Mario Lopez Joins TV's Grease Live!

Broadway veteran Mario Lopez (A Chorus Line) will play Vince Fontaine in TV's upcoming live presentation of Grease, Fox TV announced tonight. The presentation is set to air on July 31, 2016.

Lopez is part of a company that includes "Call Me Maybe" singer and Broadway veteran Carly Rae Jepsen (Cinderella). Jepsen takes on the role of Frenchy, alongside You’re the Worst actress Kether Donohue, who will be playing Jan in the live musical presentation. Nickelodeon star David Del Rio (The Troop) also joins the cast as T-Bird Putzie.

As previously announced, Broadway regular Aaron Tveit (Catch Me If You Can) and Julianne Hough (Footloose) will also star as star-crossed teenage lovers Danny Zuko and Sandy Dumbrowski. Carlos PenaVega (Big Time Rush) will costar as Kenickie, with Vanessa Hudgens (Gigi) as Betty Rizzo and Keke Palmer (Jepsen's successor in Cinderella on Broadway) as Marty.

Grammy Award-nominated pop singer Jessie J will open the event with an updated version of "Grease (Is the Word)." Written by Barry Gibb, the song was first performed by Frankie Valli for the 1978 film starring Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta.

Grease follows the tempestuous romance between tough-talking high schooler Danny Zuko and shy, demure Sandy. The score contains musical-theater standards like "Summer Nights," "Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee," and "We Go Together."

Grease: Live is a production of Paramount Television. The broadcast, adapted by playwrights Robert Cary and Jonathan Tolins, is based on the original stage musical by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey and its 1978 screen adaptation.

The live performance is directed by Alex Rudzinski and Hamilton director Thomas Kail, with choreography by Zach Woodlee (Glee, Annie), who now joins the project.