Ain't Life Grande for Frankie

It's not entirely accurate to say that Frankie J. Grande was a complete unknown when he joined the cast of CBS' reality series "Big Brother" earlier this year. After all, the openly gay 31-year-old has both performed on Broadway (notably in "Mamma Mia!") and co-produced such shows as "Hamlet" (with Jude Law). Grande also won the title of "Mr. Broadway" in 2007, has been active in numerous charities such as buildON and Broadway in South Africa, and acquired some level of notoriety simply for being the big brother of pop superstar and Disney Channel favorite Ariana Grande.

However, his recent appearance on "Big Brother" has certainly increased his name value, which is just one reason the producers of the long-running Broadway hit "Rock of Ages" have tapped Grande to take over the role of Franz on November 10. "I have always wanted to return to the Broadway stage, but it was just a question of when and in what show," says Grande. "I am excited to be playing Franz. He is fun and quirky and has a real love for life. All of these are qualities I try to emulate myself."

He's doubly thrilled that his reentry to the Great White Way is in a show he adores - and opposite one of his favorite performers, Constantine Maroulis, who is once again playing the lead role of wannabe rock star Drew. "I've seen the show many, many times. I am a child of the 1980s and I was raised on many of these songs. The music makes me immediately happy," he says "I adore Constantine. I remember campaigning for him to win the Tony Award when he was nominated for playing Drew. I thought he was so fantastic. I was equally passionate about him winning 'American Idol' when he was a contestant, and I also went to see him many times last season in 'Jekyll & Hyde' So yes, I am slightly freaking out that I get to be in this show with him eight times a week."

That said, Grande knows some audience members will be freaking out to see him live and in person, not his co-stars (who will also include Lauren Zarkin and recent YouTube sensation Chester). "Being on 'Big Brother' changed my life totally by making me unbelievably recognizable," he notes. "I can't go anywhere without people knowing who I am - and I absolutely love the attention and I love meeting new people. Sure, at times it can be incredibly overwhelming, but I wouldn't change it all."

Would he have changed his strategy, though, so he could have won the competition and its $500,000 prize? "I didn't expect to win the contest when we started, but as we progressed, I thought I might. And if it wasn't for the final 'button twist,'' I believe I would have,' he says with confidence.

Still, not only was Grande evicted by his teammates before the final episode (in a nasty showdown), he received a fair amount of criticism on chat boards for his behavior on the show, including his quasi-sexual "bromance" with fellow houseguest Zach Ramce. "I was aware of the fan's reaction to my behavior, and I dealt with it the same way I dealt with similar things before I was on the show," he says. "My philosophy is to embrace the positive and ignore the negative."

That outlook extended to the backlash he received when he chose not to leave the "Big Brother" house to attend the funeral of his beloved grandfather - just one more development in a year of huge ups and downs for his entire family. "We have taken everything in stride and we are even closer as a family than ever before," he says. "We have so many things to be grateful for that it has eclipsed some of the more unfortunate things that have happened this year. Obviously, nothing can make up for the death of my grandfather, but at least he died known that both of his grandchildren were well on their way to fulfilling all of their dreams."