Source: Entertainment Weekly

A rapt audience at the Hollywood Bowl got a blast of Grease lightning Friday night when John Travolta made a surprise appearance at a special sing-along screening of the iconic movie musical in Los Angeles.

The event had just kicked off when Travolta, dressed in classic Danny Zuko style—black leather jacket, T-shirt, and jeans—strutted on stage to greet his stunned castmates and the cheering crowd.

“L.A.?” he teased, quoting one of the film’s famous lines. “I thought you were going back to Australia!”

Travolta then led the crowd in a boisterous round of “a-womp-bop-a-looma a-womp-bam-boom,” from the film’s finale, “We Go Together,” before stepping aside for the screening to begin.

Joining him were original Grease cast members Didi Conn (Frenchy), Barry Pearl (Doody), Michael Tucci (Sonny), and Kelly Ward (Putzie), along with director Randal Kleiser. Absent were Stockard Channing (Rizzo), Jamie Donnelly (Jan), Dinah Manoff (Marty), and Olivia Newton-John, who played Sandy and passed away in 2022.

Travolta later posted a photo and video on Instagram, writing, “Tonight at the Hollywood Bowl, for the first time I surprised everyone at the Grease Sing-a-Long and dressed up as Danny Zuko. No one knew. Not even the cast. Thank you for a great evening.”

Grease began as a 1972 stage musical before its 1978 film adaptation became a global hit, earning five Golden Globe nominations and an Oscar nod for Best Original Song (“Hopelessly Devoted to You”). As of May 2025, it remains the fourth-highest-grossing film adaptation of a Broadway musical and is preserved in the National Film Registry.

Travolta and Newton-John last reunited as Danny and Sandy at a 2019 “Meet n’ Grease” event in Florida, delighting fans in full costume—a legacy Travolta honored once again Friday night.

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