Julianne Hough will have all eyes on her tonight when she stars as Sandy in Grease: Live! , and she wants fans to know that there’s one line she might have some trouble with when the show airs on Fox.
The Dancing With The Stars alum says that there’s one line she’s stumbled over during every rehearsal, and it’s a rather important one as it’s a nod to the fact that the show is being performed live on television and the fact that Hough has starred on and judged a dance contest of her own: “Who wants to watch a bunch of amateurs in a dance contest on live TV?”
“It’s a line that I should be able to deliver because it’s so me. The diner scene is the death of me for sure,” Hough told Entertainment Weekly .
Julianne said that Olivia Newton-John — who played Sandy in the original film version — gave her blessing for the dancer to play the character on television, which helped Julianne’s years-long dream come true.
“This is my five-year-old dream. For her to give me that blessing to take that wave, I hope I make her proud. I can come here and discover Sandy for myself and still honor what Olivia did. I hope she’s watching. She’s better than you hoped she would be,” Hough said at the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour.
This isn’t the first huge live event that has been televised in recent years; Girls star Allison Williams played Peter Pan, and country star Carrie Underwood snagged the lead in a live performance of The Sound Of Music for NBC. Given the criticism handed down to both performances, it’s difficult to say how Grease: Live! will fare. While Underwood’s vocals were praised–no small feat, considering she was stepping into the shoes of Julie Andrews–many critics thought she just wasn’t experienced enough in musical theater to do a good job where acting was concerned. However, Hough and her co-stars — including Vanessa Hudgens and Carly Rae Jepsen — have quite a bit of experience in performing live, and fans are rooting for them as the countdown begins.
For Hough, one of the most unique things about this performance is that there is a combination of several different forms of shooting.
“I think we are doing something so different, we are combining everything that I have ever loved to do but also live television, theatrical performances/cinematic camera work and we are on live sets like we would do if we were shooting a movie. So I feel like we are shooting a musical movie in real time with sitcom audience numbers. It’s the craziest hybrid, it’s amazing,” Hough said.
Hough’s co-star, Vanessa Hudgens, will reportedly go on with the show tonight even though her father passed away over the weekend after a lengthy battle with cancer. The actress shared the sad news on Twitter, saying she would play the role in his honor.
I am so sad to say that last night my daddy, Greg passed away from stage 4 cancer. Thank you to everyone who kept him in your prayers.
— Vanessa Hudgens (@VanessaHudgens) January 31, 2016
Tonight, I do the show in his honor.
— Vanessa Hudgens (@VanessaHudgens) January 31, 2016
As for the rest of the cast, they’re pumped for the performance and are keeping their fingers crossed that it doesn’t rain, since part of the set–for the carnival scene–is outdoors. And that’s not the only hazard the actors face; Julianne Hough has less than two minutes between a huge dance number and her performance of “Hopelessly Devoted To You,” in which she has to change costumes on a golf cart in between sets.
Image via Julianne Hough/Instagram
