Summer Is Here!

It's the first day of Summer and nothing says fun in the sun to me like the movie Grease. Grease recently turned 40 on June 16th. I remember seeing it the Summer when it first came out in a theater and I was completely captivated and was ready to Born To Hand Jive when I left the theater and find me some Summer Lovin'!

Little did I know many years later when I went from being a young lad in Junior High ("Yes" I was in the7th grade when it came out) that I would eventually move to Los Angeles and attend a handful of to do's at Randal Kleiser's house, the director behind this classic.

Grease really captures every aspect of what Summer means to me, and I suspect many of you due to it's enduring appeal. 

So let's get systematic and hydromatic and try not to look at everyone like they are Sandra Dee.

Love your summer like Greased Lightning!!!

Grease on Wikipedia -

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grease_(film)  

G(Reese) Is The Werd...

You're The One That I Want
Reese Witherspoon

Levity is the name of today's game, not the name game. While I saw this photo when it was initially posted on her Instagram page, I stumbled upon it again surfing the WWW. You might could say, it made me smile because it is so damned silly. 

"Yes" Minions I hereby declare today Grease on Reese day! Can I get a hoot and a holler?! Of course I can!!!

I mean just how fun is this image I ask you? I asked you, answer me damn it! Fine moving on...today is about fun not strife, so I can take a non-response, for now.

My decree for all of you today is to do something silly, but not with string. Photoshop is the challenge of the day, do it and do it now!

Reese on IG -

https://www.instagram.com/reesewitherspoon/?hl=en  

Two Of A Kind

Grease is the Word
Olivia Newton-John & Michelle Pfeiffer

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, well this photo is worth millions of them. "Yes" it's when two Grease's collide minions! Starring Olivia Newton-John of the original classic Grease and Michelle Pfeiffer of the F/U Grease 2.

Close encounter of the iconic kind...the two met up at the G'Day USA: Standing Together event in Beverly Hills, CA on January 25th. 

Olivia took to Instagram and posted the cooler than anything else you will see this week photo with the caption: “So lovely seeing you Michelle!! Xoxo #PinkLadyPower @michellepfeifferofficial @gdayusa,”

Michelle reciprocated by posting the photo stating in return: “Look who I ran into last night – the original Pink Lady 💗💗 @therealonj. What an incredible night for an incredible cause. @gdayusa.”

If this isn't giving you major good vibes then I don't know what would.

Olivia on IG -
https://www.instagram.com/therealonj/?hl=en

Michelle on IG -
https://www.instagram.com/michellepfeifferofficial/?hl=en

Waxing Nostalgic

We Go Together
Olivia Newton-John & John Travolta

Being it is the season for nostalgia, sentimentality, etc... this photo really brought back fond memories for me of my youth. That's correct minions, I've got chills they're multiplying!

My first girl crush Olivia Newton - John and John Travolta got their inner Danny Zuko and Sandy Olsson on for a Grease Sing-A-Long in Palm Beach, FL.

Olivia captioned the photo on Instagram with: "First time in costume since we made the movie! So excited!" 

Indeed as were the attendees of the three day event called "Meet N Grease" which will include a Q&A session with the dynamic duo.

Thus today's secret word is "Grease" because, after all "Grease" is the word!

ONJ on IG -
https://www.instagram.com/therealonj/?hl=en

Michael's Musings

Put On Your Best Sunday Dress
Michael Shinafelt 

This has been one of those weeks, not bad, not good, not even in between - indifferent. Yeah they are the ones that befuddle the senses and make your mind go Hmmmmmmm... but at least they are uneventful and they do tend to have an odd calm about them even though they aren't entirely smooth. 

They are just so very, day by day, which isn't a bad or good thing, it simply is, always and will be, much like a constant craving, sands of the hourglass, blah, blah, blah - It's time to release the Kraken!

Apparently you are not allowed to wear the Queen's tiaras, what would you do?

Gird your loins

In dog years you're still a twat

Alexa, get me some ______ fill in the blank, it yours to enjoy! 

Coffee in the morning? Groundbreaking...

I'm going to name it after you

Him: I can't figure you out

Me: Many have tried 

All the boys and all the girls are begging to if you seek Amy

Sonja Morgan of the Captain Morgan, Morgan's 

"I play the ukulele, and I sing, too" - Marilyn Monroe as Sugar Kane "Some Like It Hot"

A prequel to Grease is in the works, we now officially live in Hell

I don't wanna be buried in Pet Semetary - who am I kidding, I'd love to come back from the dead as a homicidal version of my former self!

Do you believe in the power of rubber baby buggy bumpers?

It's Showtime!

Want to see something really scary? Follow me at: 

https://www.instagram.com/michaelshinafelt/?hl=en

https://twitter.com/MShinafelt  

Weekends Were Made For Fishnet Bodysuits

Setting The Fishnet
Jessie J.

Nothing says "Hello Weekend" like a Fishnet Bodysuit, correct?! Well OK there are plenty of other things that do, in fact I can name a few at this very moment, but will refrain from that tedium.

Moving on, for some reason Jessie J. performing at the O2 Academy in Birmingham, England captured my sense of whimsy this ayem. 

Jessie's visibility quotient has spiked recently with her dating newly single Channing Tatum, and coming out with the fact that she is unable to bear children. That's OK Ms. J. you are a vocal powerhouse, not to mention how perfectly amaze balls you look in a Fishnet Bodysuit.

Remember when she sang the theme song to Grease on the Grease Live telecast? Yeah, that was a one of the things that really stood out to me about that endeavor. 

What's that? "Yes" I just went on a random tangent. It's my blog and I'll do what I want to.

So slide your Fishnet Bodysuit on and bend it like Jessie J. Why? Why the F#ck not???

Jessie on IG -
https://www.instagram.com/jessiej/?hl=en 

Let's Get Physical, Again...

You Know What I Mean?
Juliana Hatfield

A shout goes to my partner in Real Housewives of Beverly Hills crime Jackie Kilmer for bringing this to my attention. 

What is it that was brought to your attention Michael, you are asking? Juliana Hatfield doing a cover of the Olivia Newton-John smash Physical from her fourth coming groove Juliana Hatfield Sings Olivia Newton-John on April 13th.

In case you don't know it I am a rabid ONJ fan. She was my first girl crush growing up. She was many a gay guys girl crush of a certain age actually, you know that outfit at the end of Grease? Mic drop!

Nothing can ever replace Olivia, but I love, love, love that Hatfield is doing a whole album of covers to one of the undisputed Queens of music.

Get Physical after the jump, or jump and get Physical. The decision is yours.

Juliana on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/julianahatfield/?hl=en

Just Because...Gigi Hadid

Tell Me About It, Stud
Gigi  Hadid

Just Because I like the costume, Just Because it's Halloween & Just Because I can - here is Gigi Hadid dressed up as Sandy from the classic movie musical Grease for the Season of the Witch.

This photo is a stunner to me. Leave it to Ms. Hadid to treat wearing a Halloween costume as a sashay down the catwalk, meow!

Everything about this costume is perfection, including the fact that she actually bears a striking resemblance to Olivia Newton-John who played the role in the film.

For me out of all the celebrity model off springs that are out there now, Gigi is one of the ones who actually deserves to be at the top of the ladder. Some of the others, well not so much. She is the definition of a Supermodel.

Only 11 more days until Halloween, I don't know about you, but I can't wait to get my freak on...Boo!

Gigi on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/gigihadid/?hl=en

Rock-n-Roll Legend: Bobby Rydell

From his vivid childhood on the fabled mid-20^th-century streets of South Philadelphia, to his reign as the Justin Bieber of the “Camelot” era, his battles with alcoholism, and his lifesaving double-transplant surgery, multi-talented entertainer Bobby Rydell has one hell of a story to tell. 

And tell he did, here for an exclusive chat with Entertain Me about his autobiography, Teen Idol On The Rocks is none other than Rock-n-Roll legend: Mr. Bobby Rydell!

MS: Hi Bobby. A friend of mine performed with you at the Hollywood Bowl for Y-Day in 1963.

BR: Oh my God. Who was it?

MS: Do you remember Mike Clifford?

BR: Oh yeah, yeah, I remember tell him "Hi" for me.

MS: What compelled you to write Teen Idol On The Rocks?

BR: Being on the road for many years, after the show you get together sit down, talk to people and you start relating stories. This had been going on for quite a few years and everybody who I kept company with would say: Bobby, you have such great stories, why don't you write a book? I'd always be like: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

To make a long story short my wife said: Why don't you seriously think about putting your life together in a autobiography? I thought maybe it isn't such a bad idea. So, I got together with a friend of mine Allan Slutsky, he's a Grammy winner and wrote a book called Standing in the Shadows of Mowtown, we sat for eighteen months. He was here with a tape recorder, a piece of paper and a pencil, I just poured my heart out to him and lo and behold, here's the book. 

                        Forget Him                                 

MS: Mike mentioned that you performed the song "Forget Him" at Y-Day. I didn't realize I had actually heard the song until I pulled it up online.

BR: That was my third million selling hit. I recorded it in London, England. The song was written by a gentleman named Tony Hatch, who also wrote "Downtown" for Petula Clark. We got together while I was over in the UK and not only did we record "Forget Him" we recorded a whole album, we released the single which became a big hit, so the album was of course titled " Forget Him." (laughs)

MS: When did your alcoholism start? Was that your whole career or later in it?

BR: Later in my career. Prior to becoming a really heavy drinker I was more or less a social drinker. Going out to dinner having a cocktail, maybe a liqueur after. But what actually led to all the drinking was back in 2003 my wife of thirty-six years passed away from breast cancer. She was a very important and loving part of my life. When she passed I just couldn't handle it. I was weak and depressed so I turned to alcohol. I thought a couple of drinks a day would be OK. But a couple of drinks became four, than eight, eight became twelve, I drank my ass off. It went on for quite a few years and that's what led to my double transplant, a new liver and a new kidney. 

MS: It's pretty amazing that you received both of those.

BR: There was a Doctor in 2010 who said: Bobby if you don't stop drinking you're going to be dead in two years. I laughed and said: Well I have another two years. He was right on the money, because in 2012 I had the surgery. 

Bobby Today

MS: Something cool I read was that The Beatles paid homage to you  in one of their songs. Also I read that they all but killed your career. Please explain that.

BR: Well not only me, but quite a few American artists. When they hit not only them, but a whole bunch of artists from the UK came to America, we called it the British Invasion. Basically that's what it was. Everybody has their day an God Bless them. Before The Beatles became anything I was traveling with a young woman, Helen Shapiro who was a big singer in the UK. We were doing a tour, traveling on a bus through the UK doing different cities. One night in front of the bus there was a car and Helen yelled out "There's The Beatles!" 

I didn't know what she meant I started looking around the bus for cockroaches. Anyway the bus stopped, the car stopped, the four guys got on the bus. Now they knew me, and I just shook their hands, they're The Beatles, their a band, that's cool, they were on the road too. They went their way, we went our way. Then I come home, now it's 1964 and I am watching Ed Sullivan and there are The Beatles! I go "Jesus I met those guys!" it would have been such a great picture, before they made it they came on the bus in the middle of the UK ten or eleven o'clock at night, no picture. That would have been fantastic! Then later Paul McCartney would they got "Yeah, Yeah, Yeah" from me. That's like a feather in my cap. (laughs) 

MS: I've always been familiar with the name Bobby Rydell. In fact when I saw that the name of the High School in the movie "Grease" was Rydell High, I knew it was named for you.

BR: People have brought that up many times. I don't know why they picked me. It could have been Presley High or Fabian High, or anything really. 

MS: Rydell sounds like an actual High School.

BR: Does it really? Well, maybe it does. Yeah, I guess it does. (laughs) 

MS: I don't think Fabian or Presley High sounds real.

BR: Yeah, yeah you're right, not even I thought those names sounded right for a High School when I said them. (laughs)

Teen Idol On The Rocks will be available tomorrow, May 4th on Amazon and at Barnes & Noble.

Keep Rocking With Bobby at:

Official website: www.bobbyrydell.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/OfficialBobbyRydell

YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/BobbayRydell

Look At Me It's...Sandra Dee's?

Like A Virgin?
Vanessa Hudgens & Julianna Hough

"Look at me, I'm Sandra Dee, Lousy with virginity
Won't go to bed 'til I'm legally wed
I can't; I'm Sandra Dee" - Sandra Dee, Grease 

With the January 31st date of Grease: Live! drawing near, I spied this cool photo of our latest incarnations of Sandy & Rizzo out promoting the Really Big Shoo in New York City, NYC, The Big Apple, take a bite!

My gut instinct says this production is going to be a smashing entity all on it's own terms and I really can't wait for it to air.

I am especially excited to see my High School Musical crush, Vanessa Hudgens portray Rizzo! While I am sure Julianne Hough will be fine as Sandy, who doesn't like the bad girls best?

Let's face it, there can only be one goody two shoes in da house!

"Hey Fongool, I'm Sandra Dee!"

Go "Live" or go home! at:
www.fox.com/grease-live 

Grease Live!

l-r Julianne Hough, Aaron Tveit & Vanessa Hudgens
Good Luck Guys!

There's a drought in Hollywood, of original ideas. I bet you thought I was going to mention the water supply, didn't you? 

Well luckily when it comes to great Hollywood musicals getting the old re-do treatment the concept is original, they are doing them live! The giant ratings for The Sound of Music Live solidified there would be more live TV musicals to come.

Up this January Grease gets a whirl on the live wire. The movie is considered a classic and starred John Travolta as Danny and Olivia Newton-John as Sandy. Their chemistry was electrifying! 

To me the challenge of this undertaking, other than performing it live, is not trying to replicate the original, nobody could. Rather the challenge is trying to create something new that resonates with the audiences on some different level. Most of that will fall on how much chemistry Julianne Hough and Aaron Tveit - the new Sandy and Danny's shoulders. While they could never copy Travolta and Newton-John's sizzle, they need to have their own spark to really make this production Greased Lightning!

I am looking forward to seeing High School Musical alumni Vanessa Hudgens essay the role of Rizzo made famous by Stockard Channing. Having won rave reviews on Broadway for the title role of Gigi for sure she will make Rizzo her own.

Tell me more, tell me more...

Grease Live! at: 

https://twitter.com/GreaseLive

www.fox.com/grease-live

"Grease" Live Is The Werd

Hudgens & Hough

In the tradition of Sound of Music live, and because of it's record breaking ratings. A live version of Grease is coming to FOX January 31st 2016 - werd!

The first two casting announcements were made today - and this writer found them a mixed bag.

Julianne Hough will play Sandy, um I'm not sure about the rest of you , but I find the former Dancing With The Stars star and now judge pretty uninteresting. I certainly don't think she can and ever will compete with my first girl crush Olivia Newton-John.

Next up Vanessa Hudgens as Rizzo. Now this is something I can get behind, she is one of my current girl crushes, and I think perfection casting wise.

Julianne had this to say (source E!Online) "Grease is one of the movies that made me want to be an entertainer, and I have literally been waiting my whole life to play Sandy," Hough said. "My siblings and I watched it and played it out over and over when we were kids. This is my dream role and performing it live on television will be one of the most thrilling opportunities I've had in my career so far."

Cutie Vanessa Hudgens who will be on Broadway in Gigi states (source E!Online) "Being Rizzo is something I've never imagined, and I love that because it will be a new challenge. She is such an iconic character that continues to transcend generations. I cannot wait to bring her to life on live television. I'm going to be a Pink Lady!"  

OK, Zac Efron as Danny Zuko anyone?!

Julianne on IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2584600/?ref_=fn_nm_nm_1

Vanessa on IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1227814/?ref_=fn_nm_nm_1

You Go Olivia! Olivia Newton-John's "Summer Nights" @The Flamingo

You Go Olivia!

My first girl crush from my formative years as a young man and former interview subject, check out this fun chat I did with her at AfterElton: http://www.thebacklot.com/interview-with-gay-ally-olivia-newton-john/08/2008/

 Olivia Newton-John is going to have a residency at Bugsy Malone's former Vegas oasis, The Flamingo. I last saw Ms. Newton-John perform at Los Angeles Gay Pride and she was great! I am predicting a trip to Vegas in the near future, congrats Olivia!

Get ready for some summer lovin’ and “have a blast” as Olivia Newton-John makes her way to Flamingo Las Vegas with her “Summer Nights” residency. Opening inside the Donny & Marie Showroom on Tuesday, April 8, the beloved internationally-renowned singer-actress will take audiences on a musical journey through her life in film and music.

Tickets go on sale Friday, Feb. 7 at 10 a.m. Members of Caesars Entertainment’s Total Rewards program will have access to an exclusive pre-sale from Wednesday, Feb. 5 at 10 a.m. to Thursday, Feb. 6 at 10 p.m.   To join Total Rewards program for free, click here.  

“I am thrilled to be able to call Las Vegas home for a while,” says Olivia. “I have performed here many times through the years and have had nothing but wonderful memories and I look forward to even more fun at the Flamingo. I am especially thrilled that a portion of every ticket sold will benefit the Olivia Newton-John Cancer and Wellness Centre.”

“We look forward to welcoming Olivia to Flamingo Las Vegas, where so many other iconic artists have performed,” said Eileen Moore, regional president of the famed center Strip resort. “She has such a broad appeal and you can count all of us here at Flamingo among her adoring fan base; she’s the ‘one that we want’ and we can’t wait for her to call Flamingo home.”

The show will be a musical journey through the iconic artist’s illustrious career featuring hits from her early years including “Have You Never Been Mellow,” “Let Me Be There,” “If You Love Me Let Me Know” and “I Honestly Love You,” as well some of her favorites from Grease,“Hopelessly Devoted to You,” “You’re The One That I Want,” and of course, “Summer Nights.”  Favorites and hits from her other movies, including Xanadu, as well as her ‘80s anthem and record breaking song “Physical,” will keep the room dancing, while new songs from her recent Billboard hit album Grace and Gratitude are sure to warm the hearts of the entire audience.

Dates confirmed so far:

April: 8 – 12  
May: 6 – 10, 27 – 31  
July: 1 – 5, 29 – 31 
Aug: 1, 2, 5 – 9, 12 – 16, 19 – 23, 26 – 30 

All shows begin at 7:30 p.m. Ticket prices are $69, $99 and $139, and a special meet and greet package is available for $249. Additional service fees apply. Tickets are available at any Las Vegas Caesars Entertainment Box Office, by phone at (702) 777-2782 or (855) 234-7469 or by visiting flamingolasvegas.com. For groups of 10 or more call (866) 574-3851 or email EntertainmentGroupSales@Caesars.com.