GREASE National Tour Welcomes Lauren Ashley Zakrin as 'Sandy,' 10/23

The producers of the Tony Award nominated new Broadway production of GREASE^TM announced that Lauren Ashley Zakrin will assume the role of "Sandy" in the national tour of the show, as
of October 23, 2009, at the Dodge Theatre in Phoenix, AZ.

Lauren Ashley Zakrin was most recently seen as the understudy for "Elle Woods" in the first national tour of Legally Blonde The Musical. She was a finalist on MTV's "Legally Blonde The Musical: The Search for Elle Woods."

"American Idol" Season Five winner Taylor Hicks continues to star as "Teen Angel." Taylor Hicks made his debut on Broadway in the role. He achieved widespread fame in 2006 as a contestant on the hugely successful FOX singing competition "American Idol."

Starring with Lauren Ashley Zakrin will be Eric Schneider as "Danny." Eric made his Broadway debut in Jersey Boys. His previous credits include Altar Boyz (Off-Broadway) and the national tour of The Full Monty.

The tour also stars Scot Patrick Allan as "Eugene," Will Blum as "Roger," Bridie Carroll as "Jan," Kate Morgan Chadwick as "Frenchy," Brian Crum as "Doody," Kelly Felthous as "Marty," Dominic Fortuna as "Vince Fontaine," Erin Henry as "Patty Simcox," Roxie Lucas as "Miss Lynch," David Ruffin as "Kenickie," Allie Schulz as "Rizzo" and Nick Verina as "Sonny."

The ensemble features Joseph Corella, Preston Ellis, Ruby Lewis, Lisa Maietta, Dayla Perkins, Mark Raumaker, Mike Russo, Matthew William Schmidt, Christina Sivrich and Elizabeth Stacey.

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^TM features songs from the smash hit 1978 motion picture for the first time ever in a Broadway production including "Sandy," the Academy Award nominated song
"Hopelessly Devoted to You," "Grease" and "You're the One That I Want" - both of which were #1 hits on the Billboard Top 100 list. 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."

Directed and choreographed by two-time Tony Award-winner Kathleen Marshall (The Pajama Game, Wonderful Town), GREASE^TM features book, music and lyrics by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. Additional songs from the movie are by Barry Gibb, John Farrar, Louis St. Louis and Scott Simon. GREASE^TM features scenic design by Tony Award winner Derek McLane (33 Variations), costume design by two-time Tony Award winner Martin Pakledinaz (Thoroughly Modern Millie, Kiss Me Kate), lighting design by Tony Award winner Kenneth Posner (The Coast of Utopia, Wicked) and sound design by Brian Ronan (Spring Awakening, Curtains).

GREASE^TM is produced on tour by Paul Nicholas and David Ian, Nederlander Presentations, Inc. and Terry Allen Kramer by arrangement with Robert Stigwood.

The national tour of GREASE^TM continues as follows:

- October 6 - 11, at the Durham Performing Arts Center, Durham, NC
- October 14 - 18, at The Long Center, Austin, TX
- October 20 - 25, at the Dodge Theatre, Phoenix, AZ
- November 3 - 8, at the Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall, Ft Myers, FL
- November 10 - 15, at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, West Palm Beach, FL
- November 18 - 22, at the Orpheum Theatre, Minneapolis, MN
- December 1 - 6, at Ovens Auditorium, Charlotte, NC
- December 8 - 13, at the Overture Center for the Arts, Madison, WI
- December 15 - 20, at the Chevrolet Theatre, Wallingford, CT

Additional dates for 2010 are to be announced shortly.