NBC'S "GREASE: YOU'RE THE ONE THAT I WANT" ANNOUNCES THE TOP 12 FINALISTS WHO WILL COMPETE TO BECOME BROADWAY'S NEXT DANNY & SANDY IN THE NEW PRODUCTION OF GREASE

NBC'S "GREASE: YOU'RE THE ONE THAT I WANT" ANNOUNCES THE TOP 12 FINALISTS WHO WILL COMPETE TO BECOME BROADWAY'S NEXT DANNY & SANDY IN THE NEW PRODUCTION OF GREASE

AMERICA WILL CHOOSE THE TWO NEW BROADWAY STARS AS THE HOPEFULS ARE ELIMINATED EACH WEEK IN EIGHT LIVE EPISODES BEGINNING JANUARY 28

BURBANK, Calif. � January 22, 2007 - NBC's popular new talent competition series "Grease: You're the One That I Want" has announced its Top 12 contestants, who will be performing live starting next Sunday, January 28, 7-9 p.m. ET in a special 2-hour episode, which will also feature Olivia Newton-John as a guest judge.

After nationwide auditions were held to search for the next Danny and Sandy, the top performers attended "Grease Academy," where they were trained by two-time Tony Award winning choreographer, Kathleen Marshall, and professional acting, dance and vocal coaches to refine their skills.

In last night's episode, the 12 finalists from Grease Academy were revealed. These 12 will perform each week in eight live episodes, and America will decide which Danny and Sandy hopefuls will move on to the next round.

The 12 finalists are:

Allie Schultz, 19, Nashville, Tennessee

Laura Osnes, 20, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Ashley Spencer, 21, Massillon, Ohio

Kate Rockwell, 22, Cincinnati, Ohio

Juliana Hansen, 23, Los Angeles, California

Kathleen Monteleone, 23, Tigard, Oregon

Max Crumm, 21, Phoenix, Arizona

Kevin Greene, 22, Rochester, New York

Derek Keeling, 26, Charleston, West Virginia

Chad Doreck, 27, Long Beach, California

Austin Miller, 30, Alvin, Texas

Jason Celaya, 31, Foster City, California

Viewers can get more information about the contestants each week on NBC.com.

In this exciting live portion of the reality series, America will ultimately get to choose the two leads for a new Broadway production of the hit musical "Grease." The new production of "Grease" is scheduled to open on Broadway in July 2007, and will be directed and choreographed by Marshall ("The Pajama Game"), who is also a judge on the series. She's joined on the judging panel by Jim Jacobs, the co-creator of "Grease," and renowned theater producer David Ian. Billy Bush ("Access Hollywood") and Denise Van Outen (Broadway's "Chicago") serve as host and co-host.

"Grease: You're the One That I Want" is produced by BBC Worldwide Productions. Al Edgington ("Last Comic Standing," "The Amazing Race"), Lou Stroller ("Tomb Raider," "The Rock," "Scarface") and Paul Telegdy, Senior Vice President, Programming and Production, BBC Worldwide, are the executive producers; Suzy Lamb ("BBC UK's "How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?") is co-executive producer.