The sequel to 1978's Grease hit theaters 44 years ago this month. Why Michelle Pfeiffer left her Grease 2 audition feeling 'so humiliated' The sequel to 1978's Grease hit theaters 44 years ago this month. By Raechal Shewfelt :maxbytes(150000):stripicc()/RaechalShewfeltauthorphotoc49d3a3b6aa442f588f2bbc0de804e09.jpg) Raechal Shewfelt Raechal Shewfelt is a writer at . She has been working at EW since 2024. Her work has previously appeared on Yahoo and in American Journalism Review and The Shreveport Times. EW's editorial guidelines June 25, 2026 10:24 p.m.

The sequel to 1978's Grease hit theaters 44 years ago this month.

Why Michelle Pfeiffer left her Grease 2 audition feeling 'so humiliated'

The sequel to 1978's Grease hit theaters 44 years ago this month.

By Raechal Shewfelt

Raechal Shewfelt

Raechal Shewfelt is a writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2024. Her work has previously appeared on Yahoo and in American *Journalism Review* and *The Shreveport Times*.

EW's editorial guidelines

June 25, 2026 10:24 p.m. ET

Leave a Comment

Michelle Pfeiffer in 'Grease 2'. Credit:

Courtesy Paramount Pictures

- Michelle Pfeiffer recalled that her *Grease 2* audition didn't go well.

- She was not a singer or a dancer, which was a problem, since the sequel was a musical.

- The movie arrived in theaters in June 1982.

Michelle Pfeiffer didn't think she'd get the chance to sing about a "Cool Rider" in *Grease 2*.

As she saw it, the audition for the starring role of Stephanie Zinone went badly. Really badly, she told ** for a 2023 oral history of the cult classic, which debuted in movie theaters 44 years ago this month.

"I had zero expectations of landing this part," Pfeiffer said. "My agent sent me on it, honestly, I think, just for the experience. It was such a cattle call — there were actors and dancers and singers everywhere hanging out, coming in and out auditioning, and there were very thin walls. All the other actors waiting to go in could hear your reading, could hear your singing. I was not a singer. I was taking voice classes to really improve my stage voice at the recommendation of my acting coach. And I certainly was not a dancer."

Of course, *Grease 2*, like its 1978 predecessor, is a musical. So, dancer or not, Pfeiffer needed to show that she could move.

"The last phase of the audition was the dancing part. It literally was like you see in the movies where one line would come and they would dance across the stage and then the next line would come and they would dance across the stage," the three-time Oscar nominee recounted. "I kept moving further to the back, so I ended up in the very last line and stumbled my way through because I couldn't remember the choreography."

Michelle Pfeiffer defends 'Grease 2,' says 'people of a certain generation' love it

The ultimate 'Grease 2' oral history

She thought it had been a disaster.

"I left with my tail between my legs, feeling so humiliated," Pfeiffer said. "And somebody's assistant, I think it was [director] Pat Birch's assistant, ran after me across the Paramount studio lot. I said something about being really embarrassed and she said, 'Well, you shouldn't be because she wants you to come back tomorrow.'"

After landing the part of the Pink Ladies leader, despite her feelings, Pfeiffer led a cast that also included Maxwell Caulfield, Lorna Luft, Pamela Adlon, Christopher McDonald, and Didi Conn.

Michelle Pfeiffer in June 2026.

Arturo Holmes/WireImage

Critics weren't kind, but audiences have been loyal over the years, and they continue to show up at screenings.

Pfeiffer had spent the previous few years appearing on TV shows such as *CHiPS* and *Fantasy Island*, the film *Hollywood Knights*, and the TV movie *Splendor in the Grass*, which starred Melissa Gilbert and Cyril O'Reilly as Deanie and Bud. But after wearing a Pink Ladies jacket, Pfeiffer was headed for bigger things. *Scarface*, *The Witches of Eastwick*, *Dangerous Liaisons*, and *The Fabulous Baker Boys* all followed in the next decade.

- Musical Movies

Original Article on Source

Source: "EW Musical"

Read More

---

Source: Musical

Published: June 26, 2026 at 05:38PM on Source: RED MAG

#ShowBiz#Sports#Celebrities#Lifestyle