#spring awakening cast does grease

[henrytheduck36q]

[albaetc]

The only thing that matters

[canonicontent]

Gerard Canonico in Spring Awakening: a Guide

Most people these days know Gerard from Be More Chill, but one of his first big roles was in the iconic broadway musical Spring Awakening. It debuted off-broadway in 2006 when Gerard was 16 and transitioned to Broadway about a year later. Here are some pics of him during this period:

Gerard started out as a swing for all the male roles except the lead and was a member of the ensemble. In SA, the ensemble sat among the on-stage audience members ‘undercover’ until about 20 minutes into the show they pulled out their mics and started singing along (often scaring the audience members next to them half to death). During Touch Me and Totally Fucked they would actually stand up and perform the choreography with the main cast, and Gerard was pretty infamous for a certain move.

There’s this part at the end of Totally Fucked where the entire cast starts jumping and dancing around, and Gerard would always jump up and down on his chair. Somehow, he never broke anything while doing this over the course of the show, but what he did manage to break was about eight chairs. Eventually they got him a metal chair, which he also managed to break a bunch more times! Talent.

Over the course of the show Gerard went on for all of the male rolls he could do. I’ve included some noteworthy audios here of him understudying Hanschen, Georg and Ernst + a gif of Gerard as Georg:

Eventually Gerard took over the role of Moritz Stiefel, the secondary male lead. Moritz is a very tragic character with a lot of angst who does some major rocking out during his songs, so you can probably imagine why Gerard would be a good fit. Luckily, there’s not one, but two public recordings out there of him playing Moritz on Youtube!

The first one we have (my personal favourite version of SA out there) is from the very first time Gerard played Moritz when he took over as a swing. Next to Jonathan Groff’s Melchior, Gerard’s Moritz is extremely precious during the dialogue scenes, and he’s explosive during the songs!

The other boot is from during the time Gerard officially took over the role of Moritz, and you can tell he’s a lot more practiced here. The quality is not as great and I prefer the other boot, but it’s worth it to at least skim through for comparison + Matt Doyle is equally great as Melchior!

Lastly, I’ve collected some bonus material in this playlist including Gerard singing One That I Want from Grease as Hanschen for the Easter Bonnet (must watch!), the cast singing Bitch of Living a capella during the stagehand strike, and some more live performances!

Hope you enjoyed this little guide!

[totallytrucked]

list of sa vids (mostly boots, a few bts vids)

saw this done by @lady-ivie-iv and i didn't want to clog up her post with additions so I made my own

(contains a lot of the same videos, i just added some cast members + more int. productions)

Lincoln Center concert

OBC: Jonathan Groff (Melchior), L*a M*chele (Wendla), John Gallagher Jr (Moritz), Lauren Pritchard (Ilse), Jonathan B. Wright (Hanschen), Lilli Cooper (Martha), Gideon Glick (Ernst), Remy Zaken (Thea), Phoebe Strole (Anna), Brian Charles Johnson (Otto), Skylar Austin (Georg), Christine Estabrook (Adult Women), Steven Spinella (Adult Men)

Backstage at Spring Awakening with Jonathan Groff

OBC kinda: Jonathan Groff (Melchior), L*a M*chele (Wendla), John Gallagher Jr (Moritz), Phoebe Strole (u/s Ilse), Jonathan B. Wright (Hanschen), Lilli Cooper (Martha), Gideon Glick (Ernst), Remy Zaken (Thea), Krysta Rodriguez (u/s Anna), Brian Charles Johnson (Otto), Skylar Astin (Georg), Frances Mercati-Anthony (u/s Adult Women), Steven Spinella (Adult Men)

Jonathan Groff and L*a M*chele's last performance: Jonathan Groff (Melchior), L*a M*chele (Wendla), John Gallagher Jr (Moritz), Emma Hunton (Ilse), Matt Doyle (u/s Hanschen), Lilli Cooper (Martha), Blake Daniel (Ernst), Remy Zaken (Thea), Phoebe Strole (Anna), Brian Charles Johnson (Otto), Skylar Austin (Georg), Christine Estabrook (Adult Women), Glenn Fleshler (Adult Men)

7 Aug 2008: Matt Doyle (u/s Melchior), Alexandra Socha (Wendla), Gerard Canonico (Moritz), Emma Hunton (Ilse), Jesse Swenson (u/s Hanschen), Amanda Castanos (Martha), Morgan Karr (u/s Ernst), Caitlin Kinnunen (Thea), Emily Kinney (Anna), Gabe Violett (Otto), Andrew Durand (Georg)

Broadway probably 2008: Matt Doyle (u/s Melchior), Alexandra Socha (Wendla), Blake Bashoff (u/s Moritz), Emma Hunton (Ilse), Jesse Swenson (u/s Hanschen), Lilli Cooper (Martha), Blake Daniel (Ernst), Remy Zaken (Thea), Phoebe Strole (Anna), Brian Charles Johnson (Otto), Skylar Astin (Georg) Glenn Flesher (Adult Men), most likely Christine Estabrook (Adult Women)

Broadway Tony Performance

Weird censored performance on good morning America

Spring awakening cast does grease (iconic)

Broadway press reel

First national tour: Kyle Riabko (Melchior), Christy Altomare (Wendla), Blake Bashoff (Moritz), Steffi D (Ilse), Andy Mientus (Hanschen), Sarah Hunt (Martha), Ben Moss (Ernst), Kimiko Glenn (Thea), Gabrielle Garza (Anna), Anthony Lee Medina (Otto), Matt Shingledecker (Georg), Angela Reed (Adult Women), Henry Stram (Adult Men)

29 Nov 2011 1nt: Jake Epstein (Melchior), Christy Altomare (Wendla), Blake Bashoff (Moritz), Steffi D (Ilse), Andy Mientus (Hanschen), Sarah Hunt (Martha), Ben Fankhauser (Ernst), Kimiko Glenn (Thea), Gabrielle Garza (Anna), Anthony Lee Medina (Otto), Matt Shingledecker (Georg), Angela Reed (Adult Women), Henry Stram (Adult Men)

Totally Trucked 1nt bts vids

2nd National tour (audio playlist, video playlist): Christopher Wood (Melchior), Elizabeth Judd (Wendla), Coby Getzug (Moritz), Courtney Markowitz (Ilse), Devon Stone (Hanschen), Aliya Bowles (Martha), Daniel Plimpton (Ernst), Emily Mest (Thea), Rachel Geisler (Anna), George Salazar (Otto), Jim Hogan (Georg), Sarah Kleeman (Adult Women), Mark Poppleton (Adult Men)

Class of 1891 bts vids (2nt)

London playlist: Aneurin Barnard (Melchior), Charlotte Wakefield (Wendla), Iwan Rheon (Moritz), Lucy May Barker (Ilse), Jamie Blackley (Hanschen), Hayley Gallivan (Martha), Harry McEntire (Ernst), Evelyn Hoskins (Thea), Natasha Barnes (Anna), Edd Judge (Otto), Jos Slovick (Georg), Sian Thomas (Adult Women), Richard Cordery (Adult Men)

Deaf West (act 1) Spring Awakening (act 2): Austin McKenzie (Melchior), Sandra Mae Frank/Katie Boeck (Wendla/voice of Wendla), Daniel Durant/Alex Boniello (Moritz/voice of Moritz), Krysta Rodriguez (Ilse), Andy Mientus (Hanschen), Treshelle Edmond/Kathryn Gallagher (Martha/voice of Martha), Josh Castille/Daniel David Stewart (Ernst/voice of Ernst), Amelia Hensley (Thea), Lauren Luiz (Voice of Thea/Melitta), Ali Stroker (Anna), Miles Barbee/Sean Grandillo (Otto/voice of Otto), Alex Wyse (Georg), Camryn Manheim and Marlee Marlin (Adult Women), Russel Harvard and Patrick Page (Adult Men)

LA dwsa woybr: Joey Haro (Hanschen), Josh Castille/Daniel David Stewart (Ernst/voice of Ernst)

Dwsa Tony performance

Dwsa on Seth Meyers

amateur/regional productions:

Spring awakening at Syracuse Summer Theatre: Chip Weber (Melchior), Maya Dwyer (Wendla), Tim Willard (Moritz), Madeline Shuron (Ilse), Liam Collins (Hanschen), Chelsea Colton (Martha), Doug Schneider (Ernst), Taylorann Flurschutz (Thea), Taylor Peck (Anna), Chris Wagner (Otto), Emmett Wickersham (Georg), Michaela Oney (Adult Women), Tallon Larham (Adult Men)

Bitch of living from Ann Arbor Concert: Ben Walker (Melchior), Rohit Gopal (Moritz), Matthew Kemp (Hanschen), Cameron Sirian (Ernst), Grant Rossini (Otto), Griffin Binnicker (Georg), John Siebert (Adult Men)

Some non-english language productions:

Mexico playlist ( Despertando en Primavera): Mauricio Romero (Melchior), Melissa Barrera (Wendla), Pepe Navarrete (Moritz), Roxana Puente (Ilse), Iker Madrid (Hanschen), Ivonne Garza (Martha), Arturo Valdemar (Ernst), Melissa Ortiz (Thea), Estibalitz Ruiz (Anna), Pablo Rodriguez (Otto), Diego Medel (Georg), Fernanda Borches (Adult Women), Cristobal Garcia-Naranjo (Adult Men)

Brasil cast recording (O Despertar da Primavera): Pierre Baitelli (Melchoir), Malu Rodrigues (Wendla), Rodrigo Palfando (Moritz), Leticia Colin (Ilse), Thiago Amaral (Hanschen), Laura Lobo (Martha), Felipe de Carolis (Ernst), Julia Bernat (Thea), Estrela Blanco (Anna), Bruno Sigrist (Otto), Andre Loddi (Georg), Debora Olivieri (Adult Women), Carlos Gregorio (Adult Men)

Some Spring Awakening Vienna videos: Rasmus Borkowski (Melchior), Hanna Kastner (Wendla), Wolfgang Turks (Moritz), Jennifer Kothe (Ilse), Johannes Huth (Hanschen), Sonja Dengler (Martha), Matthias Bollwerk (Ernst), Jeannine Wacker (Thea), Jana Nagy (Anna), Marlon Wehmeier (Otto), Dominik Hees (Georg), Julia Stemberger (Adult Women), Adult Men unknown

Argentina proshot (Despertando en Primavera): Fernando Dente (Melchior), Florencia Otero (Wendla), Federico Salles (Moritz), Mariana Jaccazio (Ilse), Eliseo Barrionuevo (Hanschen), Belén Pasqualini (Martha), Leandro Bassano (Ernst), Julieta Nair Calvo (Thea), Mivaela Pierani Méndez (Anna), Cristian Centurión (Otto), Julián Rubino (Georg), Irene Almus (Adult Women), Tony Lestingi (Adult Men)

SA Japan trailer (there are other vids on yt)

SA Korea Totally Fucked (South Korea)

gosh this is long as hell omg... Once again thank you to @lady-ivie-iv for the idea and great list!

[ratcarney]

i think we as a collective are sleeping on how funny spring awakening cast does grease is

[fuckmemattitsdiannaross]

The best part of the spring awakening cast does grease video will forever be when groffsause comes out with this on his head at the end

[glorioussimon]

underappreciated things about rise: 1x01 (pilot)

or, i needed an excuse to rewatch rise so here we are

untamed (acoustic) by marc scibilia

that entire opening montage tbh

lilette’s outfit in her first scene. we stan

simon saunders, #1 rilette shipper

“qb1 is totally checking you out, that’s the third time this week”

gwen and jolene are best friends. you guys why do we never talk about this

there was a head of the theater program before lou and tracey. who is she what is her story what does she think about all of this

side note i forgot that lou was Like That

stanton high school’s production of grease

specifically simon

“simon, perfect, you’re my favorite”

everything about kaitlin mazzuchelli, my daughter

gail’s reaction to lou telling the fam that he’s taking over the theater program

“what”

kaitlin and sadie dancing in the background while lou and gail talk

i forgot that lou sang along to alexander hamilton. i think that i repressed the memory of it

robbie bringing his mom flowers!!

the white moms of stanton have the most white mom names. gail, denise, patricia

“maashous evers. lights.” *flicks the lights on and off*

maashous’s entire introduction is gold tbh

gwen and lilette’s height difference

football freestyle by lin-manuel miranda

lilette cheering for robbie at the pep rally

the entire fucking audition scene

special mention goes to gwen singing mama who bore me because wow she killed it

we need another rise album that has all the things we didn’t get. gwen’s mama who bore me, robbie’s left behind, and then there were none, mirror blue night, all that’s known, francis singing georg’s solo that was cut from touch me for five minutes straight

we were close to having simon and lilette as melchior and wendla. imagine it

“his female leads are always a foot taller than him and look about five years older”

jolene was cast as martha in the pilot?

coach and papa thorne seem like robbie’s gay dads in this scene and i’m lving for it

harold baer

“the LAST thing i’m gonna do is have them hear RUMORS about their SON at CHURCH FUNCTIONS”

lou knew that simon was gay the minute he saw him and it’s really fucking obvious in this scene specifically

mama who bore me plays in the background during robbie’s audition

the shirtless men in the background when lou gives robbie his schedule

just breathe playing in the background when lilette sees mama suarez and coach

everything about just breathe tbh

robbie telling his mom about melchior. pure

he can’t stop thinking about this melchior dude

simon’s face when jeremy is introduced

when did francis and clark even join the cast

side note i always forget that francis clark and cheryl were played by different actors in the pilot and i had a moment of “who the fuck are you guys” before i realized

spring awakening montage

all that’s known as a rap

WHERE is my full version of all that’s known

michael and og francis high-fiving

The Knee Touch

everyone is so happy when they’re doing totally fucked!! we stan

i cried at the sacred troupe speech

jeremy’s head on anabelle’s shoulder. i want to know more about that friendship

listen i know that there’s someone out there that ships lou and coach. i just know it

michel and sasha hugging. it doesn’t line up with canon but it’s cute so i’ll let it slide

simon saunders i would kill and die for you. this isn’t news i just wanted everyone to know

kaitlin’s “hi maashous”

this is where my dad started shipping gordy and maashous

i started unexpectedly crying when lilette went off on her mom

“it’s not fair.” “i went for it though.” “you went for it.” wow does that remind anyone of anything :’)

simon standing up to his parents!!

“i’m part of a troupe and i can’t let them down.”

lou’s speech to the kids when he’s stepping down

the entire montage of them going back to their lives before spring awakening

on a happier note, jeremy in his pirate costume

god the ending never fails to give me chills (and make me cry but let’s not talk about that)

i love this show so much

i miss my kids

[simonnsaunders]

my whole life’s like some test

hello! i haven’t seen a lot of stuff from jeremy's point of view, so i decided to try this out. it’s just a very angsty fic about their relationship (and yes, i used the cliché feelings scene. sorry.) enjoy! [AO3]

Jeremy Travers is not the most outspoken person you’ll ever meet.  He’s not one to shout his feelings from the rooftops, and he’s certainly not one to actively chase down what he wants.  He’s always been content living in the background.  And to be fair, it’s gotten him pretty far.

But ever since the beginning of Spring Awakening - ever since he met Simon Saunders - he’s realized that hiding in the shadows isn’t going to cut it anymore.

Some days he wishes he had never signed up to audition.  Some days he wishes that he had never eagerly agreed to be Ernst.  Because maybe if he hadn’t done that, things would be different.  He likes to tell himself that he auditioned because he likes theater.  Jeremy saw that Stanton Drama was going in a more exciting direction than usual (seriously, no one wants to sit through yet another high school production of Grease), and he told himself that it was something he wanted to be a part of.

It certainly had nothing to do with the cute boy who had already been cast as Hanschen.  That was just a bonus.

If he hadn’t auditioned, he wouldn’t have ended up on stage, face-to-face with Simon.  He never would’ve felt his heart do a nose dive at the sight of those dark brown eyes.  He never would’ve felt such a rush at the sound of the words “and then you’ll kiss”.

But from that day on, Jeremy knows that he has to do something.  When Simon blows him off to go do God knows what, it feels like someone just punched him in the face.  When Annabelle tells him that she had gone on a date with Simon, it feels even worse.  And every time that Jeremy ses Simon, it feels like a small explosion is going off in the pit of his stomach.  It’s all slowly tearing him apart.  He can’t just sit around and do nothing about it anymore.

It’s not like Jeremy’s convinced he’s straight.  He’s had his doubts for a while, and the daily feeling of wanting to grab Simon Saunders and kiss him pretty much eliminates that option.  But it’s still a difficult thing to come to terms with, and Jeremy knows that however hard it is for him, it has to be a thousand times worse for Simon.

So he lets the other boy take his time.  He lets Simon go on dates with Annabelle and avoid eye contact with him in the hallway.  He lets him slip through his fingertips because he keeps hoping that, one day, Simon’ll wake up and realize what’s really going on.

That day never comes.  Jeremy has to keep smiling and pretend he’s supportive of Annabelle constantly gushing about how wonderful Simon is.  He tries to say hi to Simon, but every time he does, the other boy just gives him a fake smile and turns around.  It gets to a point where every time he sees Simon Saunders and his impressive collection of sweaters and his beautiful brown eyes, he has to look away as fast as possible or else he’ll physically start to crumble.

Rehearsals are the worst.  Hearing Simon sing is torture; he’s just so god damn talented.  Sometimes Jeremy feels like it’s impossible to even be in the same room with him when he’s singing.  He lights up the stage in a way that no one else seems to know how, and Jeremy can’t keep his eyes off of him.  He tries, he really does.  He tries to focus on his lines or the choreography, but no matter what he’s doing, he’s always drawn back to Simon.

It wouldn’t have all bothered Jeremy so much if he didn’t think that Simon felt the same way he did.  Normally, Jeremy would have shut up and told himself to get over it.  But ever since the first time they rehearsed their scene together - the first time Simon leaned in close and looked him in the eye - he’s just had this feeling that they had something.  He figures that’s why Simon always acts like he’s afraid to look at him.  Not to mention the rumor mill that seems to be going about Simon’s sexuality.  Apparently people have been questioning for a while, but it appears that no one is buying into his new relationship with Annabelle.  Jeremy wants to ask his friends if they sense the spark between himself and Simon.  He wants to ask them if he’s not imagining things.  But he can’t.  Because, for Simon’s sake, no one can know.

Every day is a battle, and it all keeps building inside of Jeremy, until one day, he can’t take it anymore.

He chases Simon through the parking lot, and there’s a voice in his head telling him he’s insane.  He can hear the words he’s saying out loud, but he’s not sure where they’re coming from.  When Simon says the words “I can’t”, Jeremy wants to pull his hair out.  He can see it in Simon’s eyes.  He can see the reflection of his own despair.  

He’s not completely sure if he kisses him just to knock some sense into him.  That would be the most logical explanation.  Or maybe he kissed him because he didn’t know when they were ever going to be this close to each other again.  Most of all, though, Jeremy thinks he just couldn’t stop himself.  He knew deep down that if he had to go another day without kissing Simon Saunders, he wasn’t going to make it.

Simon kisses him back.

That’s the part that really sends him into a panic.  He doesn’t count on Simon kissing back.  The minute their lips touch, he’s already bracing himself for the backlash of his stupid decision.  But instead, it feels like they’re communicating all the things they would never be able to say out loud.  The kiss feels like Simon’s begging for him to understand how much he wants this.

It ends too soon.  Simon throws himself in his car and drives away, and Jeremy can still feel the other boy’s lips on his.  He can still smell Simon; his fingertips are tingling from where they touched his shoulder.  Now he knows he’s not crazy.  He knows that what they have is magic.  Because that’s all he can feel right now.  Magic.

Jeremy knows that not everything is going to be perfect from there on out.  He understands that the kiss is probably sending Simon into turmoil, but he would be lying if he said he doesn’t think things will change.  

Unfortunately, things don’t change.  Things just get worse.  Simon won’t even look at him now, and every time they rehearse their scene, Jeremy feels like he’s being repeatedly stabbed in the heart.  Simon’s touch is so gentle.  When he softly holds Jeremy’s hand and presses it to his lips, Jeremy can’t help but smile at him like the lovestruck idiot he’s become.

Simon does not talk about the kiss.  Not once.  Jeremy begins to think he had imagined it until the moment when he finally confronts Simon.  Jeremy never wanted to get angry at Simon; how could he be angry at such a perfect boy?  But he knows that to the rest of the world, Simon is not perfect in the slightest.  So he takes a deep breath and tries to talk to him.

It feels like Simon is tuning him out.  Trying to talk to him about their kiss may as well have been the same as trying to talk to a child with their fingers in their ears.  He’s not listening; he’s denying everything.  Once Jeremy hears the words “you kissed me”, he knows that he physically can’t take it anymore.  

A part of him understands that it’s unreasonable to ask Simon not to touch him, since it’s impossible to do the scene otherwise.  But he doesn’t know how else to make Simon understand what he’s feeling.  He doesn’t know how else to make all of this stop.

It hurts like hell to storm away from him.  It hurts even more to turn the other direction on stage and pretend like he doesn’t want to give Simon the whole world.  Jeremy finds himself shutting everybody out, even his friends.  And no one seems to notice how much he’s crumbling.  He finds out that he’s quite good at putting on a smile for the rest of the world when he feels like all of his insides are shrivelling up.

It gets to a point where he’s ready to drop out of the show.  He knows that he only signed up for Simon, and now that he ruined that, there’s no point anymore.  The only scenes that his character has are with Simon.  It hurts too much.  Besides, he’s convinced that Mr. Mazzu is about to kick him out anyways.  His acting is terrible.  He knows that even if he tried to pretend to be in love with Simon, he wouldn’t be able to go through with it.

The day comes when Jeremy knows he has to do it.  They’re scheduled to run the whole second act, including his scene with Hanschen.  He decides that as soon as the rehearsal’s over, he’s going to tell Lou he’s quitting.  That is, if he makes it through the evening.  He doubts that’ll be the case.  How could he, with Simon always being so perfect?

But something’s wrong with Simon.  That much is obvious.  Jeremy’s inner dialogue about his miserable life comes to halt when he sees the look on the other boy’s face.  He looks destroyed, as if just one word from anybody would send him right over the edge.  He’s staring at the ground with his arms wrapped around his stomach, and he looks like he’s about to start crying.  Jeremy fights the urge to talk to him.  He wants to know what’s happening, but he also knows that he’s probably the last person Simon wants to talk to.

So he just goes about the rehearsal as normal.  He sings all of his chorus parts dutifully, and he stands in the wings for a while, watching the leads receive direction after direction.  Simon doesn’t get any better.  Jeremy can’t help but keep an eye on him.  He wants so desperately not to care, but the fact that Simon was in pain was eating him up inside.  He wants nothing more than to make all of his problems go away.

When they take their places for their scene, Jeremy’s never felt more afraid in his life.  He reminds himself that this is the last time they’ll ever have to do this.  After tonight, Simon can kiss some straight boy who isn’t going to lose it every time they so much as look at him.

When he makes eye contact with the other boy, he can see that Simon is pleading with him.  And he wants to give in; he truly does.  He wants to surrender and let Simon Saunders slowly ruin him.  He wants to let the other boy hold his hand and pretend to kiss him and do everything that they used to do.  But he’s trying to prove a point.  He’s trying to move on; and giving up like that isn’t going to help.

He looks away and delivers all his lines to the floor.  He tries to ignore how shaky Simon’s voice is.  He pretends not to hear how much Simon is struggling to hit the notes that are usually a piece of cake for him.  He just shuts his eyes and waits for it to be over.

The scene is a disaster, and everyone can tell.  Simon can’t sing his part, Jeremy’s voice is devoid of emotion, and there’s no connection whatsoever.  When they finally finish, after what feels like an eternity, Mr. Mazzu stands up and starts to speak.  Jeremy can tell he’s trying to be kind about what he says, but it’s very obvious that finding anything good about their performance is near impossible.

Simon leaves the stage.  Jeremy watches him push past the rest of the troupe and disappear.  He sees the hurt look on Lilette’s face as her best friend walks straight past her.  In a split second decision, Jeremy realizes he doesn’t have anything else to lose.  So he follows Simon into the greenroom.

He’s never seen Simon look so small.  The boy is sitting on one of the couches, crouched over and hugging himself.  It looks like he’s shaking, and the sight of it all pushes Jeremy to his breaking point.  His heart breaks as he watches Simon struggle.  He pulls out a nearby chair and sits across from him.  Then he waits.  He’s not sure what he’s waiting for.  But he waits.

Simon doesn’t need to look up to know who it is.  “You hate me, right?” he mumbles.

Jeremy is so taken aback that he doesn’t answer.  He doesn’t know how to tell Simon how far from the truth that is.  Jeremy’s pretty sure that nothing Simon could ever do would make him hate him.  

“I’m so sorry,” says Simon, and his voice breaks.  

“For what?” Jeremy asks softly, finally finding his own voice.

Then Simon looks up at him, and Jeremy has to stop himself from audibly gasping.  The image of the broken boy in front of him practically rips his heart in two.  His eyes seem darker than usual; there are tear stains on his cheeks.  Jeremy feels as though his whole body is trembling just looking at him.

Simon takes a shaky breath, wipes his face with the back of his hand, and says, “Ever since we started the show, I have these feelings, and I feel like if I ever opened up to them, it’d just blow up my family.”  He pauses.  “And they’re my family, you know?”

And then, in a sudden epiphany, Jeremy realizes how selfish he’s been.  It never mattered how upset he was.  Simon was the one struggling all this time, and for Jeremy to shut him out like that was unfair.  He’s not going to quit the musical.  He’s not going to give Simon the cold shoulder.  To do any of those things would be only for him and no one else.  He can’t live his life like that.

Jeremy slowly stands up and moves to sit next to Simon on the couch.  He’s scared to death.  “I understand,” he says quietly.  “You don’t have to do anything.  We don’t have to do anything.”  The words he’s saying feel like daggers to his heart; he wants to do so much with Simon.  It takes all the control in the world to say otherwise.

“I couldn’t do it,” Simon whispers.

Jeremy has no idea what he’s talking about.  “Do what?”

“Have sex with Annabelle.  I tried, and I couldn’t do it.”

Jeremy feels like the room is spinning.  “Oh,” he says dumbly.

And then Simon’s crying, and Jeremy doesn’t know what to do.  Tears slowly start to run down his face, and he leans forward to put his head in his hands.  His body is shaking again; he looks like a disaster.  A beautiful disaster, Jeremy thinks.  Very carefully, Jeremy reaches out and puts a hand on Simon’s back.  He rubs back and forth, trying to calm the boy down and trying not to freak him out at the same time.

When Simon doesn’t pull away from his touch, Jeremy feels a bit more adventurous and reaches out his other arm to hold Simon.  The boy just falls into him, crying into his shoulder.  Jeremy holds him tightly and slowly continues to rub his back.  They sit like that, in each other’s arms, frozen in time.  Jeremy doesn’t need anything else.  He stays as still as possible and lets Simon cry.

Eventually Simon’s breathing evens out and he sits up.  Jeremy keeps a hesitant hand on his back.  He doesn’t say a word.  Simon takes one deep breath and then says, “We...we can’t be what you want us to be.”  His voice is slightly hoarse; Jeremy wishes he could hug him some more, but he’s very afraid of pushing his luck.  He’s aware that everything they do from now on will be on Simon’s terms.

“I know,” Jeremy replies.  “I promise I won’t do anything to make you uncomfortable.  I’m...I’m sorry I’ve been so persistent.  It’s just…”  His voice trails off as he realizes he probably shouldn’t be thinking out loud.

“What?” Simon asks.

For a moment, Jeremy’s quiet.  He just slowly draws circles on Simon’s back and thinks carefully about what he wants to say.  “I just have so many feelings for you, Simon, and I don’t know how to make them go away.  I never meant to hurt you, but I can’t be around you.  It’s killing me; it’s absolutely killing me, you have no idea - ”

His words are abruptly cut off by the feeling of Simon’s lips on his.  It’s slow and it’s soft and it’s full of fear, but at the same time, it’s the most glorious thing Jeremy’s ever felt.  He knows instantly that this was meant to be.  This boy was supposed to be right here; their lips were always meant to collide like this.  They fit together like two pieces of a puzzle.  In that one brief kiss, Jeremy realizes that everything is going to be okay.  He has Simon, and Simon has him.

In this world, nothing else matters.

[erregent]

( under a readmore cause it’s long.

i guess??? this is the start to a gavcentric redemption fic with some ree.d900 on the side. i have maybe three more chapters planned out but i haven’t finished it yet. )

--------

they’re probably going to put on his tombstone ‘dumb shit.’ 

nothing else. no date of birth, mother’s name, none of that. just, here lies a dumb fucker. 

laying on his back in a wet alleyway, struggling for breath around the blood in his mouth, gavin reed thinks it’s probably for the best. 

he was supposed to call for backup but since when the fuck has he ever needed backup? no partner necessary, he may be shit at office work but out here, in the field, was where he got his kicks. a perp wanted to bust out the third story window and try to outrun him on the fire escape? good. 

gavin was not far behind, huffing around smokers lungs but spite was enough to keep his legs moving, keep the high teen in his sights as he darts up stairs one more floor to the roof of the apartment building. 

“that’s enough, kid,” he remembers saying, training his gun at the perp’s back as he contemplates jumping off, “there’s nowhere to go.”

“i can’t--- can’t go to prison, i can’t---” he was high, confused. just a fucking teenager. for some reason gavin thinks of the boy’s mother. where she was now, and if she knew what her boy was doing. did she even care.

he couldn’t tell you why, but he remembers putting his gun away. offering up both hands empty like some sort of peace offering.

“you can still get out of this alright, don’t be fuckin’ stupid. just turn around, and get over here.”

“they’ll kill me! they’ll kill me...i can’t--- no, nono--” 

“who’s they? talk to me, kid, i can’t help you if you don’t talk to me.”

the kid eventually turns around. wet tear tracks on both cheeks, snot dribbling over lips, and hands clutching a beretta.

gavin didn’t have time to say a word before hearing the pow pow of gunfire. 

choking, gasping, he knows he’s shot before he even looks down but when he does, the world spins, and he’s falling over the ledge.

shoulder catches the edge of the fire-escape, shattered. body rag-doll, he manages to land on his back just so he could graciously choke on his own blood. 

so yea, he’s a dumb shit. he didn’t even call for backup. 

you try to do something nice, and it gets you shot twice in the chest. 

-----

somehow, he wakes up. 

he has no idea when, but he wakes up. 

the harsh lighting, the stale sick smell, the soft ‘beepbeepbeep’ lets him know he’s in a hospital. it’s not the first time he’s woken up in one and the detective doubts it will be the last. but this is certainly the first time he can hardly move once consciousness returns to him. 

everything hurts. literally everything, even the follicles of his hair feel sore in his head, and he’s hovering somewhere between drugged beyond recognition and not nearly doped enough to withstand the discomfort. 

all he can manage is a low groan of pain, flexing fingers to see which ones work and which don’t. 

his entire left arm is casted, gavin can barely turn his head enough to see the thing, it goes up to his chest where gauze springs from underneath. it’s wrapped tight, tight around his torso and down to his navel, though gavin can’t see past the sheet thats been brought up to his armpits. he’s sewed up, tucked in, and left here. 

“detective,” a voice calls from the doorway. at least he gets his own room. 

the soft glowing LED in the nurses temple under blond curls would have made gavin scoff if he weren’t so broken. he groans again. a fuckin’ android. he forgets they’re allowed to do whatever they want now, regardless of model and make. 

“please try not to move so much. honestly, i’m surprised you’re awake. you’ve only been out of surgery for three hours, your body is still adjusting to the changes,” she’s rummaging through a virtual clipboard, the skin on her hand peeling back to interface with it directly. 

“you took two gun shot wounds to the torso. one made a clear shot, it hit nothing vital. the other punctured a lung and broke one of your ribs. your shoulder and arm were shattered from impact after you fell, and required extensive surgery and reconstruction to repair. do you remember where you were before here, detective?”

gavin groans. his mouth tastes like sandpaper and actual, literal asshole. it’s too dry, he rolls his tongue around but it feels two sizes too big. he manages to croak out “case,” and not sound totally out of it, to his defense.

“yes, we were informed by your department you were chasing a suspect. though i am not authorized to talk to you about legal matters, i just need to confirm your mental faculties are still in order. you fell almost three stories, detective. the only reason your skull was not crushed on impact was the loss of momentum your body sustained hitting the fire escape on your way down.”

he manages a scoff this time. guess he’s lucky for the shattered bones.

“what is your name?”

another noise, he grinds teeth around the ‘g’ sound.

“g...avin. reed.” 

“yes, that’s very good. i have more questions for you, and you willneed a debriefing, but you still need rest,” she’s coming to his bedside then, futzing with the fancy IV machine whirring away there. she hits a few buttons, pumps him full of morphine, and suddenly gavin feels really warm and he wants to sleep.

he does. 

-----

it’s the first time in twelve years, gavin sleeps longer than two hour increments. 

the next few days come in blinks, and trying to keep track of time is utterly useless. there’s a potted plant at his bedside one time he opens his eyes. a succulent, some weird desert lookin thing and he knows it’s chen. he likes this kind, barely have to do shit to keep it alive. he passes out trying to move his arm to touch it.

the next time he’s awake, there’s flowers. a single arrangement, freshly pruned peace lilies harsh white like his whole fuckin’ room with a little blue ‘k’ on an equally white card in the middle. if he could, he’d knock the whole thing off on principle. fuckin prick.

the third time he can actually remember anything, he’s sitting up more. that same blond nurse is back, checking about his vitals and tidying the room. there’s not much to do, even in his haze gavin can tell there has been little traffic here. the detective isn’t shocked by the notion. he’s not known to have friends. 

he’s awake for more than fifteen minutes this time, and gavin knows what to expect. a half hour into consciousness, one of his own is buzzing into his room. he’s expecting chen, maybe anderson if the captain wanted to let the old man gloat. he’s not expecting fowler himself to walk through the door.

his gut plummets like a shitty wooden roller coaster at the sight of him. dark blue button up. black slacks. badge at his hip. but no clip board, no pen. he’s not here to talk about the case.

“reed,” fowler begins, hands in his pockets as he walks toward the large window to gavin’s left. it’s hard to turn his head that way, considering his shoulder was in pieces not long ago, but he manages to get the man in his peripheral. 

the silence that follows is maddening. gavin wants to claw his god damn skin off. 

“fowl-”

“you could have died, reed. you very well should have.”

“i had it under con-”

“if you try to undermine what this is, so help me.” perhaps it’s just the morphine, but gavin swears fowler’s hands are shaking in his pockets.

“listen. you’re a good detective, gavin. you and i both know that. it’s why i wanted you back on the force after the whole android awakening,” fowler has finally turned to face him now though stays by the window. his voice is level, but terse. he feels like he’s being scolded by his father.

“you bitched and moaned about what cases you wanted, you bitched and moaned when i brought in the other rk unit, and you bitched and moaned when i tried to pair you with him. for months. and i’ve listened because you got results. i don’t give a shit if you’re everybody’s best friend, so long as you do the job and you don’t get yourself killed. but you fucked up big time, reed. and i can’t have it happen again.”

“captain-”

“you are not dying under my watch, gavin. you hear me? not because of your inflated ego and some shitty pride!” 

gavin swallows at the tone of fowler’s voice, would have flinched back if he could. for once in his miserable fucking life, the detective agrees, and nods.

“yea. yea i hear you.” he hates how weak he sounds. he’ll blame it on the fatigue.

the tenseness fowler carried in his jaw loosens some. shoulders slack. gavin can see the clenched fists in his pockets ease. he’s said the right thing. gavin wasn’t made a detective for nothing. 

“good. cause you’re getting a partner when you get out of here, and i’m not hearing another word out of you about it.”

ok, so he’s not fired. that’s awesome. but...fuck. he doesn’t even have the energy to ask who. he likes to think he’d be all teeth and gums about this, being the squeakiest wheel he can be to get the grease, if he weren’t still in recovery. 

“get some rest. we’ll interview about the suspect when you’re not drugged off you ass,” his captain makes to leave, but stops by the doorway just to shoot gavin a rarely seen, but always infuriating smirk, “should probably keep you on it, though. you’re a lot nicer when you can’t bark.”

fowler leaves. 

gavin, through grit teeth and optimal discomfort, manages to knock the peace lilies off the table.

[albaetc]

There's a moment you know

You're stuck

https://youtu.be/Q0vrMnhQ7RE

*Spring Awakening performing on Good Morning America and the biggest facepalm ever*

[cyberbullygabor]

hey so i just wanted to know like what you thought was inaccurate to high school theatre, since i think it’s pretty accurate but i want to hear what others have to say! (i literally mean this as respectfully as possible please don’t think that this was meant to be rude in anyway)

no, it’s not rude at all! in my high school theater experience:

1) changing shows not just once, but THREE TIMES? would never happens. rights for grease are expensive as hell. rights for spring awakening are also expensive as hell. you can’t just suddenly decide to do spring awakening when you’re nearly done with grease…and then throwing in pirates of penzance? does this school buy rights in bulk? that’s not a thing.

2) this is nit-picky, but the way they’re learning the show is…wrong. we’ve always done it starting with a read-through. we learn music three times a week, and choreography once a week to start things off. they’re just jumping into scenes! it makes no sense, like…what the fuck.

3) changing the script left and right. yes, that’s been done, but it’s super illegal. lou volpe had a meeting with sheik and sater to discuss what changes could be made and yadda yadda.

4) why are their rehearsals REVOLVED around the leads? you break your rehearsals up. there are days for ensemble, days made to work with leads, and when the whole cast gets together, it’s a SET SCHEDULE. like…it can change, but it’s not meant to focus solely on your leads until later.

5) you don’t give leads to completely inexperienced kids. EVER. you work your way up. especially if both of your kids have major conflicts with rehearsals. they’d be ensemble first, no matter how talented most of the time. there are exceptions, but for melchior and wendla? not normally.

[make-easter-gay-again]

If you don’t mind me asking could you give me a synopsis or a summary of rise? I’m interested in watching it cause so many people I follow talk about it but I still have no idea what it’s about

Okay do I’m probably going to mess this up so much (and also I’m sorry if my posts spoiled it for you please do with it though it’s on Hulu and the NBC app and website and it’s incredible) but I guess here’s a synopsis of the first episode?So there’s this high school English teacher named Lou Mazzuchelli who hears that the director spot for the school’s drama productions is open. He meets with the principal, and the principal gives him the job over the assistant director, Tracey Wolfe, who had been working with Stanton (the town/school name) drama for like 10 years or something. He cancels their already cast production of Grease and decides to open auditions for Spring Awakening. The two people who had been the leads in every other production, Simon Saunders and Gwen Strickland, are cast by Lou as two lesser characters. He casts newcomer to Stanton Drama Lilette Suarez as Wendla, and he tries to figure out a way to cast Robbie Thorne, main quarterback on the football team, as the other lead, Melchior. When Robbie fails an English test, instead of being suspended from sports, Lou lets him retake the test, but only if he auditions for the musical. Simon meets with Lou and states his uncomfortableness at playing Hanschen, an openly gay character who has romantic scenes, as his family is heavily catholic, and he doesn’t want this reflecting bad on him. Gwen doesn’t think she deserves anything but the lead, and her life isn’t too peachy then anyway, as her dad, the coach of the football team, is having an affair with Lilette’s mother. Then we find out Lou’s son, Gordy, has an alcohol problem. Maashous Evers, who does lights, is discovered by Lou to be sleeping in the light booth in the theater. Maashous shows Lou Margaret Hallowell, who is about to officially be Michael Hallowell. He has an incredible voice, so Lou casts him as the second lead, Moritz.I think that’s basically all of the beginning of the character arcs from the first (and beginning of second) episodes of RISE. Please consider watching it. It really is incredible.

[thetemperamentalcat]

I liked Rise except for the parts that included Mr.Mazz

This is a warning that this post is mostly me ranting. I really, really, really didn’t like Mr. Mazz. So if you did, read at your own risk. I think I’m also pretty upset at how much potential this show has and it kind of .... i don’t know.  if you do read this, please respect my opinion. 

I have only watched the first 2 episodes. And I liked it and disliked it. Tracey Wolfe is great and the student storylines are interesting. But I have a deep abiding dislike for the main character, Lou Mazzuchelli (Mr.Mazz) . Full disclosure I have no knowledge of musicals or plays. My only experience was in my grade 9 drama class AND I STILL REMEMBER WHAT STAGE RIGHT AND STAGE LEFT ARE!! It’s been 8 years.

I will admit that Mr. Mazz has some redeeming qualities. Asking Michael what he would be called as and being fine with Michael changing in the male change room. And that’s really all I liked about him. 

His appointment as drama club director is unearned. He has no experience at all in putting on a musical except maybe a deep passion for them. (HE DOESN”T KNOW WHAT STAGE LEFT IS!!! THIS IS BASICS) When he finds out that Tracey Wolfe was offered the position instead of stepping aside and learning from her he just steamrolls right on through. Here’s a great article I found talking about the financial constraints of putting on a musical that Rise just waves aside. 

Just to summarize, you need the rights to stage musicals. Which means the drama club and the school just wasted money buying the rights to put on Grease. 

And after Mr. Mazz hears Robbie Thorne rap/sing Mr. Mazz BLACKMAILS Robbie into trying out for Spring Awakening.  We have no idea if Robbie actually did that badly on the test we just have Mr. Mazz’s word for it.  Also, why doesn’t Mr. Mazz just ask Robbie to try out?? Robbie seems well liked by the students and isn’t a bully. Why not just ask? Robbie is presented as a nice, sweet and responsible kid. He would probably have done it if Mr. Mazz has just asked for his help. 

Adding to this, is there really that big of an issue with a football student having an interest in something other than football?

Mr. Mazz is so....frustrating. He bulldozes over everyone. I understand where the show wants to take him. A teacher that is passionate about the arts and takes on the task of breathing life into the drama club. Showing his community how beautiful art can be. Instead we have a teacher that does the first part and then gets thrown single obvious cliches a show like this can have.

The football coach doesn’t want his star player being distracted from football. Mr. Mazz wants Robbie in his show of Spring Awakening. Why not just sit down and arrange a schedule? OR ASK ROBBIE!!!! Since it seems like Robbie wants to do both why not do both? Maybe Robbie can make it to these rehearsals and these practices. This might mean that Robbie won’t be able to make it to all of the nights Spring Awakening is being preformed so why not let Simon have those nights and still have the role as Hänschen? 

Simon has been cast in lead roles and can probably pick up lines and choreography faster. Robbie can learn from him. Look camaraderie and bonding between two members from two stereotypically different school cliques! This way Simon and Robbie both get what they want and the story gets what it wants. 

For the times Simon isn’t playing Hänschen you could have someone else playing the character. And yes this would get complicated which creates conflict!!! Maybe Robbie can convince one of his friends to do it? (After 2 episodes it seems like Robbie has people he hangs out with but not really friends with. It’s probably just me.) This unnamed friend shows that Robbie has a support system. Someone who covers for Robbie, takes notes in class for Robbie so that Robbie can just zen/relax because Robbie is stressed with football and how sick his mom his. This friend can also find out that musicals aren’t that all bad. Acting is cool but this whole set and prop design is great. Look if we just change this prop we can use it as this! I found this material in the garage that we can use this way and this way. 

Sorry, got sidetracked. Would Robbie be able to handle his two interests, school, his mom and succeed? Is Simon able to handle two roles? How is he going to handle his parents? Are Mr.Mazz and the coach able to be adults, learn how to communicate, share and come to better understanding of each other??

And when Simon, who deserves hugs and all the love in the world, goes to Mr. Mazz about his role. About how uncomfortable Simon is with the role. What does Mr. Mazz do? Does he say I understand your concerns and then explains that the role isn’t the actor? That playing gay, or a Mormon, or a Founding Father doesn’t mean the actor is gay, Mormon, or a Founding Father. And if Simon really is uncomfortable then Mr. Mazz would be willing to talk to Simon’s parents and his priest about this. (And if it did go this route, bring Ms(?) Wolfe too. The priest even says he appreciates the message about living in a repressed society and seems fine with Simon being in this role. It might be a little much but parts can be rewritten or shuffled around with 

Instead, Mr. Mazz starts talking about himself. He says the word “I” about 13 times and says “you/Simon" about 5 in his little speech after Simons says he doesn’t want to embarrass his family. Mr. Mazz talks about what Mr. Mazz wants to do and how he feels. And how scary it is because he might fail. I watched this scene four times. It felt like they were having two different conversations. Mr. Mazz probably meant how it’s scary to try and experience new things and that we should be brave enough to try. But that’s subtext. 

ALSO WHO HAD THE GREAT IDEA TO CREATE A BONFIRE AND THROW SCHOOL PROPERTY INTO THE IT?????? And yes it was school property. I don’t care what it was a protest or demonstration. What happened to peaceful protesting? There is nothing peaceful about creating a giant bonfire to throw school property into it. Shouldn’t someone be in detention?? Did we just skip over the part where the parents are told by the school your kids set a bonfire on school grounds and then then threw school property into said property??

[jgroffdaily]

Tonight is our third Voices For The Voiceless concert at 7PM (at The Town Hall in New York City) and I thought it would be fun to write some stories about all the fun performers we have! P.S. Tickets start at only $25! Buy them here!

One of the stars performing tonight is Jonathan Groff, and here’s a little recap of the time I broke Broadway law for him and Lea Michele:

James and I went to see Spring Awakening—me, for the second time, him, for the first. It was Jonathan Groff and Lea Michele’s final week, and I wanted James to see it before they left. I loved how Jonathan does old-school focus: He’s constantly looking to the balcony and box seats. I guess it’s his vaudeville training, even though he was born 60 years after vaudeville died. After the show, James and I went backstage to Jonathan’s dressing room. I was dying of thirst, and Jonathan offered me some Diet Coke. It was super fizzy, and he asked me if it was gross that he was putting his finger in my glass to stop the fizzing. I said it was fine because I was sure he took a shower after his exhausting, long, and sweaty two-act show. There was silence…then he removed his finger.

After we all chatted for a while, Lea and Jonathan gigglingly told us they were planning on doing something not allowed. "Hmm…use vibrato during the show?" I thought. No, it turns out it was something even more scandalous. They decided to spend the night in the theatre! Apparently, they had slept there overnight with John Gallagher, Jr. before he left the show, and now that they were leaving, they wanted to do it again. It was their way to say goodbye to “their theatre.” Jonathan started scotch-taping up large tapestries underneath the shelves in his dressing room so they could hide behind it when the stage doorman did his final look before he locked up. After he taped, Jonathan asked us if we’d be accomplices. Accomplices? How dare he? To a crime no one really cared about? How could I lower my moral rectitude? But…looking into that Tony-nominated face, I had no choice but to say yes. James quickly agreed, too, and the next thing we knew we were walking down the stairs and loudly saying (so the doorman could hear us), “Boy! I guess everyone left while we were in the bathroom!” The stage doorman was very sweet and asked if Jonathan was still upstairs. I very awkwardly/loudly said (I also come from the vaudevillian school of no mics), “No! He left the building.” Awkward pause while I remembered my line. “And Lea. Lea Michele has also left.” The doorman looked miffed. James piped up. “Yep. They have left. Both.” As we walked out of the stage door, we saw a long line of folks waiting to get autographs, and then the doorman had to tell them that Jonathan and Lea left already. James and I felt so bad for the fans as they dispersed, but knew that Jonathan and Lea has always signed autographs and tonight was a special occasion for them. Of course, I think sleeping over in the theatre is probably one of those things that sounds like it’s so much fun, but winds up with you getting a neck-ache from sleeping on an Equity cot in a cold, dark theatre and then waking up at 4 AM and realizing you forgot your toothbrush. Suffice it to say, I didn’t want to be in the theatre for their Spring “Awakening" unless they had packed an emergency supply of Listerine strips. On a side note, I did Grease in that same theatre and no one slept over on their final night. However, someone did sleep during the show. Well, I don’t know if it was sleeping, but the guy playing Kenickie completely missed his entrance. To “Greased Lightening”…his only solo song! To this day, cast members still quote the wildly calm stage manager announcement that was heard in all the dressing rooms: “Kenickie to the stage, please. Kenickie to the stage.”

[tnaydeline]

Spring Awakening Cast Does Grease

Reminder this happened….

“I will be performing the hand jive”

[prettylittleliarsxxxx]

GREASE says "You're the One That I Want" to Pretty Little Liars star, Janel Parrish. With previews beginning November 1st at Toronto's Winter Garden Theatre, Parrish will be taking on the iconic role of Sandy - but did you know that she auditioned for a different role?

Janel Parrish is no stranger to the stage. The Honolulu-born actress rose to fame in the ABC teen-drama, Pretty Little Liars - but began her career in musical theatre. Previous stage roles include Young Cosette in Les Misérables (National Tour and Broadway 1996), Anna & Wendla U/S in Spring Awakening (Los Angeles 2012), a staged-reading of A Walk to Remember: the Musical and the LA and New York productions of Cruel Intentions: the Musical. Parrish has got the dance chops too. In 2014, she made it to the finals of the 19th season of Dancing with the Stars.

Parrish sits down with BroadwayWorld's Taylor Long to discuss her Broadway roots and how she has been preparing for Sandy her entire life.

PROFILE: Janel Parrish Horoscope Sign | Scorpio Favourite Musical | Miss Saigon Favourite Subject in School | English In High School, you would have been voted "Most Likely To"? | Most Likely to Know All the Words to Any Broadway Musical What are you listening to right now? | Hamilton OBC - "I never get sick of it."

When did you start singing?

My dad loves to tell this story. I must have been five? They loved musical theatre, so really, I thank them (and I blame them). They were listening to Phantom of the Opera while taking me to pre-school and my dad heard singing in the background (on the high note in "Think of Me"). And he was like, "What was that?" Meanwhile, I was just in the back, living my best life - singing. I don't remember that obviously, but I do remember always loving musical theatre and wanting to sing-along in the car.

Because of that experience, they took me to see Phantom of the Opera. It was the first musical I had ever saw on stage and I was just transfixed. Apparently I just turned to my parents and said, "I want to do that." So they let me audition for Les Misérables, and that was it. I was bit by the Broadway bug.

What was it like being a kid on Broadway?

It's crazy to think of now, as an adult, but to me, when I was six - that was normal. That was life. It was amazing, and I wish I could remember more. When I look back at pictures, it almost seems like it didn't happen, because I was so young. But it was thrilling for my parents. My mom went on tour with me and my dad would come whenever he could. Collectively, I think they've seen Les Misérables 250 times.

I just remember being a little girl, touring and then going to Broadway - and then being like, "You know what? I want to see my friends and go back to school." My parents being like, "Are you sure?" And me being like, "Yeah, I want to go be... eight." We came back to Hawaii, and I did some musical theatre and regional theatre there. I remember saying to my parents, "Oh, I miss Les Mis, can I go back now?" And they were like, "No, that's not how it works."

How did you end up getting cast as Sandy in GREASE? What was the audition process like?

Actually, it goes back to Cruel Intentions: the Musical. I was in New York, and I was playing Cecile at Le Poisson Rouge in Greenwich Village. I was contacted by the GREASE producers, who said that they were doing more of a relevant version of Grease and they were interested in coming to see me (in Cruel Intentions) for the role of Rizzo. So, I sort of knew that that was going to be my audition.

So they came, they saw the show and I was in talks to possibly play Rizzo. A couple of months later, I was at a call with our wonderful director, Josh Prince. He was like, "You know, I was looking at videos of you performing and your general spirit and all that and I thought to myself - why can't she be Sandy?"

I was so surprised! As someone who does not look anything like Olivia Newton-John, a very iconic look for that role, I couldn't believe that he was thinking about me for Sandy - but it just made me so happy, that I could be considered for the role. I was so happy that someone could, based on what they know of me, my voice, my spirit, that they could say, "yeah, you're more of a Sandy to me."

So I'm happy to be Sandy. It's a role that I've always wanted to play and just never thought I would ever be offered.

Even Pretty Little Liars, the show that gave me my career in a lot of ways - I didn't audition for Mona. I auditioned for a different role, didn't get it and was very sad. And then a month later, I was called in for the role that I ended up getting.

It always works out the way it should. I would have been stoked to play Rizzo - but I'm even more stoked that I have the opportunity to play Sandy, because, like I said, it was a role that I never ever thought I would be considered for.

What kind of preparation goes into portraying such an iconic role?

Well, I feel like I've been preparing my whole life, because I've seen Grease probably 500 times. I used to watch it over and over again on tv. I'm one of those people who knows every line too.

But you know, I went back and watched the movie, with new eyes, knowing I would be portraying Sandy. Singing the songs, listening to it and getting amped up for it. Going into my vocal coach and getting vocally ready for it and then eventually starting rehearsals is all part of the process.

I'm excited to portray her in a different way, while also bringing the spirit of Sandy to the stage.

Describe your Sandy in one word.

Real.

I want her to be somebody that people can relate to. I want to kind of ground her a little bit more and give her layers and give her - her innocence and vulnerability, but a little bit of a struggle to discover who she really is. I don't want it to be like - she just changes for her man at the end - I want to give her some human layers. Where people can understand that she's just trying to figure out who she is too. She changes at the end, but a lot of that is about her finding her inner pink lady.

For herself, not just for Danny.

That kind of sounds like, from what you were saying, the general vision for this production as well -

Yeah. When I spoke with Josh, he said he wanted to keep it Grease. He wants to give it that same spirit, that same vibe that everybody wants. It's going to be fun. It's going to be high-energy, and romantic, obviously. But he also wants it to be relevant. He wants it to be grounded in reality - for people to be like, "Grease actually has a great story." For people to re-live what it was like to be in High School. To be finding yourself, falling in love for the first time, being cool for your friends - GREASE is all of that.

What are you most excited about in putting this show on, going through this adventure?

I'm excited for so many things. Always with a show, I'm usually most excited for the rehearsal period. Obviously, it will be so exciting to put it on every night and perform - I love performing, it makes me feel fulfilled. But I'm always excited to get there and meet the cast. I feel like that's when you really get to start discovering your character and the director's vision, and you start to bond with your cast members. There is nothing more exciting, for me, than rehearsing for a new show. You get yourself amped up, in character, and you start to really find the groove with the show.

But also - eight shows a week. I've never done eight shows a week. I think that will be really fun, and different for me. Just having my job - to be Sandy - every single day, is so awesome. I'm also excited to see Toronto. I've never spent any time there.

What would be your advice to a young performer?

I would say that if you have the passion for it - train. Get into dance classes, you'll need them even if you think you don't. If you like being on stage, a lot of these productions will have movement in them, so it helps to know the basics. Take vocal lessons, acting lessons. Familiarize yourself with productions that you love. Make it your art and your craft - dedicate yourself to it. I did that and it became my life.

There is nothing better than being obsessed with what you do.

GREASE begins previews November 1st at Toronto's Historic Winter Garden Theatre, 189 Yonge Street, Toronto, ON.

Directed by Josh Prince (Beautiful: the Carole King Musical, Shrek: the Musical), the cast features Janel Parrish as Sandy, Katie Findlay (How to Get Away with Murder) as Rizzo and Dylan S. Wallach as Danny.

GREASE is produced by Irregular Entertainment's David Galpern and Charles Roy.

Tickets for previews and opening night are available on pre-sale starting TODAY, September 5th, 2017. Visit https://tinyurl.com/greasetoronto

ALL tickets go on sale September 12th, 2017.

Visit https://greaseonstage.com/ for more information about the new production.