PhotosPHOTO EXCLUSIVE: Style, Smooches and Smokes! A Two-Show Day at Paper Mill's Grease With Newsies Veteran Tommy BraccoPaper Mill Playhouse concludes its 75th anniversary season with the beloved musical Grease. Tommy Bracco, who plays Sonny, shares a recent "kissy-face-themed" day at the famed New Jersey venue.
By
Matthew Blank
June 17, 2014
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PHOTO EXCLUSIVE: Style, Smooches and Smokes! A Two-Show Day at Paper Mill's Grease With Newsies Veteran Tommy Bracco
PHOTO EXCLUSIVE: Style, Smooches and Smokes! A Two-Show Day at Paper Mill's Grease With Newsies Veteran Tommy Bracco
Paper Mill Playhouse concludes its 75th anniversary season with the beloved musical Grease. Tommy Bracco, who plays Sonny, shares a recent "kissy-face-themed" day at the famed New Jersey venue. Read the Playbill.com story.
38 PHOTOS
I woke up like this...
Tommy Bracco
Taking a second to sit and have breakfast in Bryant Park. What a beautiful day!!!
Tommy Bracco
The theme of today's photo call is "kissy lips." Leela Rothenberg and Robin De Jesus start us off the right way with this love-fest gem.
Tommy Bracco
Morgan Weed drives our van every day from midtown to Paper Mill. Don't be fooled; this little girl driving this big van definitely holds her own!
Tommy Bracco
What's a 2-show day without a trip to Trader Joes?!
Our assistant stage manager Jeff Rodriguez giving the best kissy lips in all the land.
Tommy Bracco
Onstage rehearsal before the first show!
Tommy Bracco
Today is Martin Landry's first time conducting the show! Go Martin!!!!
Tommy Bracco
Sean Patrick Doyle showing off his flexibility and his calf muscles in front of the Paper Mill house. Our stage manager Andrea Cibelli makes a cameo. Those 1200 seats will be filled 2 times today baby!!!
Tommy Bracco
This is what I see when I walk into the boys dressing room. What overachievers they are!!
Tommy Bracco
Meet Dominic LaTierri aka Sonny!! And notice the flowers from my Newsies family sitting at my station!! Love and miss them so much!!!!
Tommy Bracco
Eloise Kropp and Leela Rothenberg steal my camera. I don't mind at all when they deliver these results!
Tommy Bracco
Grease is the word all throughout Millburn!!
Tommy Bracco
In between shows we decided to go try on some of Millburn’s highest fashions.
Tommy Bracco
Leela Rothenberg, Tess Soltau, and Dana Steingold try on dresses to get ready for their "prom-ish situation." New Jersey's glitz & glam.
Tommy Bracco
Nicole Richie hung out with us too.
Tommy Bracco
For lunch today we have a chicken cutlet, prosciutto, bacon and fresh mozzarella sandwich. Molto bene!!
Tommy Bracco
The famous Millburn Deli!!!
Tommy Bracco
Management loves the kissy lips.... Especially Jeff Rodriguez
Tommy Bracco
I mean come on!!! It's beautiful here!!!!
Tommy Bracco
Emack and Bolio's ice cream!
Tommy Bracco
Our amazing spicy and sexy dresser Lourdes Garcia with her favorite boys Steven Del Col and Jake Forrestal.
Tommy Bracco
The Paper Mill Playhouse
Tommy Bracco
Kissy lips from these love bugs, Robin De Jesus and Telly Leung
Tommy Bracco
This was the perfect picture to end off the night. A fan, Shayna, came to see the show and came to meet the cast afterwards. She even made me a t-shirt!! Shayna (And all of the other "fansies") are the reason why I love what I do.
Tommy Bracco
Visiting my friends, the koi!!!
Tommy Bracco
Newsies up on the walls of the Mill
Tommy Bracco
Before show 2, Morgan Weed leads a little yoga warmup. Namaste.
Tommy Bracco
Before each show, we come together for an inspirational circle.
Tommy Bracco
Kissy lips to you from the Grease cast!! Love these guys so much!!!!
Tommy Bracco
Debbie Whithead. An angel sent from heaven to take care of everyone at Paper Mill. Love her so much!!!
Tommy Bracco
Dana Steingold's smoking face: The greatest thing on planet Earth.
Tommy Bracco
Kissy lips with my love, Sharon "the wig lady"!! Always there to make sure I'm looking good.. and to give me the extra spritz of hairspray.
Tommy Bracco
Our director Danny Goldstein made sure we had electronic cigarettes to smoke in the show. Now I can be a bad ass without getting lung cancer.
Tommy Bracco
Taylor Louderman waits in the wings before making her entrance.
Tommy Bracco
Kissy lips with my love Taylor Louderman!!
Tommy Bracco
An anonymous artist drew me this picture of Telly Leung
Tommy Bracco
Matt Wood hits the high note of Beyoncés "Love On Top" (in her key). "Baby, baby it's you-oo-oo-oo-oo-OOOU!!"
Grease stars Louderman (Bring It On) as Sandy Dumbrowski, Bobby Conte Thornton as Danny Zuko, De Jesus (La Cage aux Folles, In the Heights) as Doody, Leung (Godspell, "Glee") as Teen Angel, Morgan Weed as Betty Rizzo, Shane Donovan (South Pacific national tour) as Kenickie, Dana Steingold (The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee national tour) as Frenchy, Tommy Bracco (Newsies) as Sonny, Joey Sorge (Nice Work If You Can Get It) as Vince Fontaine, Donna English (Nice Work If You Can Get It) as Miss Lynch, Tess Soltau (The Addams Family) as Marty, Matt Wood as Roger, Leela Rothenberg as Jan, Eloise Kropp (Little Me and The Most Happy Fella at Encores!) as Patty Simcox, Sean Patrick Doyle as Eugene and Kat Nejat (Lysistrata Jones, West Side Story) as Cha-Cha. Rounding out the cast are Kevin Santos (In the Heights), Gillian Munsayac, Mike Longo (Tamar of the River) and Kate Bailey.
"Paper Mill Playhouse is thrilled to breathe new life into America's most popular musical," said Mark S. Hoebee, Paper Mill's producing artistic director, in a previous statement. "Our production will feature the iconic songs from the feature film along with your favorite tunes from the stage version. What excites us most about Grease is fulfilling Paper Mill’s mission of nurturing young talent. Five members of the Grease company will receive their Actors' Equity card during the run."
The musical began performances May 28 for a run through June 29.
Here's how Paper Mill bills the classic: "The world's #1 musical bursts on to the Paper Mill stage in an all-new production. Grease is a rock-n-roll celebration of growing up and falling in love set in the fabulous fifties. Grease strikes a universal chord with an irresistible mix of fast cars and first loves. It's Danny and Sandy, Frenchy and Kenickie, and don’t forget about Rizzo. Grease is a thrilling injection of pure fun with astounding dancing and amazing songs."
Other members of the creative team include choreographer JoAnn M. Hunter, music director Brad Simmons, scenic designer Derek McLane, costume designer Martin Pakledinaz, lighting designer Charlie Morrison, sound designer Randy Hansen, costume coordinator and additional design by Thomas Charles LeGalley, hair and wig designer Leah J. Loukas and production stage manager Andrea Cibelli.
Paper Mill will offer audio-described performances for Grease June 21 and June 22 at 1:30 PM. Prior to these performances, the theatre will offer free sensory seminars, which offer an opportunity for patrons with vision loss to hear a live, in-depth description of the production elements of the show and hands-on interaction with key sets, props and costumes. There will be a sign-interpreted and open-captioned performance June 22 at 7 PM.
Sunday evening performances of Grease are "1950s dress up nights." Audience members who show up in a 1950s outfit receive a 20 percent discount at the Paper Mill Playhouse Gift Shop.
Paper Mill Playhouse is located at 22 Brookside Drive in Millburn, NJ. For more information and tickets, call (973) 376-4343 or visit PaperMill.org.
Thom Yorke has joined forces with co-directors Steven Hoggett and Christine Jones on the new production for Royal Shakespeare Company and Factory International.