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10 Things I Learned (And Loved!) at the Grease Live! Event

Last updated August 16th, 2016 by Josh Ferri
10 Things I Learned (And Loved!) at the Grease Live! Event

On August 15, Tony winner Lin-Manuel Miranda hosted a panel discussion at the Edison Ballroom with the creative team (directors Tommy Kail and Alex Rudzinski, costume designer William Ivey Long, casting director Bernard Tesley, and star Aaron Tveit) behind the 10-time Emmy-nominated Grease Live!

There were laughs, there were clips, and there were surprises. Here are 10 things I learned at the Grease Live! panel discussion.

There was a moment where director Alex Rudzinski considered racing the cars for real on the streets of LA.

Alex Rudzinski- Grease Live- Director- Emmy Nominee
Photo by Emilio Madrid-Kuser/Broadway.com

Casting director Bernard Telsey said they knew immediately they wanted diversity in this Grease. “We are not worrying about the time frame.”

Grease Live Cast GIF- Aaron Tveit GIF- Pink Ladies T Birds

"[Aaron Tveit] got all the internet pregnant at the same time,” Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Lin Manuel Miranda- Aaron Tveit- Grease Live
Photo by Emilio Madrid-Kuser/Broadway.com

Because they worked together on Broadway's Cinderella, William Ivey Long knew Keke Palmer could do anything. She did the big "Freddy My Love" change alone with no help from dressers.

Keke Palmer GIF- Grease Live GIF- Freddy My Love

Aaron Tveit “leaned on the Les Miz movie” for Grease Live! Prepping for the movie the way you would for stage then turning everything to the camera.

Aaron Tveit - Grease Live -
Photo by Emilio Madrid-Kuser/Broadway.com

Aaron almost “torched” his voice pumping up the rehearsal crowd.

Arron Tveit- Bernard Tesley
Photo by Emilio Madrid-Kuser/Broadway.com

Tommy Kail is “in awe of the storytelling” happening in “Hand Jive”, like Rizzo telling the camera operator to get Sandy because she knew Sandy wasn’t supposed to be at the dance. For Tveit, “Watching it back is very emotional. 400 people were committed to this thing and no one dropped the ball. No other experience as an actor was like the 25 minutes being in that gym.”

Aaron Tveit Gif- Grease Live GIF- Hand Jive GIF- Julianne Hough GIF

Aaron Tveit Gif- Grease Live GIF- Hand Jive GIF- Julianne Hough GIF

The fifth ever run-through of the show was the live airing. It was the third time in front of an audience.

Tommy Kail- Lin Manuel Miranda- Grease Live
Photo by Emilio Madrid-Kuser/Broadway.com

“Those Magic Changes” blends a song from the play that wasn’t sung in the movie with a sequence from the film [Danny trying out for all the sports] that doesn’t appear in the play. It was all filmed in one shot and Tommy Kail said, “It was absolute mayhem outside that shot.”

Those Magic Changes GIF- Aaron Tveit Shorts GIF- Jordan Fisher GIF

The big 11 o'clock showstopper in the musical about William Ivey Long’s life would be “I Am Changing”. #DropMic

Alex Rudzinski- William Ivey Long- Grease Live- Bernard Telsey
Photo by Emilio Madrid-Kuser/Broadway.com

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