Max Crumm and Laura Osnes

Photo Credit: Scott Gries

Have You Heard - GREASE is the Word This Summer!

Grease enjoyed an eight-year run when it first opened on Broadway in 1972, setting a record for Broadway longevity, and inspiring a smash-hit 1978 film adaptation starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. A 1994 Broadway revival of the Jim Jacobs & Warren Casey musical ran for an additional four years. 

The show's latest Broadway outing, opening on August 19, features a special twist: its romantic leads were cast by an audience vote via NBC television’s reality competition series, " Grease—You're the One That I Want!" Winners Max Crumm and Laura Osnes are making their Broadway debuts in the show as, respectively, the slick, leather jacket-sporting Danny Zuko and the sweet, innocent Sandy Dumbrowski. The pair recently sat down at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre prior to an evening preview performance to chat with the Broadway Fan Club.

How did you wind up auditioning for Grease: You're the One That I Want?

Max Crumm: I was living in Los Angeles, doing random auditions for TV shows, movies and commercials. I didn't even see an advertisement for this show. One of my friends saw it and said, "Hey, you should try out for this." It was really just a last-minute thing. I didn't think anything might come of it.

Laura Osnes: I was playing the role of Sandy in Grease at a regional theatre in Minneapolis and thought maybe I had a shot. The director there let me leave to go to Los Angeles for the audition and I kept making it further. I ended up leaving [Minneapolis] a month early to continue with the TV show. Sandy's one of those roles that I’ve always been right for, so it's very exciting. 

What have been some of your bigger challenges in this process?

Max: For me, it's been staying on top of everything. I've never really been the lead in a show. Convincing myself that I could do it has really been a challenge for me. Also being able to stay healthy.

Laura: Yes. Our presence here is so valuable. Everybody's coming to see us because of the television show, and that's a lot of pressure. With the fans at the stage door, I feel obligated to sign everything and take a picture with everyone, and it's so rewarding to be in that position but it's difficult to balance that with staying healthy and ready to do a show.

It must be daunting to put a new spin on two iconic characters. What's unique about your Danny and your Sandy?

Max: My Danny is different because I tried to make him a much more relatable character. I think in the past that Danny has sometimes been portrayed as too old or muscular.

Laura: Both of us are different from the conventional look for these characters. But America voted us here, so hopefully they know what to expect. Kathleen Marshall has been really great about incorporating a lot of us into the characters. She hasn't put any pressure on us to be something that we're not. 

Kathleen Marshall was one of your judges on the television program.  What is it like working with her now as your director and choreographer?

Laura : She's been really great.  We were treated the same as the rest of the cast members.  We don't feel like we're anything different.

Max: I echo that, because she has really just been a dream of a person to get to know. She has been such a huge supporter of Laura and me through this entire thing.

So, what's "the word" about performing on Broadway?

Laura: I've performed in theatres that are equivalent to this size, but there's something about the magic of Broadway that’s indescribable.  It's so special to be in a Broadway theatre on a Broadway stage, knowing those people have probably had their tickets since the television show aired. 

Max : It's theatre heightened in every possible way. It's having the best of everything to work with.

Laura: The big moment for me is taking the Broadway bow and being the last person to bow.  I've always been on the other side, in the audience watching and dreaming of that, and now I'm the one on stage.  It's definitely a dream come true!

Are there any other roles that you would love to play on Broadway?

Laura: I would love to play Millie in Thoroughly Modern Millie.   And I think Glinda in Wicked would be fun.  I’m more of a Glinda than an Elphaba. 

Max:  I would really want to be Moritz in Spring Awakening, or one of the Jersey Boys.  I would also love to write a musical.

Who influenced you to get involved in theatre? What sort of advice do you have for those who want to get involved or get their children involved?

Max: My parents got me involved in theatre. I have been doing musical theatre and plays since I was six. My dad was a very funny comedian and actor and my mom was a great singer/actor/dancer.  I grew up watching my parents do shows, so it seemed natural for me to want to be a part of that. If there is any advice I could give, it'd just remember who you are and believe in yourself.

Laura: For me, it's a little bit different. I haven't had one person that's been striving for me to do this. I started singing, dancing, acting when I was really young and my parents saw that those were some of my interests and started getting me involved in theatre, but no one else in my family has ever done theatre. I did my first professional show in sixth grade and opportunities kept coming, and I discovered that it was my passion.  It's amazing now that I can say that this is my job.  My advice would just be, keep at it!  This is a hard business to get into, and so many people give up and start to take things personally.  Keep training and if it's supposed to happen, the doors will open and the opportunities will come.  Believing in yourself and staying true to who you are is so important.

Back  1