Palmer ("Scream Queens," “Masters of Sex”) will play Marty Maraschino, one of the Pink Ladies, alongside the previously announced Julianne Hough (as Sandy) and Vanessa Hudgens (as Rizzo).
Robert Cary and Jonathan Tolins (Buyer & Cellar), who most recently wrote additional material for the Tony-nominated revival of On the Town, will adapt the script. The three-hour broadcast of Grease: Live! will "reimagine" the popular musical, featuring the Warren Casey-Jim Jacobs songs from the 1972 stage production, in addition to "Hopelessly Devoted to You" and "You're the One That I Want," which were written by John Farrar for the 1978 film.
The broadcast will be staged by Thomas Kail, a Tony nominee for In the Heights, who recently directed the Broadway-bound musical Hamilton.
Alex Rudzinski (“Dancing with the Stars”) will serve as the live broadcast director. Marc Platt (Wicked, Into the Woods) will be executive producer for the live performance that will be broadcast 7-10 PM (ET live/PT tape-delayed) Jan. 31, 2016, on the Fox network.
In an earlier statement, Hough said that she has "literally been waiting my whole life to play Sandy... 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." Fox announced the live musical plans following NBC's December 2013 presentation of The Sound of Music Live!, which was a ratings blockbuster for that network.
The live television event will feature a young ensemble cast of actors. Grease: Live! will be a Paramount Television production, and Marc Platt is an executive producer.
"From Broadway to film, and across generations, Grease is one of the most beloved musical stories ever told – and we can't wait to bring it to our air in a spectacular live event," said Shana C. Waterman, senior vice president of Event Series for Fox, in a previous statement. "Its iconic characters and addictive songs make it the perfect fit for FOX, and we're going to give it the kind of star power and production quality to make every Sandy, Danny, Rizzo and Kenickie out there want to get up and sing along."
