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Entries tagged with 'Grease'
Posted Jul. 21, 2008,
Out With the Old and in With the New on Broadway!
By Whitney Spaner
This weekend saw many goodbyes on Broadway. Yesterday's Legally Blonde matinee marked Laura Bell Bundy's last performance as Elle Woods. Her replacement was found on the MTV reality show Legally Blonde the Musical: The Search for Elle Woods and will be announced on tonight's finale. Grease's stars Laura Osnes and Max Crumm who were also found on last spring's reality show You're the One that I Want, bowed for the last time as Sandy and Danny yesterday. Taking their place tomorrow night will be two other favorites from the TV show -- Ashley Spencer and Derek Keeting.
Passing Strange, the Tony-nominated musical celebrated for its rock style and un-Broadway-like production, written by downtown musician Stew, closed yesterday after Spike Lee taped two performances for release either theatrically or on cable, assuring that this won't be the last we hear from Stew and company.
In other news... Whoopi Goldberg is coming to Broadway on the 29th of July starring as one of the evil muses in Xanadu. She replaces Jackie Hoffman who is going on leave to promote an album and will be back Sept. 9th. It's a funny part and I'm sure Whoopi, who recently hosted the Tony Awards, will be a great fit.
Pictured are Laura and Max saying their final farewell as Danny Zuko and Sandy Dumbrowski yesterday. Photo from Broadwayworld.com
Posted Jun. 6, 2008,
Cody Green Wins Step It Up and Dance! Hurrah!
By Whitney Spaner
Although it goes without saying that all of my Curtain Cuties are destined for greatness I have to say that Grease castmember Cody Green has really accomplished a lot since I talked to him last fall. He was chosen to be on Bravo's new reality series Step It Up and Dance hosted by Elizabeth Berkeley and Jerry Mitchell and last night he was announced the winner! He won $100,000 and the prestige of being chosen by the talented judges panel which consisted of star choreographers Nancy O'Meara, Vincent Paterson along with Jerry and Elizabeth. Having caught up with him earlier this spring when the show started I didn't get the feeling that he had won. He's awfully good at keeping secrets! The only sad part for me was at the end when his girlfriend ran out and gave him a big kiss! Why can't that be me? So sad! But I'm still happy for him! Congrats Cody!
Visit Step It Up and Dance's website to see the recap of the finale and Cody's reaction on winning.
Posted Apr. 17, 2008,
Reality Bites: Step It Up and Dance's Cody Green
By Whitney Spaner
I first saw dancer, actor, singer Cody Green in this year’s Broadway revival of Grease starring the You’re the One That I Want reality show winners, and wrote about how cute and talented he was. Now he’s starring in Bravo's new reality show Step It Up and Dance, although when I asked him last August if he would ever take part in a reality show, he said no! But this one -- a competition between 12 dancers following a Project Runway or Top Chef type format hosted by Saved by the Bell’s Elizabeth Berkeley and star choreographer Jerry Mitchell in the sort of Tim Gunn role -- seems like it might have been a good choice. The show premiered two weeks ago and Cody's off to a slow start (one castmember said he had cliché white guy moves) and was put in an elimination group on the first episode -- but soon he won over the judges’ hearts and libidos when he gave it his all during a choreographed dance to the Spice Girls' “Spice Up Your Life”! Hope he keeps wowing them tonight! Of course how long he lasts on the show is a big secret, but he’s now back in Grease on Broadway, possibly $100,000 richer, and my dream man either way! I recently spoke to him over the phone.
Posted Nov. 29, 2007,
Broadway is Back in Business!!
By Whitney Spaner
Broadway is back on tonight! After 19 days of the stagehand strike, the 27 shows that have been dark are opening back up tonight. Today was craziness in Times Square with photo-ops for all the shows and open rehearsals. The Chorus Line cast even performed a number in the middle! I stopped by Grease’s three hour refresher rehearsal this afternoon at Chelsea Studios and asked stars Laura Osnes and Max Crumm what they’d been doing with all their free time!
True to Danny form, Max said he was kind of a bum spending his time drinking and hanging out with friends, something he doesn’t get to do very much of when he has to be on as Danny eight times a week. Although he said it was a much-needed vacation, he’s happy to get back to work tonight. “It’s going to be such a fun show -- like another opening night!”
Laura, 22, who married her longtime boyfriend in May said she was happy to get some alone time with her new husband. “I got to go on date night! But it was weird at the same time because I was missing doing the show. I’m really excited to be back and the break is ready to be over.”
Although many tourists missed their scheduled shows over the holiday weekend, both Laura and Max said their own friends and family who came in to see them in Grease over the holiday missed the show, but got to see a lot more of them!
I’m glad everything is back to normal!
At top is a pic I took of the cast during their welcome back rehearsal and bottom is the onstage couple at the studio!
Posted Sep. 26, 2007,
Curtain Cutie: Cody Green
By Whitney Spaner
I haven’t posted a Curtain Cutie for a long time but my new crush Cody Green is the perfect one to get us back into the swing of things. I saw him recently in the new Broadway production of Grease, spawned from the first-Broadway related reality show You’re the One that I Want in which America and celebrity-ish judges picked Laura Osnes and Max Crumm to star as Sandy and Danny. (Max stopped by our interview and is also very cute!) Cody is part of the ensemble and is the understudy for Kenickie, who he will be playing on an upcoming weekend! He also is the runner-up in the hand-jive contest (pictured below). I was in awe of his amazing dance moves and charismatic facial expressions. He definitely made the show -- which I, (like most 20-somethings) have seen on stage and film a million times -- a very fresh experience!
He also has an impressive background, which includes Julliard and a starring role in the dance heavy Billy Joel musical Movin’ Out on Broadway, on tour and in London. During our pre-show interview at the Brooks-Atkinson Theater, I asked him if he could come back and dance around my living room for me. Kidding. But I did ask him these very important “get to know you” type questions.