Vanessa Hudgens mourns father before ‘Grease’

“It took less than five minutes into Fox’s ‘Grease Live!’ for director Thomas Kail to throw down the gauntlet, kick it out the door and slam the door shut on just about any future live musicals when it comes to sheer technical dexterity”, wrote Daniel Fienberg, the TV critic for The Hollywood Reporter.

“I am so sad to say that last night my daddy, Greg passed away from stage 4 cancer”, Hudgens, 27, tweeted on Sunday. When Hudgens attended the 2015 Industry Dance Awards & Cancer Benefit Show to receive an award for Breakthrough Performer, she spoke about Butler’s loss and her own family hardship.

Vanessa Hudgens and her father. I hate cancer with every cell of my being.

The High School Musical star first opened up about her father’s illness in an emotional acceptance speech in August. “You’re in my thoughts & prayers”. It’s a disgusting disease.’ But that’s only because I had not been faced with it personally.

Her High School Musical co-star Ashley Tisdale tweeted: “I wouldn’t expect anything less @VanessaHudgens is killing it!”

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles rain forecast is also threatening to dampen the much-anticipated live musical, which also features Julianne Hough, Aaron Tveit, Keke Palmer, Mario Lopez, Carlos PenaVega, and Carly Rae Jepsen.

Fox dedicated the live three-hour event to Greg Hudgens, with a tribute appearing as the behind-the-scenes clips aired at the end of the show.