L-R: Witney Carson, Vanilla Ice, and Peta Murgatroyd.
Hiya, Peta! This 2-time Mirror Ball winner and the Show’s Reigning Pro Champion was spotted seated in DWTS' always-happening Red Room, enjoying the night's festivities! Carlos and Alexa PenaVega:
Carlos and Alexa PenaVega (over Tom's right shoulder!)
The dancing Husband and Wife duo of Season 21 – who finished in 4th and 6th Place respectively – and DWTS' only Celebrity Married Couple to have competed against one another within the same Season, could be seen seated ringside for the Ballroom’s Tuesday Night Results Show, cheering on Season 23’s Competitors and Carlos’ former Pro Partner, Witney Carson!
Dancing
With The Stars’ Season 22 Premiere was jam-packed FULL of Celebs and familiar faces returning once more to the Ballroom for Week 01’s grand event!
Alfonso
Ribeiro and Angela Unkrich: DWTS’
beloved Season 19 Mirror Ball Champion, Alfonso,
was present with his Wife, Angela;
seated on the front row and enjoying the exciting night’s festivities!
Victor
Ortiz: This
Professional Boxer and Season 16’s 8th Place Alumnist was there to
root for his former Pro partner, Lindsay
Arnold!
Robin
Roberts and Amy Robach: The Good Morning America
Anchors showed up to cheer on their co-Worker and GMA’s Chief Meteorologist, Ginger
Zee.
Willow
Shields: The Hunger Games Actress and
youngest Star to have ever competed on the show to date (at age 14), this Season
20 Contestant was there to show support for her former Dance partner, Mark Ballas, and his new
Celebrity, Paige VanZant.
Carlos
and Alexa PenaVega: Hey, the PenaVegas are
back! This former, celebrity Dancing Duo
took part last Season, making official DWTS
History as the show’s only ever Competing Married Couple.
Finishing in 4and 6th Place
respectively, Carlos and Alexa were, of course, there and
seated ring-side in order to properly cheer for their Season 21 Pros, Witney Carson and Mark Ballas.
Danica
McKellar:Child Star and Season 18 Alum, Danica,
was present to root for her former Dance partner, Valentin Chmerkovskiy and Season 22 Contestant, Ginger Zee.
Nastia
Liukin:Season 20’s
4th Place Semifinalist (along with her then Professional dance
partner, Derek Hough),Nastia returned to the Ballroom
once more in order to enjoy Season 22’s enthralling Premiere!
Leah
Remini: The
endeared DWTS “regular” and Season 17
Semifinalist was yet again present within the Ballroom to root for her former
Pro, Tony Dovolani, and his
new Celebrity partner, Marla Maples!
Chris
Soules: The former Bachelor and Season 20 Contestant (along
with his then Professional partner, Witney
Carson) could be seen chatting it up with All Access Host Dominic
Bowden!
Carson
Kressley: The Queer Eye on the Straight Guy
star and a former DWTS Competitor.
Kym
Johnson: DWTS’ newly Engaged and
beloved 2-time Mirror Ball Champion could be seen after the show’s Competition,
ham-ing it up with some of the Ballroom’s live, Celebrity Audience members, in correlation
with All Access Host, Dominic Bowden!
Nico
and Neal DiMarco: The Fraternal Twin (Nico)
and older Brother (Neal) of
Season 22 Contestant, Neal DiMarco, were present in the Ballroom and able to enthusiastically
cheer on their favorite Competitor when he blew away Viewers (of both the live
Audience, and those watching at home) with his incredible Cha-Cha!
Urijah Faber:UFC’s Mixed Martial Artist,Bantamweight Fighter and WEC’s Featherweight Champion (2006-‘07), “The
California Kid” was there to root for fellow UFC Alumnist, Season 22’sPaige VanZant, and her Professional
partner,Mark Ballas!
Get ready, dwtslovers,
because School’s just about in and Riverdale High is opening its doors once
more to its iconic, musical students in an all new Fox production, Grease: Live!
Grease: LIVE!
That’s right, folks! Danny, Sandy, and the gang are back, ready to kick off yet another semester of hopeless devotion, greased lighting, and hand jiving fun!
Grease: LIVE!
Starring more than its fair share of well known faces from the world of song and dance Musicals, the highly anticipated, live event is set to be headlined by none other than beloved Emmy winner, Julianne Hough (DWTS’ 2-time Mirror Ball Champion / Judge, and Footloose - 2013),
DWTS Judge and 2-time Mirror Ball Champion, Julianne Hough
and Aaron Tveit (Les Miserables - 2011)
Aaron Tveit
in the lead roles of “Summer” lovers-turned High School sweethearts, Sandy Olsson and Danny Zuko!
Grease: LIVE!
Of course, joining the lovebirds back in class will
be the mischief-making Pink Ladies, with Vanessa
Hudgens (High School Musical
Trilogy - 2006, 2007, 2008) having been cast in the part of Rizzo,
Vanessa Hudgens as Rizzo
Vanessa Hudgens as Rizzo
Singer/Songwriter Carly Rae Jepsen
(“Call Me Maybe” - 2012, and “I Really Like You” - 2015) as Frenchy,
Carly Rae Jepson as Frenchy
Carly Rae Jepson as Frenchy
Kether Donohue (Pitch Perfect – 2012) as Jan,
Kether Donohue as Jan
and Keke Palmer (Jump In - 2007) as Marty!
Keke Palmer as Marty
Zuko’s T-Bird posse will naturally be included as
well, with Carlos PenaVega (Big time Rush - 2008-2013, and DWTS’ Season 21 Finalist) in the role of
Kenickie,
Carlos PenaVega as Kenickie
Broadway Alum Andrew Call
as Sonny,
Andrew Call as Sonny
David Del Rio as
Putzie (Geek Charming – 2011 and Pitch Perfect – 2012),
David Del Rio as Putzie
and Jordan Fisher (Teen Beach Movie - 2013, Teen Beach Movie 2 - 2015) as Doody!
Jordan Fisher as Doody
Also joining in on the 1950’s-inspired fun will be
famous Actor and former DWTS Finalist
(Season 03), Mario Lopez, in
the role of Host Vince Fontaine; AND one of Pop Music’s superstars,
Singer/Songwriter Jesse J,
will open the show with the singing of the original film’s hit, opening theme,
“Grease (Is the Word)”!
Jesse J
“There’s no pressure like being the first one on
stage,” disclosed Jesse,
according to Billboard.com,
concerning her all-too important role in the positive outcome of the upcoming
show, “I love that rush of the nerves I’m going to get, I just feel very
honored and very lucky that I’ve been asked to experience something like this.” The popular Artist also went on to disclose that she
has been given a little leeway, in the form of Artistic License, to put her
own, personal spin on the Frankie Vali
classic.
“… I’ve definitely kind of thrown in what I kind of
like to do … Just put a little bit of me in it.”
Brought back from the past and vividly re-introduced to a modern generation of Music lovers, Grease: Live! will strive to walk that thin line that separates “Beloved Classic” and “Fresh Take”.
Grease: LIVE! With Julianne Hough as Sandy and Aaron Tveit as Danny
“I think we’re very much doing our own slant on it,”
explained the show’s Director, Alex
Rudzinski, who has reportedly directed over 500 hours of live
television for the widely popular Reality/Dance program, Dancing With The Stars, “It would be fickle to try to do a copycat
live broadcast.This is a live TV
production.If you get too close then all
people will do all night is just compare take for take and you open yourself up
for problems.”
“Own slant” is right!In addition to the original movie’s greatly
endeared Musical Score, Grease: Live!
is also set to feature an ALL-NEW original piece, “All I need is an Angel”,
worked up especially for Singer Jepsen’s
portrayal of the well-meaning Frenchy, and due the live event’s Primetime
airing slot. In the cases of the production’s more Adult Songs and content,
“school-sanctioned” versions of the Lyrics will be used instead of the originals,
according to latimes.com.
In what is possibly an even further effort to meld the
past with the present, Didi Conn,
class of 1978 (Get it?), is also set to make an appearance, right along the
side of the hit Musical’s newest performers.
Conn,
who played the loveable Frenchy of the 70’s film,
Didi Conn in Grease (1978)
will switch roles in this most recent Grease adaption, playing the part of Viola (or “Vi”, if you geeks prefer!), the Frosty Palace waitress who lends a sympathetic ear to the character Frenchy’s academic woes and misadventures.
“ … It’s amazing … it’s like the generations staring
at each other!” Singer/Actress Hudgens
has related of Conn and Jepsen’s Diner scene together.
Didi
would seem to think so too, recently gushing about the live production, “It’s
just so exciting. They really capture
the DNA of the show – the friendship, the love … I hope that people just get up
and dance along.”
And it appears that Didi isn’t the only ecstatic participant of the modern Cast’s massive theatrical undertaking …
“Grease is
one of the movies that made me want to be an entertainer,” The show’s Star, Hough, has dished, according to fasionnstyle.com, “… I have literally
been waiting my whole life to play Sandy … This is my dream role and performing it live on television will be one of the most thrilling opportunities I’ve had in my career so far,”
Julianne Hough as Sandy
“Being Rizzo is something I’ve never imagined,” admitted the veritable “Disney Princess”, Vanessa Hudgens, of her casting as one of the show’s darker characters, “… I love that because it will be a new challenge,”
Vanessa Hudgens as Rizzo
Of course, recreating such a beloved, Musical
classic must be, at some level or other, a nerve-wracking experience, to say
the least; but, kicking off live on January
31st at 7pm,
Grease: Live, whether widely loved or
ill-received, will likely be a most memorable event for many years to come, as
was duly expressed by Hudgens, according to latimes.com,
“… I remember thinking, ‘Are we actually doing this?’It’s sort of surreal to be a part of
introducing this iconic musical to a new generation.”
Grease: LIVE!
Check out these videos (below) to see even more great pics/info about Grease: LIVE! courtesy of Fox 's official YouTube Channel!
