Taylor Hicks
As American Idol prepares to crown a cool new pop star; a past Idol winner flies into a hot Broadway show. Producers of the Tony nominated rialto revival Grease have just announced that reality star and idol winner Taylor Hicks will bring his smooth tones and silver hair to the role of Teen Angel as of June 6th. He goes from "Idol" to "Angel" (that line is from the press release, it's not mine).
Taylor Hicks wowed audiences during season five of American Idol. In 2006 he beat out Katherine McPhee (remember her - I caught "McPheever") by capturing the majority of 63.4 million votes (that is a ton of dialing and texting). I liked Taylor Hicks but I was not into the whole "Soul Patrol" thing. I don't think I really understood it. Since the show Hicks has had a #1 hit single ("Do I Make You Proud"), an album that debuted at #2 (his self titled release) and a book released ("Heart Full of Soul" - ahem). Now Hicks will add "B'way Star" to that list of accomplishments.
Grease has proven to be a great vehicle for specialty casting. Several years ago Broadway legends Fran and Barry Weissler kept a revival of Grease running for years by offering a literal revolving door of stars in the show. They featured celebs such as Rosie O'Donnell, Brooke Shields, Linda Blair and gymnast Kerri Strug. The reality show craze hadn't yet hit so the Weisslers weren't able to jump on that bandwagon (but I am SURE they would have - "Joe Millionaire IS Danny Zuko!").
Now that reality is sweeping the world - reality on Broadway is clearly a trend that is going to continue. Former American Idol stars have been making their way to 42nd Street for a few years now. Tamara Gray has been featured in Bombay Dreams and RENT, Fantasia wowed critics in The Color Purple and (most recently) Clay Aiken hammed it up in Spamalot (I'm not hating - just trying a silly pun - get it "ham" and "spam").
Grease is actually a forerunner in the reality casting business. The two stars of the hit revival were actually chosen via a reality television show. America voted for Laura Osnes and Max Crumm to be the new Sandy and Danny during the run of NBC's Grease: You're the one that I Want. I watched the show (hey, so did 9 million other people) and I liked it. Osnes was the front runner from the beginning, but Crumm was a bit of an underdog and unlikely choice (that didn't stop him from charming America and snagging the top prize).
Now there will be THREE reality TV stars in Grease; Osnes, Crumm and now Taylor Hicks. That's a lot of reality in one little show! It will be very interesting to see how this goes. Hicks doesn't strike me as the perfect fit for Broadway or Grease. I am sure he won't have any problem singing the role, but what about the acting? Will he be believable as Teen Angel? Oh who am I kidding, it won't require that much acting - will it? We can't really answer that question until Hicks opens in the show, but if enthusiasm translates in to talent, he is going to be great. When asked about his new gig Hicks gushed, "I am incredibly excited to be a part of one of my favorite musicals. The Soul Patrol's gonna invade Broadway!" ‘Nuf said.
We will leave it for another time to discuss which shows recently booted American Idol, contestant Syesha Mercado, will be starring in soon. I love Syesha Mercado. I see her bypassing the pop album route and heading straight for NYC. I am thinking she needs to originate a role, but we will hold that topic for future posts.
For now you will have to enjoy Taylor Hicks in Grease. Hicks starts in the show on June 6th and performs through September 7th (at which time he will be replaced by Idol Winner Ruben Studdard - that's a joke - just kidding!). To learn more about Grease and Taylor Hicks click HERE.
~ See You On The Aisle (Really)
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