On January 31, Grease: Live hit television screens as the fourth live musical TV broadcast in this new wave of live musical events. Tveit, a crossover star with credits from Gabe in Broadway’s Next to Normal and Frank Abagnale, Jr. in Catch Me If You Can and television roles like Mike Warren in Graceland, fused disciplines playing Danny Zuko.

Before hitting the stage at MCC’s Miscast 2016 Gala, the star shared his favorite moment of that night—now that he’s had some breathing room. “I think ‘Summer Nights,’” said Tveit. “That was kind of always the number I was most looking forward to, and there were a lot of pinch-me moments, but when we were sitting on those bleachers doing ‘Summer Nights’ and looking around it was like we’re really doing Grease right now. Then also, the ‘Dance at the Gym,’ I’d never really been a part of something like that because it was such a realistic place with the crowd and all the extras. It felt like we were at a dance, it felt like 25 minutes of a real dance. It really felt, there were moments that you kind of disappeared [into it].”

So which is tougher: live theatre or a live television musical? “Live theatre’s hard,” he sighed. “But it’s tough in different ways. Live theatre’s hard, you have to do it eight times a week and [for] six months to a year. [Grease: Live] was tough for the opposite reason: It was only one night. You only had one chance and it was three hours of nonstop madness.”

Ruthie Fierberg is the Features Editor at Playbill.com. She has also written for Backstage, Parents and American Baby, including dozens of interviews with celeb moms and dads for parents.com. Follow her on Twitter at @RuthiesATrain.