Q&A: American Idol Alum Ace Young Taps His Rebellious Side in Grease

Tag : grease
How is Kenickie not Mr. Nice Guy?
He's the ultimate guy's guy. He's the backbone and strength of theT-Birds. That said, he can't have a weakness. Everything ismasculine, masculine, masculine. And he has to be that way so the other guys feel secure in what they'redoing. But some of things he says to Rizzo are really not nice. They have an interesting relationship. They understand eachother on a level that when they talk to each other, they put eachother down. It's like some challenge [they feel] to say the thingthat'll bother the other person more. Once it finally reaches abreaking point, they start making out, and they love each otheragain. Everybody's had an extreme relationship in their life, Ithink.
Have you?
I've had a few. You hate 'em and then you love 'em to death. Youhave to go through that in order to find out who you are and whatyou're looking for. In the end, you really just want to findsomebody that you can hang out in the house with and go to a moviewith. Anything on top of that is gravy.
Were you surprised to learn that "Greased Lighting" is actuallyKenickie's number onstage?
Yeah, in the movie, it's Travolta's. It's a good idea to haveKenickie sing that number. Danny Zuko's got more of a soft side,and knows how to talk to the girls. Kenickie just says what hewants, and "Greased Lightning" is a sexual song. Onstage, I do a lot of stuff that's over the top. The way Istart the car, and lick the front fender when we're pulling itapart, the dance moves and the slides, it's all just testosterone!
There's some interesting hand gesturing going on, too.
I have to do the gestures! [ Laughs .] That's one thing people love about Grease . It's about kids who are rebellious. They're good kids, butthey're going against the grain and doing their own thing. They'realso going through life experiences, like possibly having a child.It's real-life stuff. It's not some fairy tale. Grease is kind of the rebellious show of Broadway.
Why do you think American Idol contestants do so well on Broadway?
For one thing, you're singing other people's songs and you have tomake them your own. You're doing group numbers. And you're speakingdirectly to your fan base. There's a lot of similarities, and youhave to be willing to take the challenge. It's a lot ofchoreography. The difference is that on live TV, you're on for aminute and a half, and on Broadway, you're up there for two and ahalf hours. You have to hold your character that entire time, andyou don't get a break. But that's a thrill to me—I love thatchallenge! I like something that you really have to focus on, thatrequires all your heart and attention because when you do it andsucceed, it's the best feeling in the world.


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