Didi Conn Shares Memories From Grease and Grease Live!

On March 8, Paramount Home Media Distribution will release Grease Live! on DVD. So I caught up with Grease, Grease 2, and Grease Live! actress Didi Conn to discuss why Grease has been the word for over four decades.

When Didi Conn stepped into the role of Frenchy for the 1978 film Grease, she had no idea that she was landing in a film that would have enduring popularity and staying power.

“Oh boy, believe me if I had known it was gonna be such a big success, I would have asked for points…We only knew that we were really having a great, great time…that it was one of those rare moments because, you know, I’ve been in the business a long time, where everybody in the cast just connected like as if we were seniors in high school,” Conn says.

Conn believes that Grease’s endurance is partly due to the genuine and positive feelings the film’s cast felt toward one another. She encountered a similar experience with Grease Live! “[It was] the same feeling of such camaraderie, and fun, and kidding around.” She loves that the cast had bonded long before she joined rehearsals. “[The] only thing I brought to it was some bubble gum. Nobody was chewing bubble gum,” chuckles Conn.

While capturing the magic of the past may be tricky, Grease Live! appeared to effortlessly channel the charm, garnering critical praise for the landmark production of a live television musical. And when it comes to television success, numbers also talk. The Paramount Television production snagged an average of 12.2 million TV viewers for Fox.

Grease Live!, starring Julianne Hough, Aaron Tveit, Vanessa Hudgens, Keke Palmer, Carlos PenaVega, and Carly Rae Jepsen, includes many nods to the original 1971 musical and 1978 feature film, while creating its own uniquely wonderful, more modern version of the classic story. Didi Conn was thrilled to add another generation of Grease to her resumé when she assumed the Grease Live! role as waitress Vi.

Being part of television history in Grease Live! left Conn marveling at the professionalism of the cast and crew. And even lightening speed makeup and wardrobe changes didn’t get in the way of flawless performances. Conn calls Tony-nominated director Thomas Kail (Hamilton) “one grounded, brilliant, interesting director.”

“He prepared everybody in such a degree that when they left the rehearsal studio after four weeks, they were doing full run throughs and it was just as good as three weeks later when they did it live…Everything happened in a gradual, just methodical and brilliant way.”

Watch a clip from Grease Live! below.

Was it difficult for Conn to pass the torch to Frenchy successor Carly Rae Jepsen or was it more like watching your child shine in a beautiful way? Conn thinks it’s definitely the latter. “When I saw her, I just burst into tears. And my first thought was … ‘There’s the daughter I never had.’ It was very, very moving. And then she started to cry. And then everybody started to cry.”

The actress knows the power of her former character. Conn is approached nearly every day by those who want to share their Frenchy stories (“My daughter (aunt etc.) played Frenchy in the school play.”). Adds the actress, “This is a role to share, because it’s just the person who in high school, you know, really knew what she wanted to do—had motivation for her future.” And just like that, Didi Conn has you rooting for that special beauty school dropout all over again.