your TT. Again, cool list!

Ann Aguirre said...

I didn't know that about Richard Gere or Mickey Dolenz. Or Tracy Ullman for that matter.

Very interesting!

Unknown said...

I can so not see Barry Bostwick as Danny Zucko, he seems too nerdy.
Very interesting and informational T13

Xakara said...

I knew about Jasmine Guy. She was playing Rizzo at time in her life she wasn't particularly happy about it. I remember she mentioned getting ready for a rehearsal and looking out the window to see Bring da Funk, Bring da Noize playing next door and wondering what in the world she was doing in Grease when she should have been across the street.

I've never managed to see a professional production of the play, so for me Rizzo will forever be Stockard Channing. :)

Thanks for a great list, Malcolm

Happy TT

~Xakara <------Please use this link rather than Blogger

nikki the red said...

i was a musical theatre major, so i loved this tt!

mine: http://www.shebecameabutterfly.net/?p=209

k said...

fun list! happy tt!

Angela/SciFiChick said...

Tracey Ullman? Who would have ever picked her for the role? lol

Malcolm said...

Katherine: I hope your daughter enjoys reading this.

Robin: Me and one of my relatives used to pretend we were T-Birds and sing some of the tunes from the movie.

Lori (of the Old School Mix): You should check out the movie sometime. Although it's not a great movie (that statement may be blasphemous to some), it is good and campy. If you do catch it, let me know what you think.

Mistress of the D: I know that Davy Jones appeared in one of the productions. However, I am not sure if he played Vince Fontaine or the Teen Angel.

Madame Queen: Grease 2 over Grease?! And I thought that me calling Grease merely a good movie was blasphemous. :) Seriously, I like that you have the guts to admit that.

Grease 2 is one of those movies that I'll bet Michelle Pfeiffer wish she could erase from her resume'. She probably still has people coming up to her spelling "C-O-O-L R-I-D-E-R".

Sassy Lucy: I think a lot of people picture Barry Bostwick as Brad from "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" or the bumbling mayor from "Spin City".

Xakara: I had no idea that Jasmine wasn't really down with her appearance in Grease. That's a funny story about her looking put the window across the street.

Nikki the Red: Thanks for stopping by. Since you were a musical theatre major, a lot of this TT may have been old news to you.

BookMama said...

Great post, Malcolm! I never would have gussed that most of those people were in Grease. Even Micky Dolenz?

Your lists are always so much fun!

Malcolm said...

Sci-Fi Chick: Maybe it's just me, but I can totally see Tracey Ullman as Frenchy... pink hair and all.

Book Mama: Thanks for the props! I didn't know that Micky Dolenz was in Grease either until I started doing research for this TT.

Cindy Swanson said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Cindy Swanson said...

I knew about a few of these, but I had no idea so many well-known actors were in "Grease." Interesting!

Patti said...

Very cool. Grease is my fave movie ... but I didn't know so much about the actors on stage. Interesting that John Travolta was cast for Doody ... or that Tracey Ullman was Frenchie. Weird! Happy Thursday!

Elle Fredrix said...

Huh. I've gotta say I'm surprised by some of these! Gere!

david mcmahon said...

What a terrific post. I didn't know about Adrienne Barbeau ....

pjazzypar said...

Adrienne Barbeau and Stockard Channing really needed to quit. They were way too far down the road to be playing seventeen year olds. For heavens sake, Adrienne was playing the mother of an eleven year on "Maude" around the same time.

J. Lynne said...

Wow, I always thought Barry got his start in Rocky Horror.

I would have loved to see Mickey Dolenz.

Wasn't Rosie O'Donnell in it for a while too? Or am I thinking about Ricki Lake?

Sonya said...

I had no idea Chubby Checker did this! And Richard Gere and Jasmine Guy....wow! Very cool list!

Thanks for stopping by my place and just to clarify...I do brush my teeth before going to the dentist but I always worry that I'll still have something stuck! LOL! Have a great Thursday!

Kendra said...

grease is awesome... a fav of mine for years!

happy TT and thanks for stopping by!

Samantha_K said...

Do you have any idea how much I love Grease? My dream is to play Rizzo on stage.
They interviewed Adrienne Barbeau on the radio a few weeks ago. Apparently she does B grade horror flicks now.
Happy Thursday!

The Rock Chick said...

Wow. I had no idea that a lot of these people had even done broadway shows...I think Brooke Shields portrayed Rizzo during one run, too...I'll have to look that up :)

Jessica

Denise Patrick said...

I didn't know that about Grease. Great play!! And, can't vote in your poll, sorry. I don't watch AI.

Happy TT!

Malcolm said...

Patti: Doing the Thursday Thirteen can be very informative for me too. I knew that John Travolta appeared in the stage version, but I didn't know he played Doody until I did a research for this TT.

Pjazzy: When it came to filling the roles of the high schoolers, I wonder why the producers usu. chose aging performers. Although she was 26 when she took the role, Adrienne Barbeau is the youngest Rizzo that I know about. In addition to Stockard, some of the other 30-something Rizzos were Jasmine Guy, Rosie O'Donnell, and Maureen McCormick (who was almost 40). Heck, I am starting to think that it's become a tradition that the actress playing Rizzo be at least 30 years old. Similar to the tradition of Edna Turnblad in "Hairspray" always being played by a man.

J. Lynne: Yes, Rosie played Rizzo in the mid 90s revival. To the best of my knowledge, Ricki Lake hasn't played Rizzo. Although I wouldn't be surprised if she did.

Sonya: I didn't know about Chubby Checker being in Grease until a few days ago. The same goes for a lot of the others that I listed.

I know what you mean about brushing (but still worrying about food particles) before going to the dentist... and I use an electric toothbrush! lol

Samantha: When I first visited your blog a couple of weeks ago, I noticed in your profile that Grease was one of your favorite films. Given the practice of producers to hire 30 something actresses to play Rizzo, I think you might have to wait at least 5 years before the producers would consider you. :-)

I just looked up Adrienne Barbeau on imdb.com and found that one of her recent credits was something called "Unholy". It looks like she does a lot of voice work also. That can be very lucrative from what I hear.

Jessica: I hadn't heard from you in awhile... welcome back! You are correct, Brooke played Rizzo during the mid 90s revival.

Malcolm said...

Denise: I don't know if you are aware of this, but by not watching AI you deprived yourself of the vocal prowess of the one and only William Hung.

Julia Phillips Smith said...

'Grease' was definitely the word while I was a young teenager. We used to sing the songs from the soundtrack and act out everything. I was lucky to work at a live theatre in Toronto when a touring show of 'Grease' came through - it was so much fun.

X. Dell said...

When you said celebrities appearing in Grease onstage, I thought you meant something else.

Kinda disappointing. I had this cool image in my head of them slipping and sliding around.

Malcolm said...

Julia: Seeing "Grease" onstage must have been really something. I never really thought about it before, but maybe I'll try to see the stage version sometime.

X. Dell: I like the way your mind works. Just think if I did a post on performers who were in "Bubbling Brown Sugar" or "The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas".

 
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