Interview: GREASE: LIVE's Cha Cha, Yvette Gonzalez-Nacer, on Working with Tommy Kail Again

One of the things that has me most excited about GREASE: LIVE is that the cast is a mix of both pop culture and theatre stars. There are performers most known for music, for television, for movies, for dancing and for Broadway, and sometimes, that's all in the same person.

The multi-talented Yvette Gonzalez-Nacer is known to fans of a certain demographic as Kiki on Nickelodeon's THE FRESH BEAT BAND; to others she is known as recording artist Ava Gold; and I first became aware of her as a sultry and captivating Vanessa in the First National Tour of IN THE HEIGHTS.

This Sunday, musical theatre fans around the world will be introduced to her as Cha Cha DiGregorio in GREASE: LIVE. After about a two-minute phone conversation earlier this week, Yvette and I realized that with her busy schedule, an email interview might be best. Check it out below:

BWW: GREASE: LIVE has this crazy cast of people from theatre, from TV, from music, from movies; what has it been like working with all of these people from so many different backgrounds?

Yvette: It's a pretty incredible cast, and I am so honored to be in such good company. Everyone involved is super talented, and we've been having an amazing time getting to know each other, and bringing this show to life.

You've worked with Tommy Kail before, what is it about either his style, or his personality that makes him such a great director and storyteller?

Tommy is an amazing director and storyteller. He sees everything, and has a million good ideas, yet he has this way of giving you space to really find the show on your own; and if you're off, he'll just gently nudge you in the right direction.

As an actor, I find that to be really helpful. It goes without saying that he is ridiculously talented and just an incredible leader. I've seen both in IN THE HEIGHTS and in GREASE, that he's able to unify a group of individuals in such a way that you always leave feeling like you have a new family.

In both the movie and show, Cha Cha is known as a great dancer, so I assume that we can expect some dancing fireworks from you, Aaron, Julianne, and maybe Carlos too?

Zach Woodlee, our choreographer, has done such phenomenal work in this film, and yes, there will be fireworks for sure!

You've done a ton of TV and a ton of theatre, GREASE: LIVE is a little of both, but not completely either. What has been the most interesting thing for you in how this production has come together?

It's definitely interesting how the rehearsal process is similar to that of a regular Broadway show, except instead of doing the show for months or years, we do it for one night! I think Tommy said it is essentially like getting ready for your first preview.

What are you most excited for people to see on Sunday?

This is a very ambitious project. We are doing things that haven't been done before, and this format is definitely very unique. We are even going to have a live audience on the 31st. Everyone's been working so hard; the cast, creative team, the crew, and designers, and I'm so excited to have everyone experience what we've put our hearts into creating.

On a different topic, as an actress, you are Yvette, but as a singer, you are Ava Gold. Why the separation, and does each persona have a slightly different personality? Is Ava just a specific part of Yvette, or is it more like a character?

Everyone's creativity works different. It's not a character, but for me, I love having an umbrella to work under. It somehow gives me an incredible sense of freedom. The name also has a lot of meaning to me personally. Ava was always my favorite name growing up, and a play on my name, and Gold is a long story, but in a nutshell, it means purity.

There is a great quote from S.E. Hinton's "The Outsiders" that reads, "Stay gold Ponyboy. Stay gold." I always want my music to come from that pure place in my heart that remembers why I fell in love with music in the first place.

How excited are you for GREASE: LIVE? Let me know in the comments below, or on Twitter @BWWMatt. If you want to follow along with my "366 in 366" articles, you can check out #BWW366in366 on Twitter.

Banner Image: Yvette Gonzalez-Nacer. Photo Credit: Bobby Quillard