Vanessa Hudgens Powers Through 'Grease: Live' After Father's Death, Thanks Fans

Fox's "Grease: Live" just dropped the mic on NBC, showing all networks how a live TV musical should be done. Last night's cast was BORN to hand jive, baby! But the show was not without its obstacles.

Going into this weekend, the cast and crew probably thought Los Angeles rain would be the biggest issue, but on January 31 itself -- just a few hours before showtime -- Rizzo actress Vanessa Hudgens updated fans that her father had passed away the night before:

I am so sad to say that last night my daddy, Greg passed away from stage 4 cancer. Thank you to everyone who kept him in your prayers.

— Vanessa Hudgens (@VanessaHudgens) January 31, 2016

Tonight, I do the show in his honor.

— Vanessa Hudgens (@VanessaHudgens) January 31, 2016

Wow. But as they say, the show must go on. And it did. And it was pretty awesome. There were a couple of sound issues, and fans on Twitter (who kept #GreaseLive trending) nitpicked some changes from the film, but overall the reviews were very, very positive for the entire ambitious production and the cast -- led by Julianne Hough and Aaron Tveit, with backup from Carly Rae Jepsen, Keke Palmer, Carlos PenaVega, Mario Lopez, Wendell Pierce, and Ana Gasteyer.

Vanessa Hudgens powered through her role like a pro, belting out "Sandra Dee" and Rizzo's poignant solo, "There Are Worse Things:




The ratings are still coming in for "Grease: Live," but it's said to be steady with NBC's "The Wiz Live!" which was itself an improvement on "Peter Pan Live!"

This production will surely set a new bar for how to stage a live TV musical, and hopefully fans can look forward to more like it in years to come. Did you enjoy the show?

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