GREASE Plays The Buell Theater 10/12 For Eight Performances

The one that you want is back! GREASE, Time Magazine's 2007 pick for "#1 musical of the year," is rockin' across the country in this new production direct from Broadway. The 2010-2011 national tour of the new Broadway production of GREASE plays the Buell Theatre beginning October 12 for eight performances only. Single tickets go on sale Sunday, August 29 at www.denvercenter.org or by phone and walk-up Monday, August 30 at 10am.

After spending a hopelessly devoted summer with Sandy Dumbrowski, the new girl in town, Danny Zuko's world is thrown upside down when Sandy appears at Rydell High on the first day of school. What follows is a rock n' roll celebration of growin' up, cruisin' with friends and goin' steady. The new production of GREASE features songs from the smash hit 1978 motion picture, including "Sandy," the Academy Award nominated song "Hopelessly Devoted to You," "Grease" and "You're the One That I Want." These songs will be heard in addition to the Jacobs/Casey songs made famous by the original stage production, including "Summer Nights," "Greased Lightnin'" and "We Go Together."

Eddie Mekka will star in the tour as DJ Vince Fontaine. Eddie is best known for his role as Carmine Ragusa, The Big Ragu on the hit ABC-TV sitcom "Laverne & Shirley." He appeared on many of the most popular TV series of the 70s, 80s and 90s, including "The Love Boat," "Fantasy Island," "Moonlighting," and "The New Rockford Files." On the big screen, Eddie played Bette Midler's cohort in Beaches, appeared as Madonna's boyfriend in A League of their Own, as Lt. Vincent Barbero in Taking the Heat with Lynn Whitfield and as The Prophet in Garry Marshall's film Dear God.

Eddie got his start doing musical theatre as a teenager in Worcester, MA and got his big break on Broadway in the Vietnam War-themed rock opera The Lieutenant, for which he received a Best Actor nomination from both the Tony and Drama Desk committees. Eddie also appeared in such shows as Jumpers, The Magic Show with Doug Henning, and Damn Yankees with Gwen Verdon. Eddie has taken on such roles as Groucho Marx in An Evening With Groucho, Nicky Deluca in The Right Step (a show he wrote, directed, choreographed and starred in), Pseudolus in A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum and since 1993, the role of Tevye in multiple productions of Fiddler on the Roof.

Alyssa Herrera will star as Sandy and Matt Nolan will star as Danny. Alyssa is a recent graduate of Wagner College. Her favorite roles include parts in High School Musical and Little Women. Matt was a finalist on NBC's "Grease: You're the One That I Want." He recently appeared in the national tour of Hairspray.

The tour also stars Patrick Cragin (Kenickie), Audrey Filson (Patty Simcox), Kelly Teal Goyette (Miss Lynch), Patrick Joyce (Sonny), Alicia Kelly (Marty), Brad Lawson (Roger), Ashley Rubin (Frenchy), Lauren Elaine Taylor (Rizzo), Lauren Turner (Jan) and Marc Winski (Doody).

GREASE originated in Chicago and made its premiere at The Kingston Mines Theater in 1971 before making its New York premiere off-Broadway at the Eden Theatre on February 14, 1972. After 128 sold-out performances, the show made the transition to Broadway taking up residence at the Broadhurst Theatre on June 7, 1972. GREASE was nominated for seven Tony Awards in its spectacular initial run. On November 21, 1972, the show moved to the Royale Theatre before making its final transfer on January 20, 1980 to the Majestic Theatre. It closed as the longest running show in Broadway history after playing 3,388 performances.

In 1978, GREASE became a hugely popular feature film starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John in the lead roles. A Broadway revival opened on May 11, 1994 at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre where it played 1,503 performances and won three Tony Award nominations. The new Broadway production of GREASE opened on August 19, 2007 and was nominated for a 2008 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical.

The film version of GREASE produced one of the best-selling soundtracks in history and is the highest-grossing movie musical of all time. The two Travolta/Newton-John duets, "You're The One That I Want" and "Summer Nights" were both #1 hits. The song "Hopelessly Devoted to You" was nominated for an Academy Award (1979) for Best Music - Original Song and the film's title song, "Grease," was a #1 smash hit single for singer Frankie Valli.

GREASE features book, music and lyrics by Jim Jacobs and WarRen Casey. Additional songs from the film are by Barry Gibb, John Farrar, Louis St. Louis and Scott Simon.

Directed by David John O'Brien and choreographed by Joyce Chittick, the 2010/11 national tour of GREASE features scenic design by Tony Award-winner Derek McLane, costume design by Tony Award-winner Martin Pakledinaz and lighting design by Tony Award-winner Kenneth Posner.

Single tickets for GREASE start at just $20. To charge by phone, call Denver Center Ticket Services at 303.893.4100. TTY (for Deaf and hard-of-hearing patrons): 303.893.9582. Groups of 15 or more, please call 303.446.4829. Tickets may also be purchased at the Denver Center Ticket Office, located at the Helen Bonfils Theatre Complex Lobby. Buy and print online at www.denvercenter.org.

GREASE is an added attraction in the Denver Center Attractions 2010 season, which is generously supported by United Airlines and Vectra Bank. Media sponsorship for DCA is provided by The Denver Post, CBS4 and Denver Magazine. The Denver Center for the Performing Arts is supported in part by the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District. Please visit our website at www.denvercenter.org.

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