Keke Palmer Shares Emotional Instagram Post Ahead Of ‘Grease: Live’ Performance
In recent months, Keke Palmer has been vocal about her excitement for the upcoming television musical adaptation of the famous film Grease.
She previously announced her role on Instagram by posting a photo, where she wore an old-school costume, a curled wig, and neck scarf. A few weeks later, she shared another photo, and this time Palmer was wearing a shimmering red gown and a shorter hairstyle.
Keke Palmer writes emotional message to fans before ‘Grease: Live’ https://t.co/K1fJD9O7u8
— TIME.com (@TIME) January 31, 2016
It was obvious that Palmer was very excited about the live musical.
The peak of that excitement happened on Sunday when just a few hours before the live musical performance in Grease: Live, Keke Palmer posted to Instagram one more time and shared her thoughts.
The Scream Queens actress shared that being cast as one of the main characters of the musical adaptation may be considered historic. She also shared to her fans that African-American and female actors have definitely seen progress in recent years.
“I feel as if I have waited my entire life for a moment like this,” said Keke Palmer, who was cast as Marty Maraschino.
In the original film, Maraschino is known as the playgirl who has an obsession with clothes. She was also part of the Pink Ladies alongside Betty Rizzo and Frenchy.
While Palmer reportedly liked Marty’s “sassiness” and “spunk appeal,” it was the character’s “overt, sexual nature” that she could not relate to.
“She is the Pink who is fully aware of her sex appeal,” Keke Palmer said.
As a result, the play’s costume designer produced ’50s-style clothing that are form-fitted to Palmer’s figure.
“My character was considered to be on the risqué side, so Marty’s outfits are very tailor-made to accentuate my figure,” said Keke Palmer, who also played Cinderella on Broadway.
While the teenage experiences of Keke and Marty are quite different, she just wants to make sure she plays her role well. Marty is on the liberated side, while Keke was definitely raised as a conservative.
Keke Palmer Plays Marty On ‘Grease: Live’
Palmer also mentioned in the post that in the original Grease film, no black actor was cast among the main characters.
“There has never been an African American in Grease and while I hate that that’s something to be pointed out, it is,” she said.
When she was younger, Keke Palmer said that she was inspired by American singer and actress Brandy, who became the first black Cinderella on screen in 1997.
The Akeelah and the Bee actress said that whether their audience is black, female, or any other demographic, they would be able to relate to the live musical performance.
She also urged everyone to “relate to the fact that this is the first time anything like this has been done and it’s only being done because we all believed!”
Palmer is not a rookie when it comes to live performances, although Fox’s Grease: Live on Sunday night was the first time she has done a televised and live musical performance at the same time.
In an earlier interview, she said that in such an important and well-known program, one can only hope that everything turns out as expected.
Aside from Palmer, other musical performers who took the stage on Sunday night include Dancing with the Stars’ Julianne Hough as Sandy, and Aaron Tveit as Danny, Broadway actress Vanessa Hudgens as Rizzo, Carly Rae Jepsen as Frenchy, and Kether Donohue as Jan, among others.
Check Out Keke Palmer And The Cast Of ‘Grease:Live’
Most of the actors and actresses were announced in January, 2015.
Keke Palmer and the rest of the cast gave a superb performance in Grease: Live, which aired on Fox at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday.
[Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images]