Rumors had been swirling for a few weeks that Ace Young would soon be stepping into the role of Kenickie in the Broadway musical revival of Grease. It appears to be official now.
Ace begins his stint with Grease on September 9th just as his fellow Season 5 castmate, Taylor Hicks, ends his role as the Teen Angel on September 7th.
Want to see Ace in Grease? You can bid on 4 tickets to the show, plus dinner with Ace afterward, proceeds going to the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Ace will also be co-hosting this weekend’s Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon.
By the way, Constantine Maroulis recently said in a radio interview that he turned down the role of Kenickie for the chance to originate a role in the Off-Broadway production of Rock of Ages…
I’d like to see what they’re gonna do to his hair! Giggles will no doubt ensue.
Ace’ll make a great Kenickie! Can’t ya just see him singing “Greased Lightning”? Too bad he and Taylor couldn’t have had at least a week on the stage together.
Constantine, otoh, should go suck a lemon or something!
Ace as Kenickie is great casting. Connie, nah, not really. I wanna see Ace shake his groove thing. :)
Congrats to Ace. Seems like a good role for him. Too bad he and Taylor didn’t overlap, at least for a show or two. Two friends and I usually got to NYC every fall for a weekend. No plans so far, but maybe if we do it this year I can convince them to see Grease. Might be a hard sell. LOL.
As for Connnie, I had heard second-hand about his claims that he turned it down to originate a role, but after reading MJ’s link, it appears that he’s not originating the role at all. *rollseyes* Sounds a bit fishy. He always acts like he’s in some sort of competition with Ace. Why? Because they both have curly dark hair? The similarities end there, if you ask me!
This is great for Ace!!!!! I too wish he and Taylor got to star together for a bit.
I guess the AP has picked up the story.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iZn8f8dsMk2VoW93YfkA06AP2UkAD92PHVD80
LOL @ Ace wanting to play a “guy’s guy.”
Ace is awesome. Tickets for charity :) Just gotta love the man.
Connie, not so much…
Congrats to Ace. I hope it all works out well for him. He’s a nice and talented guy. Maybe his stint on the stage will spur more sales for his CD.
Constatine is, essentially, originating the role for the New York run. The show had earlier trial runs in LA and Las Vegas a few years ago and was more of an ensemble piece than this production is described to be.
*slinks back to lurking mode*
you know, AI has really been helping Broadway. The shows need the seats sold, and the peeps want to see their idols.
I bet Ace will do great. He’s not the strongest singer, but that part sings mostly with others. I think it’s a good fit. And Ace looks great, and that smile–wow.
Here is Ace’s official “Grease” poster that I received from an email from Playbill regarding this:
http://thumbsnap.com/v/XvLdkKue.jpg
True dat. If the choice is between Ace and Connie, it’s an easy call for me. Besides, I think the role of Kenickie is intended to be played by someone attractive, so I think Connie would be grossly miscast.
If Connie really did turn down the role, I think it was a bad decision on his part. I’m still skeptical. ;-)
I dunno, I didn’t think the guy who played Kenickie in the film (Jeff ??) was that attractive…I thought it was more important for him to be a “bad boy.” In fact, I think Ace might be *too* purdy for that role…he may upstage Danny. ;)
Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t have wanted to see Constantine in that role…I don’t want to see Constantine, period.
So when youre a former American Idol contestant and your music tanks, JOIN BROADWAY. LMAO.
Lots of deserving peeps would kill for that role. But yeah, having the AI name recognition has proven to be a recipe for Broadway ticket sales, if not album sales.
I enjoyed watching Ace on AI but didn’t really become a fan of his until I saw him live on the tour, he has so much charisma I think this role is perfect for him, congrats to him.