Grease is the word — and part of actress Didi Conn’s fondest memories.
Conn, 75, attended Grease: The Immersive Movie Musical at London’s Battersea Park on Thursday, July 23, where she watched a staged version of the classic production from a replica theater.
Conn, dressed in her best Pink Lady jacket for the occasion, was even spotted tearing up when Teen Angel (Ricky Wilson) sang “Beauty School Dropout” to Frenchie (Jess Smith). Instead of standing beside Wilson, Smith joined Conn in a diner-style booth.
Conn, of course, portrayed pink-haired Frenchy in the original 1978 film, whose character dyed her blonde locks after a mishap in beauty school. (Frenchy had dropped out of Rydell High School ahead of graduation to pursue cosmetology.)
In the years since Conn hand-jived with Grease costars John Travolta, the late Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing and more, she’s gushed over their sweet memories on set.
“It was my birthday when we filmed the big dance scene,” Conn said in an Instagram video shared by Laura Gellar Beauty last month, referring to the aforementioned “Hand Jive” routine. “They surprised me with a beautiful sheet cake and it was so hot in that gym. By the time we got to lunch, the whole top had melted. [It] still tasted good.”
At the time, Conn also revisited her Frenchy audition.
“My agent said, ‘You got to go looking like the character,’” she recalled. “All I knew was that her name was Frenchy. I did know that she wanted to be a beautician, and I’m driving home and what do I see but Frenchy’s beauty parlor? Little Frenchy, she did my hair with at least two cans of spray. I had a big hairdo, and I learned so much about beauty school.”
By the time Conn went in for her Grease audition, she was able to channel the real Frenchy and shared her story with the casting team.
“They told me later, as soon as I opened my mouth, I had the role,” she said. “I didn’t know that!”
Once she landed the part, Conn particularly bonded with Newton-John, who played leading lady Sandy.
“She was a little bit nervous about doing this film,” Conn said of Newton-John, who died in 2022. “Her first scene in the movie was with Frenchy, but I started improvising with her. I said, ‘I’m so happy I have a new neighbor all the way from Australia,’ and Olivia looked at me, like, ‘What? Is this in the script?’ And she started to play with me.”
