Interview: Elle McLemore Dishes on GREASE LIVE!, What Returns from Stage Version

Even though Rydell High's easily excitable and enthusiastic head cheerleader, Patty Simcox, might not be the coolest kid in school, Elle McLemore, the equally as excited and enthusiastic actress who plays her in the upcoming GREASE LIVE!, is as sweet and likeable as can be. Most theatre fans know McLemore for playing less than loveable cheerleaders, first as the Machiavellian Eva in BRING IT ON: THE MUSICAL, and then as the dim-witted Heather McNamara in HEATHERS THE MUSICAL. Despite some of her character's worst traits, McLemore is always disarmingly sweet and infectiously charming.

(Read my March 2015 conversation with McLemore about regularly being cast as a cheerleading)

While Patty's enthusiasm can be grating and obnoxious to the T-Birds and Pink Ladies, McLemore's is genuine and endearing. When I spoke with her earlier this week, she was bubbling with excitement about the opportunity to work with so many talented performers on such a big project.

"The first day, I was so excited to be there, I just ran up to people like Ana Gasteyer and Aaron Tveit," she said. "I went up to him and said, 'Your biceps look great, bye.' I realized then that I am the most awkward person, and that I would never be a Pink Lady, because I am not cool enough."

McLemore's star-struck excitement hasn't been limited to her castmates, however. Working on Burbank's Warner Bros.' lot, you never know who is going to pop in to check out rehearsal.

"Yesterday, Ryan Gosling was at our run-through. I thought I was in a dream-world," she said. "I was freaking out, and because there are so many stars involved, no one else was. They were like, 'Oh, it's Ryan Gosling.' Are you kidding me? I was having heart palpitations."

Not only is GREASE LIVE! rehearsing at the famed film studio, but they will also be broadcasting from there, which means that there are some logistical issues to tackle that previous live musical broadcasts haven't had to deal with.

"I was going into it thinking that it was going to be like THE WIZ or SOUND OF MUSIC, where it was on one stage, and it's not like that at all," McLemore said. "They are filming it kind of like a movie, so we are basically hopping in golf carts (to get from set to set). It's nuts, I don't even know how they are going to do this."

On a live broadcast, timing is so important that moving back and forth between soundstages has become part of the cast's rehearsals, and fortunately, they still have a week and a half to get that part figured out.

"We have to make it from one of the sets to the carnival scene in a certain amount of time, or else we will miss the choreography," McLemore explained. "So, we've been running out onto the grass for the 'Rama-Lama-Lama' part, and half the time we haven't made it. So, who knows if we'll make it (on show night)!"

Between running between sets and worrying about camera blocking, McLemore said that as the cast and crew have been teching the production, they are also working to settle on the perfect feel for the broadcast.

"The thing that's been interesting is that it's not a theatre production, and it's not a sitcom, it's not a movie, it's kind of a combination of them all, plus it's live," she said. "So, it has to have an energy somewhere in between them that we're trying to figure out and find."

Having starred in BRING IT ON, McLemore has worked with Lin-Manuel Miranda, Andy Blankenbuehler, and Alex Lacamoire, but now on GREASE, she is completing the artistic family by working with director Thomas Kail; an experience she is very grateful to have.

"Tommy has this focus, he's probably the most brilliant person I know," she said. "He is so specific about everything. The little nuances that he brings are so brilliant. He brings out what's special about our own personalities, and has created a new take on each character. It still has the GREASE energy that you love, but it's a fresh take on it."

McLemore said that over the three-month rehearsal process, Kail has been able to incorporate the cast's real-life relationships into how their characters interact.

"There is this moment with Kenickie and Danny where they are hugging and he asks him to be his second at Thunder Road," she said. "There is so much love, because (Kail) brought out the friendship that Aaron (Tveit) and Carlos (PenaVega) have developed."

Since more people are familiar with GREASE from the 1978 film adaptation, which serves as the inspiration for the majority of the GREASE LIVE! script, they might be surprised to know that the Thunder Road storyline was not part of the original stage production. However, McLemore said that there are a number of elements from the various stage incarnations that have been brought back into the mix for the FOX broadcast.

In addition to the song "Freddy My Love" being restored, for Keke Palmer's Marty, "Those Magic Changes" which is sung by Johnny Casino during the prom scene in the film, has been given back to Doody for Jordan Fisher to sing in GREASE LIVE!

Also, McLemore and fellow Broadway alum Noah Robbins (BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRES, ARCADIA), have seen their roles expanded as more of the stage script is incorporated.

"Patti and Eugene aren't as featured in the movie, but we get a lot more (in GREASE LIVE!), because they are featured more in the stage version," she explained. "I do two Rydell cheers, and I do a dance-off with Julianne Hough, which is something that I would have laughed at myself if I'd said that before."

While BroadwayWorld previously reported that NEXT TO NORMAL and IF/THEN's Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey had written a new song for Frenchy, McLemore confirmed that Carly Rae Jepsen's tune "I Need an Angel" will take place right before Boyz II Men serenade her with "Beauty School Dropout."

From the hiring of Kail, to the casting of both stage and screen stars, to involving a live audience, and bringing in Kitt and Yorkey, it feels like the GREASE LIVE! production has made extremely intelligent decisions every step of the way; something that McLemore attributes to their Executive Producer.

"It's almost like we are waiting for something to go wrong, because everything has been so productive," she said. "I think that is a lot of Marc Platt. This is very special to him; he's been at rehearsal every single day. I think that he's responsible for it going so well so far."

The cast will perform a pseudo-gypsy run for friends and family two days before the official broadcast to iron out any wrinkles, but McLemore said that because of how experienced and hardworking the cast is, she's confident that they will be ready.

"They are big stars. Everybody's so focused, and wants to do such a good job," she said. "Everyone is thinking, 'We've only got one shot to do this, let's get to work.'"

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GREASE LIVE! airs on Sunday, January 31st at 7:00pm ET on FOX. For more interviews, videos, and special features about this live musical, check out BroadwayWorld all next week.

How excited are you to see Elle as Patty Simcox? 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: Susan Buckner and Elle McLemore. Photo Credit: Paramount Pictures and Walter McBride