 "Photo: Photo courtesy of Chad Doreck")
There are six words Chad Doreck is dying to hear.
"You're the one that I want."
He isn't daydreaming of a lustful encounter with Paris Hilton or Angelina Jolie. Doreck's one wish is to be chosen from a pool of thousands of potential Danny Zukos to star in a Broadway production of the musical phenomenon "Grease."
Since January, former USC student Doreck has been vying for the role of Danny on NBC's "Grease: You're the One that I Want," a reality television show on which starry-eyed contestants compete to become the next real-life Danny or Sandy.
Every Sunday night, the potential showstoppers croon, act and dance their socks off in front of a panel of renowned theater buffs. Much like "American Idol," though, audience members will be the ones who ultimately decide the fate of the couple to appear in the NYC production of "Grease" this summer.
Fearful of being pegged as "just some lucky guy picked off the street," Doreck was hesitant to audition for the "Grease" reality show.
"I didn't want to seem like an amateur," Doreck said.
But after his initial audition for the role of Kenickie - one of Danny's resident goofball sidekicks - Doreck was told he was better suited for the dreamboat part. In preparation for the audition, he watched "Grease" 10 times and was last to appear before the panelists. When he walked in, judge David Ian declared, "It looks like our Danny may have walked in last."
"That was the first time I thought there was a good chance I could win this thing," Doreck said.
Doreck proved to be a favorite among the judges early on. "If someone said, 'Cast the show tonight for Danny,' after that performance, you got it," said Jim Jacobs, judge and co-creator of the show, on an episode last month.
Weeks later, he has secured one of the final four spots among the fellow Danny wannabes, but the odds seem to be tilting slightly less in his favor.
"Not the best vocal performance, but that pretty-looking guy would sell me millions of tickets," Ian said on last week's show.
And Doreck is absolutely a pretty boy - with big brown eyes and an easy smile, you can envision the actor slicking back his curly brown hair and tossing a leather jacket over his shoulder. Doreck looks the most like the traditional John Travolta, with some of the remaining dudes exhibiting a closer resemblance to a Ken doll or a punk rocker.
"I think my looks will help me," Doreck said of the Travolta resemblance. "I just try to steal from him because he had such a good grasp on the character, and the best actors always steal from other great actors."
Indeed, Doreck exudes Travolta's perennially aloof and even superior sense of cool - his voicemail message is self-satisfied nonchalance at its finest: "Hey, it's Chad. Tell me something good."
Doreck was literally too cool for school at one point - he attended USC for only one semester as a film major before leaving to pursue his acting career.
"I decided that I just had to ride one horse," Doreck said of the choice. "But I have some great memories from my time at 'SC, and of my frat brothers at Alpha Gamma Omega."
On campus, Doreck gravitated toward athletes and soon joined a posse of fast friends.
"They stole me an ID card to get into the athletic dining facilities for free," he said. "To complete the scam, we pretended I was a diver because of my build. We got a diving cap from the bookstore and fooled all the dining ladies."
As an actor, Doreck has made his name largely in the voice-over field. You know the high-pitched squeal of Crackle in the Kellogg's Rice Krispies cereal advertisements? What about the loveable brother Greg in one of those Brady Bunch movies? Both Doreck. He's tackled more serious pursuits as well, including an on-stage gig with legendary director Francis Ford Coppola.
Doreck admits to being nervous about this week's upcoming elimination, though he remains confident in his performance. Whether he's the last man standing, one thing's for sure: He's giving the multiplying female voters chills.
"When he was even in the tryouts before Grease Academy I fell in love with him," gushed one New York fan in the online Facebook club "Chad Doreck is the One That I Want." "I voted soo many times. Chad is soo hot and amazing - I hope he makes it!"
"Danny has to be three things," Doreck said. "He's gotta be a romantic lead, he's gotta have charm, and he's gotta be a leader. And I'm the only guy who has all three of those things."
Modesty, it seems, is not in the script.
