‘Grease Live!’ races to second biggest live TV musical audience

On Sunday night, the young actress gave a performance only hours after she announced that her father had died of stage 4 cancer. “Thank you to everyone who kept him in your prayers”, Hudgens wrote on Twitter.

My heart breaks to think that her daddy couldn’t see that performance… though I like to think that somehow, somewhere, he did. Imagine if you had the day she had & then performed like that. Wow.

And it’s very safe to say that Hudgens made her late parent proud, most notably with two standout performances. But in case you missed the show or want to relive the wonderful performances over and over, we have all the videos below! “Last year, my boyfriend, Austin, lost his mom, Lori, to cancer, and my dad has just been diagnosed with stage four cancer”, she said. Her debut film “Thirteen” was released in 2003.

Fox’s “Grease Live!” Sunday was the anti-“Wiz” for better and for worse – it lacked, for the most part, the emotional punch and sheer vocal prowess of NBC’s recent staging, but the production itself redefined what a live musical could be. After a meta moment where new Frenchy talks to former Frenchy (now playing Vi the waitress), she breaks out into “All I Need Is An Angel”.

Technical difficulties, a rare thunderstorm, and a death of key cast member’s father didn’t stop the success of “Grease: Live” last night, drawing in rave reviews.

Mario Lopez, who had a small role in the show and hosted the backstage Facebook videos, said the rain began just before the show did at 7 p.m. E.T. “Grease: Live” was assuredly directed by Thomas Kail (“Hamilton“), with music supervision by Tom Kitt (“Next to Normal”), sets by David Korins (“Hamilton“) and costume design by William Ivey Long (“Cabaret”), who must have maxed out his budget on leather jackets.

Producers had tapes from rehearsals to use in the case of emergency and had to go to the backup plan once, when audio briefly cut out during “Born to Hand Jive”. The show delivered a lot of fun, a surprising amount of talent and the safe return of Wendell Pierce for his next serious drama series opportunity.