The results were revealed on the hour-long March 25 broadcast of the NBC show, which was hosted by "Access Hollywood" co-anchor Billy Bush and U.K. television and theatre star Denise Van Outen.
The reality show began airing Jan. 7 in an effort to find actors to play the lead roles in the forthcoming Grease revival. After a nationwide search, six potential Dannys and six potential Sandys were chosen to compete on the weekly program. The 12 finalists were eventually narrowed down to four: Danny finalists were Austin Miller ("Hot Danny") and Max Crumm ("Slacker Danny"); Sandy finalists were Ashley Spencer ("Ballerina Sandy") and Laura Osnes ("Small-town Sandy").
Tony Award winner Kathleen Marshall (The Pajama Game), who will direct and choreograph the new Broadway production, served as one of the three judges of the weekly program. Her fellow judges included Grease co-creator Jim Jacobs and theatre producer David Ian.
Although the judges were able to save contestants throughout the competition, the final decision was left to the voting public, who chose Crumm and Osnes.
Crumm hails from Phoenix, AZ, and auditioned for the Grease reality show in Los Angeles. He has performed in two productions of Grease but has never played the role of Danny. His other theatrical credits include the title role in The Grinch; Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream; Lysistrata; The Sound of Music; The Wizard of Oz; Into The Woods; You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown; Anything Goes; Hello, Dolly; Titanic; and Damn Yankees. Osnes, who hails from Eagan, MN, also auditioned in Los Angeles. She has played the role of Sandy previously — in a production in Minnesota and has also appeared in productions of Peter Pan (as Peter Pan), The Sound of Music and Annie.
Paul Nicholas and David Ian Associates, Nederlander Presentations and Phoenix Productions will produce the Broadway run of Grease. The capitalization is $10 million.
The new Broadway production will feature the Jim Jacobs-Warren Casey songs made famous by the original musical — including "Summer Nights," "Greased Lightning" and "We Go Together" — as well as the four additional film songs: "Grease is the Word," "You're the One That I Want," "Hopelessly Devoted to You" and "Sandy" interpolated into the score.
Grease will officially open at the Brooks Atkinson Aug. 19. The design team includes scenic design by Derek McLane, costume design by Martin Pakledinaz and lighting design by Kenneth Posner.
Tickets are on sale through Ticketmaster outlets. Group sales for Grease are available by calling Nederlander Group Sales at (212) 840-3890.
The NBC official website for the show can be found at nbc.com/Grease.
