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"Idol" Winner Hicks to Star in Grease National Tour
By Andrew Gans
15 Sep 2008
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Taylor Hicks
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"American Idol" winner Taylor Hicks, who recently completed a summer stint as Teen Angel in the Broadway company of Grease, will play that role for audiences across the country in the upcoming national tour of the fifties-themed musical.
The national tour of Grease — starring Hicks — will launch Dec. 2 at the Providence Performing Arts Center in Providence, RI. Full casting will be announced at a later date.
"I had such a great experience on Broadway for the last three months," Hick said in a statement. "This is such a great opportunity to visit old fans and new fans across the country while bringing them a great Broadway show!"
The current tour schedule follows:
Dec. 2-7, 2008 at the Providence Performing Arts Center, Providence, RI
Dec. 9-14, 2008 at the Wharton Center for the Performing Arts, East Lansing, MI
Dec. 16-21, 2008 at Palace Theatre, Columbus, OH
Dec. 30, 2008-Jan. 4, 2009 at the Orpheum Theatre, Minneapolis, MN
Jan. 6-18, 2009 at the Auditorium Theatre, Chicago, IL
Jan. 20-Feb. 1, 2009 at the Aronoff Center for the Arts, Cincinnati, OH
Feb. 3-15, 2009 at the Hippodrome Theatre, Baltimore, MD
Feb. 24-March 1, 2009 at the Music Hall, Tucson, AZ
March 3-8, 2009 at the Civic Theatre, San Diego, CA
March 10-22, 2009 at the Pantages Theatre, Los Angeles, CA
March 24-April 19, 2009 at the Golden Gate Theatre, San Francisco, CA
April 21-26, 2009 at Keller Auditorium, Portland, OR
April 28-May 10, 2009 at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, Costa Mesa, CA
May 12-30, 2009 at the 5th Avenue Theatre, Seattle, WA
Grease will be produced on tour by Paul Nicholas and David Ian, Nederlander Presentations, Inc. and Terry Allen Kramer by arrangement with Robert Stigwood.
Taylor Hicks was named "American Idol" in 2006, besting runner-up Katharine McPhee. Born in Birmingham, AL, Hicks toured the Southeastern U.S. during his teenage years and released two independent albums. Following his "Idol" win, Hicks signed a recording contract with 19 Records Limited/Arista Records. His eponymous debut album, "Taylor Hicks," debuted in the No. 2 spot on the Billboard 200 charts and was later certified as a platinum album. Hicks' memoir is titled "Heart Full of Soul: An Inspirational Memoir About Finding Your Voice and Finding Your Way."
"After spending a hopelessly devoted summer with Sandy Dumbrowski, the new girl in town," Grease press notes state, "Danny Zuko's world is thrown upside down when Sandy appears at Rydell High on the first day of school. What follows is a rock n' roll celebration of growin' up, cruisin' with friends and goin' steady."
Directed and choreographed by Kathleen Marshall, Grease features scenic design by Derek McLane, costume design by Martin Pakledinaz, lighting design by Kenneth Posner and sound design by Brian Ronan.
Grease features book, music and lyrics by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. The new production also boasts songs from the hit 1978 film, which co-starred John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. Among the film songs heard in the Broadway revival are "Sandy," "Hopelessly Devoted to You," "Grease" and "You're the One That I Want."
The new cast recording of Grease is available on the Masterworks Broadway label.
Grease debuted on Broadway in February 1972 with a cast that included Barry Bostwick (Danny), Carole Demas (Sandy) and Adrienne Barbeau (Rizzo). The musical closed in April 1980, after playing 20 previews and 3,388 performances. The 1994 revival cast Rosie O'Donnell in the role of Rizzo.
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