''Grease'' is a

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwo ...

with music, lyrics, and a book by

Jim Jacobs Jim Jacobs (born October 7, 1942) is an American actor, composer, lyricist, and writer for the theatre, long associated with the Chicago theater scene. Jacobs is best known for creating the book, storyline, characters, lyrics for the 1971 musi ...

and

Warren Casey Warren Casey (April 20, 1935 – November 8, 1988) was an American theater composer, lyricist, writer, and actor. He was the writer and composer, with Jim Jacobs, of the stage musical '' Grease''. Career Warren Casey was born on April 20, 1935, ...

. Named after the 1950s United States

working-class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...

youth subculture known as greasers, the musical is set in 1959 at fictional Rydell High School (based on Taft High School in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, Illinois and named after rock singer

Bobby Rydell Robert Louis Ridarelli (April 26, 1942 – April 5, 2022), known by the stage name Bobby Rydell, was an American singer and actor who mainly performed rock and roll and traditional pop music. In the early 1960s he was considered a teen idol. Hi ...

) and follows ten working-class teenagers as they navigate the complexities of peer pressure, politics, personal core values, and love.Woulfe, Molly
" 'Grease' has deep, dark Chicago roots"
''NW Times'', January 2, 2009, retrieved January 10, 2017 The score borrows heavily from the sounds of early

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm ...

. In its original production in Chicago, ''Grease'' was a raunchy, raw, aggressive, vulgar show. Subsequent productions toned down the more risqué content. The show mentions social issues such as

teenage pregnancy Teenage pregnancy, also known as adolescent pregnancy, is pregnancy in a female adolescent or young adult under the age of 20. This includes those who are legally considered adults in their country. The WHO defines adolescence as the period be ...

peer pressure Peer pressure is the direct or indirect influence on peers, i.e., members of social groups with similar interests, experiences, or social statuses. Members of a peer group are more likely to influence a person's beliefs, values, and behavior. A g ...

, and

gang violence A gang is a group or society of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collective ...

; its themes include love, friendship,

teenage rebellion Teenage rebellion is a part of social development in adolescents in order for them to develop an identity independent from their parents or family and a capacity for independent decision-making. They may experiment with different roles, behaviors, ...

sexual exploration Human sexuality is the way people experience and express themselves sexually. This involves biological, psychological, physical, erotic, emotional, social, or spiritual feelings and behaviors. Because it is a broad term, which has varied wit ...

during adolescence, and, to some extent,

class consciousness In Marxism, class consciousness is the set of beliefs that a person holds regarding their social class or economic rank in society, the structure of their class, and their class interests. According to Karl Marx, it is an awareness that is key to ...

and

class conflict Class conflict, also referred to as class struggle and class warfare, is the political tension and economic antagonism that exists in society because of socio-economic competition among the social classes or between rich and poor. The forms ...

. Jacobs described the show's basic plot as a subversion of common tropes of 1950s cinema, since the female lead, who in many 1950s films transformed the alpha male into a more sensitive and sympathetic character, is instead drawn into the man's influence and transforms into his wild, roguish fantasy. ''Grease'' was first performed on February 5, 1971 at Kingston Mines nightclub in Chicago. From there, it has been successful on both stage and screen, but the content has been diluted and its teenage characters have become less Chicago habitués (the characters' Polish-American backgrounds in particular are ignored with last names often changed, although two Italian-American characters are left identifiably ethnic) and more generic. At the time that it closed in 1980, ''Grease''s 3,388-performance run was the longest yet in Broadway history, although it was surpassed by ''

A Chorus Line ''A Chorus Line'' is a 1975 musical with music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Edward Kleban, and a book by James Kirkwood Jr. and Nicholas Dante. Set on the bare stage of a Broadway theater, the musical is centered on seventeen Broadway dancers ...

'' on September 29, 1983. It went on to become a West End hit, a successful feature film, two popular

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

revivals in 1994 and 2007, and a staple of regional theatre,

summer stock In American theater, summer-stock theater is a theater that presents stage productions only in the summer. The name combines the season with the tradition of staging shows by a resident company, reusing stock scenery and costumes. Summer stock th ...

community theatre Community theatre refers to any theatrical performance made in relation to particular communities—its usage includes theatre made by, with, and for a community. It may refer to a production that is made entirely by a community with no outside hel ...

, and high school and middle school drama groups. It remains Broadway's 16th longest-running show. ''Grease'' was adapted in 1978 as a feature film also named '' Grease'' starring

Saturday Night Fever ''Saturday Night Fever'' is a 1977 American dance drama film directed by John Badham and produced by Robert Stigwood. It stars John Travolta as Tony Manero, a young Italian-American man from the Brooklyn borough of New York. Manero spends h ...

star

John Travolta John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954) is an American actor. He came to public attention during the 1970s, appearing on the television sitcom '' Welcome Back, Kotter'' (1975–1979) and starring in the box office successes '' Carrie'' ( ...

and British-Australian singer and actress

Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British-Australian singer, actress and activist. She was a four-time Grammy Awards, Grammy Award winner whose music career included 15 top-ten singles, including 5 number-one s ...

, which removed some plot elements, characters, and songs while adding new songs and elaborating on some plot elements only alluded to in the musical. Some of these revisions have been incorporated into revivals of the musical (

John Farrar John Clifford Farrar ( ; born 8 November 1946) is an Australian music producer, songwriter, arranger, singer, and guitarist. As a musician, Farrar is a former member of several rock and roll groups including The Mustangs (1963–64), The Stra ...

, who wrote two of the new songs, is credited alongside Jacobs and Casey for the music in these productions). A 2016 live TV musical used elements from both the original stage version and the film. A 1982 film sequel, ''

Grease 2 ''Grease 2'' is a 1982 American musical romantic comedy film and the sequel to the 1978 film ''Grease'', adapted from the 1971 musical of the same name by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. Originally titled ''More Grease'', the film was produced ...

'', included only a few supporting characters from the film and musical and had no involvement from Jacobs or Casey. Jacobs has gone on record to voice his disapproval of ''Grease 2''.

Production history

Original productions and Broadway

The show's original production was directed by Guy Barile, choreographed by Ronna Kaye and produced by the Kingston Mines Theatre Company founded by June Pyskacek on Chicago's Lincoln Avenue. The script was based on

' experience at William Taft High School, Chicago. Warren Casey collaborated with Jim and together they wrote the music and lyrics. It ran for eight months. The cast: Doug Stevenson (Danny), Leslie Goto (Sandy), Sue Williams (Rizzo), Polly Pen (Patty), Gary Houston (Roger),

Marilu Henner Mary Lucy Denise Henner is an American actress. She began her career appearing in the original production of the musical '' Grease'' in 1971, before making her screen debut in the 1977 comedy-drama film '' Between the Lines''. In 1977, Henner wa ...

(Marty), James Canning (Doody), Hedda Lubin (Frenchy), Bruce Hickey (Kenickie), Sheila Ray Ceaser (Jan), Bill Cervetti (Miller), Jerry Bolnick (Sonny), Judy Brubaker (Miss Lynch), Mike O'Connor (Vince Fontaine), Steve Munro (Eugene), Barbara Munro (Cha Cha), Mac Hamilton (Teen Angel) and George Lopez (Bum). In addition to the "R-rated" profanity and deliberate use of

shock value Shock value is the potential of an image, text, action, or other form of communication, such as a public execution, to provoke a reaction of sharp disgust, shock, anger, fear, or similar negative emotions. In advertising Shock advertising or Sh ...

, the Chicago version of ''Grease'' included an almost entirely different songbook, which was shorter and included multiple references to real Chicago landmarks. Producers

Ken Waissman Kenneth Waissman (born January 1940) is an American theatre producer. Waissman's first Broadway credit was the 1971 Paul Zindel play '' And Miss Reardon Drinks a Little'' with Estelle Parsons and Julie Harris. The following year, while he and ...

and Maxine Fox saw the show and made a deal to produce it

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer th ...

. The team headed to New York City to collaborate on the New York production of ''Grease''. The new production, directed by Tom Moore and choreographed by

Patricia Birch Patricia Birch (born October 16, 1934) is an American dancer, choreographer, film director, and theatre director. Early life Born in Englewood, New Jersey, Birch began her career as a dancer in Broadway musicals, including ''Brigadoon'', ''Goldi ...

(who later choreographed the film adaptation, and directed the ill-fated sequel), opened Off-Broadway at the

Eden Theatre Village East by Angelika (originally the Louis N. Jaffe Art Theatre, also Village East, and formerly known by several other names) is a movie theater at 189 Second Avenue, on the corner with 12th Street, in the East Village of Manhattan in N ...

lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan (also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York) is the southernmost part of Manhattan, the central borough for business, culture, and government in New York City, which is the most populated city in the United States with ...

on February 14, 1972. Though ''Grease'' opened geographically off-Broadway, it did so under first class Broadway contracts. The show was deemed eligible for the 1972

Tony Awards The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual c ...

, receiving seven Tony Award nominations. On June 7, 1972, the production moved to the

Broadhurst Theatre The Broadhurst Theatre is a Broadway theater at 235 West 44th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1917, the theater was designed by Herbert J. Krapp and was built for the Shubert brothers. The Bro ...

, and on November 21, it moved to the

Royale Theatre The Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre (formerly the Royale Theatre and the John Golden Theatre) is a Broadway theater at 242 West 45th Street ( George Abbott Way) in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1927, the thea ...

there, where it ran until January 27, 1980. For the five final weeks of the run, the show moved to the larger

Majestic Theatre Majestic Theatre or Majestic Theater may refer to: Australia * Majestic Theatre, Adelaide, former name of a theatre in King William Street, Adelaide, built 1916, now demolished * Majestic Theatre, Launceston, a former cinema in Tasmania designed ...

. By the time it closed on April 13, 1980, it had run 3,388 performances. The original Broadway cast included

Barry Bostwick Barry Knapp Bostwick (born February 24, 1945) is an American actor. He is best known for portraying Brad Majors in the musical comedy horror film ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' (1975) and Mayor Randall Winston in the sitcom ''Spin City'' (199 ...

as Danny,

Carole Demas Carole Demas (born May 26, 1940, in Brooklyn, New York) is an American actress and singer, best known for originating the roles of Sandy in the 1971 Broadway musical '' Grease'' and the title role in the original 1976 production of '' The Baker's ...

as Sandy,

Adrienne Barbeau Adrienne Jo Barbeau (born June 11, 1945) is an American actress, singer and the author of three books. Barbeau came to prominence in the 1970s as Broadway's original Rizzo in the musical '' Grease'', and as Carol Traynor, the divorced daughter o ...

as Rizzo, and Timothy Meyers as Kenickie, with

Alan Paul Alan Paul Wichinsky (born November 23, 1949, Newark, New Jersey) is a Grammy Award-winning singer and composer, best known as one of the founding members of the current incarnation of the vocal group The Manhattan Transfer. Education Raised in ...

Walter Bobbie Walter Bobbie (born November 18, 1945) is an American theatre director, choreographer, and occasional actor and dancer. Bobbie has directed both musicals and plays on Broadway and Off-Broadway, and was the Artistic Director of the New York City ...

and Marya Small in supporting roles. Replacements later in the run included

Jeff Conaway Jeffrey Charles William Michael Conaway (October 5, 1950 – May 27, 2011) was an American actor. He portrayed Kenickie in the film '' Grease'' and had roles in two television series: struggling actor Bobby Wheeler in ''Taxi'' and security offic ...

as Danny,

Candice Earley Candice Jean Earley (August 18, 1950 – January 31, 2019) was an American actress and singer born in Oklahoma. Early years Earley was born in Lawton, Oklahoma, to Harold and Jean (née Daily) Earley. She won the Miss Lawton title. She had 14 y ...

as Sandy, John Lansing as Danny,

Peter Gallagher Peter Killian Gallagher (born August 19, 1955) is an American actor. Since 1980, he has played roles in numerous Hollywood films. He is best known for starring as Sandy Cohen in the television drama series '' The O.C.'' from 2003 to 2007, recu ...

as Danny,

Richard Gere Richard Tiffany Gere ( ; born August 31, 1949) is an American actor. He began in films in the 1970s, playing a supporting role in '' Looking for Mr. Goodbar'' (1977) and a starring role in ''Days of Heaven'' (1978). He came to prominence with ...

as Sonny,

Ilene Graff Ilene Susan Graff (born February 28, 1949) is an American actress and singer. Life and career The Queens, New York native began her professional career as a teenager when she performed as a background singer and commercial actress while attendi ...

as Sandy, Randee Heller as Rizzo,

as Marty,

Judy Kaye Judy Kaye (born October 11, 1948) is an American singer and actress. She has appeared in stage musicals, plays, and operas. Kaye has been in long runs on Broadway in the musicals ''The Phantom of the Opera'', ''Ragtime'', '' Mamma Mia!'', and ...

as Rizzo,

Marcia Mitzman Gaven Marcia Mitzman Gaven (born February 28, 1959) is an American actress from New York. Since studying at the High School of Performing Arts and the State University of New York at Purchase, she has appeared in many musicals during her career singin ...

as Rizzo,

Patrick Swayze Patrick Wayne Swayze (; August 18, 1952 – September 14, 2009) was an American actor, dancer, and singer known for playing distinctive lead roles, particularly romantic, tough, and comedic characters. He was also known for his media image and ...

as Danny,

as Doody,

Treat Williams Richard Treat Williams (born December 1, 1951) is an American actor, writer and aviator who has appeared on film, stage and television in over 120 credits. He first became well known for his starring role in the 1979 musical film '' Hair'', and la ...

as Danny, Laurie Graff as Frenchy, and

Jerry Zaks Jerry Zaks (born September 7, 1946) is an American stage and television director, and actor. He won the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play and Drama Desk Award for directing '' The House of Blue Leaves'', ''Lend Me a Tenor'', and '' Six Degr ...

as Kenickie.

1973 London and 1979 return engagement

After an out-of-town tryout in

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...

, ''Grease'' made its London debut at the

New London Theatre The Gillian Lynne Theatre (formerly New London Theatre) is a West End theatre located on the corner of Drury Lane and Parker Street in Covent Garden, in the London Borough of Camden. The Winter Garden Theatre formerly occupied the site until 1965 ...

on June 26, 1973, with a cast that included

as Danny, Stacey Gregg as Sandy, and Jacquie-Ann Carr as Rizzo. Later

Paul Nicholas Paul Nicholas (born Paul Oscar Beuselinck; 3 December 1944) is an English actor and singer. He started out with a pop career, but soon changed to musical theatre, playing the lead role in ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' at the West End’s Palace T ...

and

Elaine Paige Elaine Jill Paige (née Bickerstaff; born 5 March 1948) is an English singer and actress, best known for her work in musical theatre. Raised in Barnet, Hertfordshire, Paige attended the Aida Foster Theatre School, making her first professiona ...

took over the leads. The production closed on February 14, 1974. The show was revived at the Astoria Theatre from June 7 to September 22, 1979, with Michael Howe as Danny, Jacqueline Reddin as Sandy, and Hilary Labow as Rizzo. The company also included

Tracey Ullman Tracey Ullman (born Trace Ullman, 30 December 1959) is a British-American actress, comedian, singer, writer, producer, and director. Her earliest mainstream appearances were on British television sketch comedy shows '' A Kick Up the Eighties'' ( ...

as Frenchy and

Su Pollard Susan Georgina Pollard (born 7 November 1949) is an English actress and singer. Her career has spanned over 45 years; she is most famous for her role in the sitcom '' Hi-de-Hi!''. She also appeared in ''You Rang, M'Lord?'' and '' Oh, Doctor Bee ...

as Cha-Cha.

1993 London revival

The revival opened at the

Dominion Theatre The Dominion Theatre is a West End theatre and former cinema on Tottenham Court Road, close to St Giles Circus and Centre Point, in the London Borough of Camden. Planned as primarily a musical theatre, it opened in 1929, but the following year ...

before transferring to the

Cambridge Theatre The Cambridge Theatre is a West End theatre, on a corner site in Earlham Street facing Seven Dials, in the London Borough of Camden, built in 1929–30 for Bertie Meyer on an "irregular triangular site". Design and construction It was de ...

in October 1996, where it ran until September 11, 1999. Directed by David Gilmore and produced by

Robert Stigwood Robert Colin Stigwood (16 April 1934 – 4 January 2016) was an Australian-born British-resident music entrepreneur, film producer and impresario, best known for managing Cream (band), Cream, Andy Gibb and the Bee Gees, theatrical productions ...

(who had also produced the film), the opening cast included

Craig McLachlan Craig Dougall McLachlan (born 1 September 1965) is an Australian actor, musician, singer and composer. He has been involved in film, television, the music industry and music theatre for over 30 years. He is best known for appearing in the soap ...

(Danny);

Debbie Gibson Deborah Ann Gibson (born August 31, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Gibson released her debut album '' Out of the Blue'' in 1987, which spawned several international hits, later being certified triple plati ...

(Sandy —

Sonia Sonia, Sonja or Sonya, a name of Greek origin meaning wisdom, may refer to: People * Sonia (name), a feminine given name (lists people named, Sonia, Sonja and Sonya) :* Sonia (actress), Indian film actress in Malayalam and Tamil films :* Sonia ...

, then

Samantha Janus Samantha Zoe Womack (''née'' Janus; born 2 November 1972) is an English actress, singer, model and director who has worked in film, television and stage. Womack initially planned a career in singing and she represented the United Kingdom in ...

later replaced Gibson as Sandy);

Mike Doyle Michael, Mick or Mike Doyle may refer to: Politics * Michael Doyle (Irish politician), Irish Farmers' Party politician from Wexford, TD from 1922 to 1927 *Michael Doyle, alleged member of the Molly Maguires * Mike Doyle (American politician) (born ...

(Vince Fontaine);

Tamzin Outhwaite Tamzin Maria Outhwaite (; born 5 November 1970) is an English actress, presenter and narrator. Since playing the role of Mel Owen in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', she has starred in a number of theatre and television productions, includi ...

(Patty);

Shane Ritchie Shane Patrick Paul Roche (born 11 March 1964), known as Shane Richie, is a British actor, comedian, television presenter and singer. Following initial success as a stage and screen performer, he became best known for his portrayal of the chara ...

(Kenickie) and

Sally Ann Triplett Sally Ann Triplett (born 15 April 1962, London, England) is a British singer and actress. She participated in two editions of the Eurovision Song Contest and West End productions. Career Triplett first represented the United Kingdom in the E ...

(Rizzo). (''Variety'', Review Abroad Grease, August 2–August 8, 1993) McLachlan was succeeded by Shane Richie, Luke Goss,

Ian Kelsey Ian Kelsey (born 17 December 1966) is an English actor. He is known for his roles as Dave Glover in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'', Patrick Spiller in the BBC medical drama '' Casualty'', DI Richard Mayne in the ITV crime drama '' Blue Mur ...

and

Darren Day Darren Day is an English actor, singer and television presenter, well known for his West End theatre starring roles. Early life Day's paternal grandfather was a support act to George Formby in the days of music hall. Day undertook drama classe ...

. The production's success led to the first British national tour which featured Shane Ritchie as Danny, Helen Way as Sandy, Toby Hinson as Vince Fontaine/Teen Angel, Ben Richards/Alex Bourne as Kenickie and Michele Hooper as Rizzo. The score included four songs written for the film adaptation: "Hopelessly Devoted to You", "Sandy", "You're the One That I Want", and the title number. As in the film, the Burger Palace Boys' were renamed the T-Birds for this revival.

1994 Broadway revival and U.S. tour

After 20 previews, a Broadway revival directed and choreographed by Jeff Calhoun premiered on May 11, 1994, at the

Eugene O'Neill Theatre The Eugene O'Neill Theatre, previously the Forrest Theatre and the Coronet Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 230 West 49th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. The theater was designed by Herbert J. Krapp and ...

, where it ran for 1,505 performances. The opening cast included

Ricky Paull Goldin Richard Paull Goldin (born January 5, 1965) is an American actor, producer, director and television personality. He is known for his roles in daytime drama as Jake Martin in ABC's ''All My Children''. In May 2013, Goldin joined the cast of t ...

(Danny), Susan Wood (Sandy),

Rosie O'Donnell Roseann O'Donnell (born March 21, 1962) is an American comedian, television producer, actress, author, and television personality. She began her comedy career as a teenager and received her breakthrough on the television series '' Star Search'' ...

(Rizzo),

Sam Harris Samuel Benjamin Harris (born April 9, 1967) is an American philosopher, neuroscientist, author, and podcast host. His work touches on a range of topics, including rationality, religion, ethics, free will, neuroscience, meditation, psychedelics ...

(Doody),

Hunter Foster Hunter Foster (born June 25, 1969) is an American musical theatre actor, singer, librettist, playwright and director. Career After touring in several shows and playing on Broadway, in 2001 he was cast in his breakthrough role of Bobby Strong i ...

(Roger),

Megan Mullally Megan Mullally (born November 12, 1958) is an American actress, comedian, and singer. She is best known for playing Karen Walker on the NBC sitcom '' Will & Grace'' (1998–2006, 2017–2020), for which she received eight Primetime Emmy Award ...

(Marty), and Billy Porter (Teen Angel). The production set a new standard for star replacements, casting celebrities from different entertainment sectors for limited engagements. Some of these notable performers were

Linda Blair Linda Denise Blair (born January 22, 1959) is an American actress and activist. She played Regan MacNeil in the horror film ''The Exorcist'' (1973), for which she won a Golden Globe Award and received a nomination for an Academy Award. The film ...

Debby Boone Deborah Anne Boone (born September 22, 1956) is an American singer, author, and actress. She is best known for her 1977 hit, " You Light Up My Life", which spent ten weeks at No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and led to her winning the ...

Chubby Checker Chubby Checker (born Ernest Evans; October 3, 1941) is an American rock and roll singer and dancer. He is widely known for popularizing many dance styles, including The Twist dance style, with his 1960 hit cover of Hank Ballard & The Midnight ...

Dominique Dawes Dominique Margaux Dawes (born November 20, 1976) is a retired American artistic gymnast. Known in the gymnastics community as 'Awesome Dawesome', she was a 10-year member of the U.S. national gymnastics team, the 1994 U.S. all-around senior Nati ...

Micky Dolenz George Michael Dolenz Jr. (born March 8, 1945) is an American actor, musician, TV producer and businessman. He is best known as the drummer and one of three primary vocalists for the pop- rock band the Monkees (1966–1970, and multiple reunion ...

Sheena Easton Sheena Shirley Easton (; born 27 April 1959) is a Scottish singer and actress. Easton came into the public eye in an episode of the first British musical reality television programme '' The Big Time: Pop Singer'', which recorded her attempts to ...

Jasmine Guy Jasmine Guy (born March 10, 1962) is an American actress, director, singer and dancer. She is known for her role as Dina in the 1988 film ''School Daze'' and as Whitley Gilbert-Wayne on the NBC ''The Cosby Show'' spin-off ''A Different World'', ...

Al Jarreau Alwin Lopez Jarreau (March 12, 1940 – February 12, 2017) was an American singer and musician. His 1981 album '' Breakin' Away'' spent two years on the ''Billboard'' 200 and is considered one of the finest examples of the Los Angeles pop and R ...

Lucy Lawless Lucille Frances Lawless (; born 29 March 1968) is a New Zealand actress and singer. She is best known for her roles as Xena in the television series '' Xena: Warrior Princess'', as D'Anna Biers on the re-imagined ''Battlestar Galactica'' seri ...

Darlene Love Darlene Wright (born July 26, 1941), known professionally as Darlene Love, is an American singer and actress. She was the lead singer of the girl group the Blossoms and she also recorded as a solo artist. She began singing as a child with her ...

Maureen McCormick Maureen Denise McCormick (born August 5, 1956) is an American actress. She portrayed Marcia Brady on the ABC television sitcom ''The Brady Bunch'', which ran from 1969 to 1974, and reprised the role in several of the numerous ''Brady Bunch'' ...

Joe Piscopo Joseph Charles John Piscopo ( ; born June 17, 1951) is an American actor, comedian and conservative radio talk show host. He was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1980 to 1984, where he played a variety of recurring characters. His f ...

, Mackenzie Phillips,

Jon Secada Juan Francisco Secada Ramírez (born October 4, 1961), better known as Jon Secada, is a Cuban-born American singer. He has won two Grammy Awards and sold 15 million records, making him one of the best-selling Latin music artists. His music f ...

, and

Brooke Shields Brooke Christa Shields (born May 31, 1965) is an American actress and model. She was initially a child model and gained critical acclaim at age 12 for her leading role in Louis Malle's film '' Pretty Baby'' (1978). She continued to model into ...

. Shields proved so popular in the role of Rizzo that the cast album was re-released with her voice substituting for O'Donnell's. A U.S. national tour of the 1994 production started in September 1994 in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134 ...

, and ran for several years. The opening tour cast included

Sally Struthers Sally Anne Struthers (born July 28, 1947) is an American actress and activist. She played Gloria Stivic, the daughter of Archie and Edith Bunker (played by Carroll O'Connor and Jean Stapleton) on ''All in the Family'', for which she won two Emm ...

(Miss Lynch), who stayed with the tour for several years, Angela Pupello (Rizzo), Rex Smith (Danny), Trisha M. Gorman (Sandy), and Davy Jones (Vince Fontaine). Brooke Shields (Rizzo) started on the tour in November 1994 before joining the Broadway cast.

1996 U.S. tour

This tour, produced by the Troika Organization, was a non-union bus & truck playing mostly one-nighters and split week engagements primarily in smaller markets. The production, which ran for two years, was directed by Ray DeMattis with choreography by Tony Parise and music direction by Helen Gregory. The original cast featured Randy Bobish (Danny Zuko), Nicole Greenwood (Sandy Dumbrowski), Gary Martin (Kenickie), Christine Hudman (Betty Rizzo), Timothy Quinlan (Roger), Kimberly Wharton (Jan), Bruce Smith (Doody), Kathleen Connolly (Frenchy), Jeffrey Shubart (Sonny LaTierri), Laura Hornberger (Marty), Debbie Damp (Patty Simcox), Michael Giambrone (Eugene Florczyk), Juan Betancourt (Johnny Casino), Jamie Patterson (Teen Angel), Holly Ann Kling (Cha-Cha DiGregorio) and Steven Sackman (Vince Fontaine).

Frankie Avalon Francis Thomas Avallone (born September 18, 1940), better known as Frankie Avalon, is an American actor, singer, and former teen idol. He had 31 charting U.S. ''Billboard'' singles from 1958 to late 1962, including number one hits, "Venus" an ...

starred as the Teen Angel for a one-week engagement at the

Jackie Gleason Theater The Miami Beach Convention Center (originally the Miami Beach Exhibition Hall) is a convention center located in Miami Beach, Florida. Originally opened in 1958, the venue was renovated from 2015-2018 for $620 million. The re-imagined and enhance ...

in Miami Beach (December 10–15, 1996).

2003 U.S. tour

This tour was directed by Ray DeMattis and featured choreography by Christopher Gattelli. The cast starred Frankie Avalon as the Angel, with Jamey Isenor (Danny Zuko) and Hanna-Liina Võsa (Sandy Dumbrowski), Jason Harper (Roger), Danny Smith (Sonny LaTierri), John Ashley (Kenickie), Sarah Hubbard (Frenchy), Craig McEldowney (Doody), Kirsten Allyn Michaels (Marty), Jaqueline Colmer (Betty Rizzo), Cortney Harper (Jan) and Arthur J. Callahan (Vince Fontaine).

2007 Broadway and London revivals and UK tours

A second Broadway revival, directed and choreographed by

Kathleen Marshall Kathleen Marshall (born September 28, 1962) is an American director, choreographer, and creative consultant. Life and career Born in Madison, Wisconsin, she graduated from Taylor Allderdice High School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1980 and ...

, began previews at the

Brooks Atkinson Theatre The Lena Horne Theatre (previously the Mansfield Theatre and the Brooks Atkinson Theatre) is a Broadway theater at 256 West 47th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1926, it was designed by Herbert ...

on July 24, 2007 and opened on August 19, 2007. Max Crumm and Laura Osnes were selected to portray Danny and Sandy via viewer votes cast during the run of the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

reality series Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early ...

'' Grease: You're the One that I Want!''. The original score includes four songs written for the film adaptation: "Hopelessly Devoted to You", "Sandy", "You're the One That I Want", and the title number. The Burger Palace Boys' name is the T-Birds in this revival. The production ended on January 4, 2009 after 31 previews and 554 performances. A West End revival opened at the

Piccadilly Theatre The Piccadilly Theatre is a West End theatre located at 16 Denman Street, behind Piccadilly Circus and adjacent to the Regent Palace Hotel, in the City of Westminster, London, England. Early years Built by Bertie Crewe and Edward A. Stone ...

, London on August 8, 2007, and ran for nearly four years (the longest running show in the

's history). The leads were similarly cast via ITV's ''

Grease Is the Word ''Grease Is the Word'' is the United Kingdom version of NBC's '' Grease: You're the One That I Want!''. It aired during 2007, and was produced by Syco TV (the production company of Simon Cowell). The winning couple, Susan McFadden & Danny Bayne ...

'', with Danny Bayne and Susan McFadden playing Danny and Sandy. The production closed on April 30, 2011, after over 1,300 performances with a U.K. tour to begin on May 6, 2011 in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

. The UK tour features Danny Bayne as Danny, Carina Gillespie as Sandy, Ricky Rojas as Kenickie, Kate Somerset How as Rizzo, Derek Andrews as Roger, Laura Wilson as Jan, Richard Vincent as Doody, Lauren Stroud as Frenchy, Josh Dever as Sonny, Lois Urwin as Marty, Darren John as Eugene, Sammy Kelly as Patty, Jason Capewell as Teen Angel/Vince Fontaine, Nancy Hill as Miss Lynch, and Sophie Zucchini as Cha Cha. In 2017, Grease started touring the UK again, this time starring The Wanted's Tom Parker as Danny Zuko, BBC Over The Rainbow winner

Danielle Hope Danielle Hope (born 26 April 1992) is an English actress and singer. She was the winner of the BBC talent contest '' Over The Rainbow'' and as a result played the part of Dorothy in the Andrew Lloyd Webber production of '' The Wizard of Oz'', wh ...

as Sandy and ''

Strictly Come Dancing ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (informally known as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly ballroom and Latin dance. Each couple is scored by a panel of usually 4 j ...

Louisa Lytton Louisa Claire Lytton (born 7 February 1989) is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Ruby Allen in ''EastEnders'' and Beth Green in ''The Bill''. She also finished fourth in the fourth series of ''Strictly Come Dancing'' in 200 ...

. A further UK and Ireland tour of Grease is scheduled to commence from Curve, Leicester on 30 July 2021. The production has been repeatedly rescheduled from earlier 2021 dates as well as its originally scheduled tour in 2020, owing to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. This production will star

Peter Andre Peter Andre (born Peter James Andrea, 27 February 1973) is an English-Australian singer and television personality of Australian descent. Andre gained popularity as a singer, best known for his singles "Mysterious Girl" and " Flava". He is als ...

as Teen Angel and Vince Fontaine. The production will be directed by Nikolai Foster and choreographed by

Arlene Phillips Dame Arlene Phillips (born 22 May 1943) is an English choreographer, talent scout, television judge and presenter, theatre director, and former dancer, who has worked in many fields of entertainment. For many years, she was most noted as the c ...

2008 U.S. tour

A U.S. national tour began on December 2, 2008 in Providence, Rhode Island and closed on May 23, 2010 at the

Palace Theatre Palace Theatre, or Palace Theater, is the name of many theatres in different countries, including: Australia * Palace Theatre, Melbourne, Victoria *Palace Theatre, Sydney, New South Wales Canada *Palace Theatre, housed in the Robillard Block, M ...

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the United States, U.S. U.S. state, state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along ...

, Ohio. Taylor Hicks reprised his role as the Teen Angel after playing the part on Broadway, with Eric Schneider as Danny and

Emily Padgett Emily Padgett (born September 20, 1984) is an American actress, singer, and dancer. She is known for her work on Broadway as Daisy Hilton in ''Side Show'' and Sherrie Christian in '' Rock of Ages'', as well as for originating the roles of Lucy ...

as Sandy. Lauren Ashley Zakrin replaced Emily Padgett as Sandy in October and

Ace Young Brett "Ace" Young (born November 15, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He gained national recognition while appearing on the fifth season of ''American Idol''. Young is married to ''American Idol'' season-three runner-up Diana ...

joined the tour as Danny on December 1, 2009.

2011 Chicago revival - ''The Original Grease''

In 2011, a revival of the original Kingston Mines production was run in Chicago. It was titled ''The Original Grease'' and carried the tagline "Restored. Revised. R-Rated. Returned to Chicago." It featured songs and scenes from drafts of both the original Chicago and Broadway productions. Unlike the school version, this version reinstated the raunchiness of the original show and references to Chicago locations. The sixth Burger Palace Boy was restored and named Miller. The Chicago production of ''The Original Grease'' opened on May 2 and closed on August 21. This version was presented once more in Australia in 2016 from April 6 to May 7. In Chicago, Adrian Aguilar played Danny and Kelly Davis Wilson played Sandy.

2019 UK and Ireland tour and 2022 London run

A new production of Grease ran from 17 May to 29 October, 2022 at the

in London's West End, following a UK and Ireland tour in 2019-2021. The west end revival was directed by Nikolai Foster (artistic director of the

Curve In mathematics, a curve (also called a curved line in older texts) is an object similar to a line, but that does not have to be straight. Intuitively, a curve may be thought of as the trace left by a moving point. This is the definition that ...

) and choreographed by

. The production was designed by Colin Richmond, orchestrations and musical supervision by Sarah Travis, lighting by Ben Cracknell, sound design by Tom Marshall and Richard Brooker, and casting by David Grindrod.

International productions

There have been professional productions of Grease in

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...

(with

Florencia Peña María Florencia Peña (born 7 November 1974) is an Argentine actress. She played Mónica Argento in the sitcom ''Casados con hijos Casados is a Spanish surname either meaning ''married'' (plural) or from a homonymous farmstead. Notable people ...

and

Gustavo Monje Gustavo Monje (born 8 June 1971) is an Argentine stage actor and director. He has also had minor roles in films like '' Burnt Money'' (2000) and '' Arregui, la noticia del día'' (2001), but his work is mainly in stage. In 2005 he appeared in ''St ...

), Austria (with

Pia Douwes Pia Douwes (born 5 August 1964) is a Dutch actress in musical theatre in Europe. She is best known for having created the title role in the German-language musical '' Elisabeth''. Biography Douwes was born in Amsterdam, North Holland, The Netherl ...

) and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

(a 1998 French spoken/English sung version incorporating songs from the movie starring

Marina Orsini Marina Orsini C.M. (born January 4, 1967) is a Canadian actress. Early life Orsini was born in Ville-Émard, Montreal, Quebec, Canada to an Italian-Canadian family. Career Orsini first had a brief career in modeling in which she participated i ...

as Rizzo and Serge Postigo as Danny). In 1984, the Mexican hen pre-teenpop band

Timbiriche ''Timbiriche'' (also known for a brief time as ''La Banda Timbiriche'') is a Mexican pop music group. The group started as a children's group in 1981 and managed to evolve successfully into adulthood. Timbiriche is considered one of the most ic ...

starred in the musical, with

Sasha Sokol Sasha Marianne Sökol Cuillery (born 17 June 1970) is a Mexican singer, composer, actress and television presenter. Biography Sökol was born in Mexico City. When she was still a toddler, her parents (Michael "Happy" Sökol and Magdalena Cuil ...

and Benny Ibarra in the leading roles, which was an overwhelming success. The band also released an album ( Vaselina) featuring themes from the musical. The cast included other members of Timbiriche (

Diego Schoening Diego Schoening (born August 5, 1969 in Mexico City), is a Mexican singer, actor and television host. Schoening started his career in the band Timbiriche in 1981, where he remained until its disbanding in 1994. In Timbiriche, he recorded 19 r ...

Mariana Garza Mariana Garza Alardín, (born October 19, 1970 in Mexico City, Mexico) is a Mexican singer and actress. Biography Mariana Garza is the daughter of Ana Silvia Garza, (and the granddaughter of Ramiro Garza and Mexican poet Carmen Alardín). S ...

Alix Bauer Alix Bauer Tapuach (born December 16, 1971) is a Mexican singer of Ashkenazi Jewish origin. She was a member of the pop music band Timbiriche from its formation in 1982 until her departure in 1989. She released her only solo album ''Por Vez P ...

Paulina Rubio Paulina Susana Rubio Dosamantes (; born 17 June 1971) is a Mexican singer. Referred to as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, The Golden Girl" and "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Latin Pop", she first achieved recognition as ...

and

Erik Rubin Erik Rubín Milanszenko (born 30 January 1971) is a Mexican singer and actor. He was a member of the Mexican teen pop group Timbiriche. Early career At the age of 12, Rubín joined the group Timbiriche, one of the most important and influent ...

), along with other child singers and actors such as

Eduardo Capetillo Eduardo Capetillo Vásquez (born April 13, 1970) is a Mexican actor and singer. Life He was born in Mexico City, Mexico. He belongs to the Capetillo family, who have a long tradition of being bullfighters. Being still very young, he partic ...

Stephanie Salas Stephanie Salas Banquells (born February 15, 1970) is a Mexican singer and actress. She was born into one of the most famous show business families in all of Mexico. She is the daughter of actress Silvia Pasquel and musician Micky Salas; she ...

Thalía Ariadna Thalía Sodi Miranda (; born 26 August 1971), known mononymously as Thalía, is a Mexican singer and actress. Referred to as the " Queen of Latin Pop", she is considered one of the most successful and influential Mexican artists. Havi ...

Edith Márquez Edith Márquez Landa (; born 27 January 1973) is a Mexican singer and actress. Life She is a dramatic mezzo-soprano. She started her professional career by winning the television musical contests "Juguemos a cantar" (1978) and "Canta, Cant ...

, Lolita Cortés,

Hector Suarez Gomis In Greek mythology, Hector (; grc, Ἕκτωρ, Hektōr, label=none, ) is a character in Homer's Iliad. He was a Trojan prince and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. Hector led the Trojans and their allies in the defense o ...

, Usi Velasco and Angélica Ruvalcaba. The musical was produced by the Mexican actress and producer Julissa. In 1994, the musical was revived at the Hidalgo Theater in Mexico City, by producers

Alejandro Ibarra Alejandro Ibarra (born José Alejandro Ibarra De Llano on April 28, 1973, in Mexico City, D.F., Mexico) is a Mexican actor and singer. Filmography Awards and nominations Premios TVyNovelas The Premios TVyNovelas are presented annually by ...

and Julissa. The revival cast included

, Juan Carlos Casasola, and Arturo G. Alvarez. A Spanish revival ran successfully at Teatre Victòria,

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

from October 3, 2006 to January 6, 2008. After a short national tour, the production was transferred to Teatro Nuevo Alcalá,

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

, where it ran from October 14, 2008 to January 31, 2010 and then continued touring Spain until it finally closed on August 1, 2010, becoming one of Spain's all-time longest running musical productions, with 1,090 performances. Directed by Ricard Reguant, the original cast included Carlos Solano (later alternating the role with Tony Bernetti) as Danny Zuko, María Adamuz as Sandy (later Replaced by

Edurne Edurne García Almagro (; born 22 December 1985) is a Spanish singer, actress, and television presenter. She rose to fame in late 2005 when she took part in the Spanish casting show '' Operación Triunfo'' on TVE and finished in sixth place i ...

and Gisela), and Elena Gadel as Betty Rizzo, A New Zealand Production, ran at the Civic Theatre in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

during August 2010. The production featured the South African cast, with Jonathan Roxmouth as Danny, Bethany Dickson as Sandy and Genna Galloway as Rizzo. A second Spanish revival directed and choreographed by Coco Comín ran at Cúpula Las Arenas,

from November 15, 2011 to January 22, 2012 and then was transferred to Teatro Coliseum,

from March 6, 2012 to May 6, 2012, before starting a national tour.

reprised the role of Sandy, During the Madrid run, the singer Julio Iglesias Jr. guest starred as Teen Angel in some performances. In

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, the first production of ''Grease'' opened on November, 1999 at Palais des Sports in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

. The production moved to the Dôme Disney Village in Chessy in 2005. The show was revived in 2008 at the Comédia in

with Cécilia Cara as Sandy. This new production win a Globe de Cristal Awards in 2009 and moved to Palais des congrès in 2009 and to

Le Palace Le Palace is a Paris theatre located at 8, rue du Faubourg-Montmartre in the 9th arrondissement. It is best known for its years as a nightclub. Created by impresario Fabrice Emaer in 1978, intellectuals, actors, designers, and American and Europ ...

in 2012, after a break in 2011. A third revival opened on September 28, 2017 at Théâtre Mogador in

. It is the first production completely in French, the previous ones were in French with English songs. Despite originally being billed as a limited engagement, it was extended to July 8, 2018 following its success. An Australian revival opened at Brisbane's Lyric Theatre on August 27, 2013 before heading on an Australian tour. The cast included

Rob Mills Robert Mills (born 21 June 1982) is an Australian actor, television host and singer-songwriter. He was one of the finalists from the first season of ''Australian Idol''. He co-hosted the late-night quiz show '' The Mint'', and was a regular sin ...

as Danny,

Gretel Scarlett Gretel Scarlett Jahnke (), known as Gretel Scarlett (born 9 November 1987) is an Australian actress and performer. Having appeared in theatre productions including ''Wicked'' and ''Mamma Mia!'', she is best known for starring as Sandy in the 2 ...

as Sandy,

Anthony Callea Anthony Cosmo Callea (born 13 December 1982) is an Australian singer-songwriter and stage actor who rose to prominence as the runner-up in the 2004 season of ''Australian Idol''. Callea's debut single, a cover of Celine Dion and Andrea Bocell ...

as Johnny Casino, Stephen Mahy as Kenickie,

Lucy Maunder Lucy Maunder, is an Australian cabaret and theatre performer. She originated the role of Lara in the Australian premiere of ''Doctor Zhivago'' opposite Anthony Warlow, and has toured with her own cabaret ''Songs in the Key of Black'', releasing ...

as Rizzo,

Todd McKenney Todd McKenney (born 31 May 1965) is an Australian dancer, theatre performer and TV personality. He is best known as a judge on Australian television talent show ''Dancing with the Stars''. As a theatre performer, he has appeared in numerous pro ...

as Teen Angel, and

Bert Newton Albert Watson Newton (23 July 1938 – 30 October 2021) was an Australian media personality. He was a Logie Hall of Fame inductee, quadruple Gold Logie award-winning entertainer and radio, theatre and television personality and presenter. Newt ...

as Vince Fontaine. A new Australian production, directed by Drew Anthony and choreographed by Jamie and Susie Rolton, was staged at Perth's Royale Theatre in June 2022, with John Berry as Danny, Elaina O'Connor as Sandy, Peter Cumins as Teen Angel, Blake Williams as Vince Fontaine and Lucy Williamson as Miss Lynch. The musical director was Joe Louis Robinson.

Adaptations

Film

The

Organization adapted ''Grease'' into a 1978 feature film, directed by Randal Kleiser.

, who had played Doody on Broadway and the national tour, performed as lead Danny Zuko, while

, an English Australian country-pop singer, was cast as Sandy; to accommodate the casting move, the character was rewritten as Australian immigrant Sandy Olsson (named after the maiden name of

Ann-Margret Ann-Margret Olsson (born April 28, 1941) is a Swedish–American actress, singer, and dancer. As an actress and singer, she is credited as Ann-Margret. She is known for her roles in '' Pocketful of Miracles'' (1961), ''State Fair'' (1962), '' ...

, who was briefly considered for the role in the film), and parts of the score were replaced. Substantial portions of the script which included replaced or reduced supporting character roles and added on-screen roles for characters unseen in the stage version, were written in by

Bronte Woodard Bronte may refer to: People ;Surname * Brontë family, an English literary family that included: ** Anne Brontë (1820-1849), novelist and poet ** Branwell Brontë (1817-1848), painter and poet ** Charlotte Brontë (1816-1855), novelist and poet * ...

, who also, at Kleiser's behest, moved the action to suburban Philadelphia. ''Grease'' was a major success for both Stigwood and

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

, who re-released the film several times; the

film soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

made international hits out of several of the songs. Paramount also produced a sequel ''

'', featuring a younger class of students at Rydell High School led by

Maxwell Caulfield Maxwell Caulfield (né Maxwell P.J. Newby; born 23 November 1959) is a British-American film, stage, and television actor and singer. He has appeared in ''Grease 2'' (1982), '' Electric Dreams'' (1984), '' The Boys Next Door'' (1985), ''The Su ...

and

Michelle Pfeiffer Michelle Marie Pfeiffer (; born April 29, 1958) is an American actress and producer. A prolific performer whose screen work spans over four decades, she became one of Hollywood's most bankable stars and popular sex symbols during the 1980s ...

. ''Grease 2'' was a critical failure that Jim Jacobs disowned after its release;''Grease 2'' was a financial disappointment given the high expectations set by the original film. In the 2010s, work began on expanding the ''Grease'' brand into a full-fledged

media franchise A media franchise, also known as a multimedia franchise, is a collection of related media in which several derivative works have been produced from an original creative work of fiction, such as a film, a work of literature, a television program ...

, with two

prequel A prequel is a literary, dramatic or cinematic work whose story precedes that of a previous work, by focusing on events that occur before the original narrative. A prequel is a work that forms part of a backstory to the preceding work. The term ...

s in production, ''Summer Lovin' '' (a film focusing on Danny and Sandy's summer before the events of the original ''Grease'') and '' Rise of the Pink Ladies'' (a television series documenting the ascent of the Pink Ladies clique).

Television production

On January 31, 2016, in the wake of similar productions that

had performed for other musicals, Fox broadcast a live production of ''Grease'', known as '' Grease: Live'', as a television special starring

Julianne Hough Julianne Alexandra Hough (; born July 20, 1988) is an American dancer, actress, and singer. In 2007, she joined the cast of ABC's ''Dancing with the Stars'' as a professional dancer, winning two seasons with her celebrity partners. After leavin ...

Aaron Tveit Aaron Kyle Tveit (; born October 21, 1983) is an American actor. Tveit originated the lead role of Christian the composer in the stage adaptation of ''Moulin Rouge!'' on Broadway, a performance for which he won the 2020 Tony Award for Best Acto ...

, and Vanessa Hudgens.

Synopsis

(Because of changes to the musical that have been made since the 1978 film, several variants exist. In the event two songs are listed at any given point, the first is from the 1972 Off-Broadway version, and the second is from revivals that use the film music, such as the 2007 version.)

Act I

At revivals that use the 1978 song "Grease", it is typically inserted at or near the beginning of the show. At the Rydell High Class of 1959 reunion ("Alma Mater"),

old maid An old maid is a spinster. Old maid or Old Maid may also refer to: Games *Old maid (card game), a simple game popular around the world, existing in many variants *, a German card game (variant of ) whose name translates as 'old maid' Film * ' ...

English teacher, Miss Lynch, introduces former cheerleader/yearbook-editor Patty Simcox Honeywell and class

valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the highest-performing student of a graduating class of an academic institution. The valedictorian is commonly determined by a numerical formula, generally an academic institution's grade point average (GPA) ...

Eugene Florczyk. Eugene gives a rousing speech, mentioning that the alumni who are missing from the reunion are surely present in spirit. The scene segues to bring in the greaser gang known as the Burger Palace Boys (known in later versions as the "T-Birds") and their auxiliary, the "Pink Ladies", as they sing a cruder version of the Rydell ''alma mater'' ("Alma Mater (Parody)"). Flashing back to the first day of high school in fall 1958, the Pink Ladies sit in the lunchroom, and the Burger Palace Boys sit at the entrance to the school. One of the Pink Ladies, Frenchy, introduces her new neighbor Sandy Dumbrowski, who had been unjustly rejected from a

Catholic school Catholic schools are pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered under the aegis or in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest religious, non-governmental school syste ...

, to the others (Marty, Jan and Rizzo), as well as Patty. Sandy tells of how she had a brief love affair the summer before, which ended with unresolved love. Meanwhile, womanizing greaser Danny Zuko is telling the Burger Palace Boys (Kenickie, Roger, Doody and Sonny) the story of his own summer fling (" Summer Nights"). The Pink Ladies soon after realize that Sandy's summer fling was the same Danny Zuko that attends Rydell High and arrange for the two to bump into each other at school; the resulting meeting is tense and awkward, as Danny had previously told Sandy that he attended a private academy and does not want to admit to the Burger Palace Boys that she was the woman he was talking about. As the Burger Palace Boys leave, Sandy is hurt and angry, but the Pink Ladies cheer her up, by inviting her over to Marty's pajama party. Shortly afterwards, the teenagers gather in the hall as Doody shows off his new guitar and performs a song ("Those Magic Changes"). At Marty's pajama party, the girls experiment with wine, cigarettes, and pierced ears; and talk about boys. The sheltered Sandy goes into shock and falls ill from seeing blood when the Pink Ladies try to pierce her ears, leading them to mock her when she's not in the room (in some revivals, the song "Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee" is placed here, mirroring the film). Marty tells about her long-distance courtship with a

Marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military ...

named Freddy, which is implied she only maintains because of the lavish gifts he sends her from Japan ("Freddy, My Love"). That same night, the Burger Palace Boys are busy stealing hubcaps, unaware that the hubcaps are on Kenickie's car, Greased Lightnin'. Unfazed by the others' skepticism, Kenickie sings of the upgrades needed to make the car a racing-worthy chick magnet (" Greased Lightnin'"). Danny sees Sandy again at her cheerleader practice, and tries to apologize for his behavior. Patty interrupts and flirts with Danny. Patty informs Danny that track try-outs are nearing, and Danny tells Sandy that he will join the track team to prove himself; he leaves as Patty and Sandy practice cheering ("Rydell Fight Song"). As the Burger Palace Boys and Pink Ladies gather at the park, Danny reveals to the rest of the greasers that he has joined the track team, much to their dismay and skepticism. After Roger and Jan bicker about food, drink and religion, she asks him how he earned the nickname Rump; he explains that, as "King of the Mooners", he has a hobby of baring his backside to unsuspecting victims, and in the process, both reveal their affections for each other ("Mooning"). Rizzo teases Danny for falling for a girl who resembles the excessively proper teenage ''

ingénue The ''ingénue'' (, , ) is a stock character in literature, film and a role type in the theater, generally a girl or a young woman, who is endearingly innocent. ''Ingénue'' may also refer to a new young actress or one typecast in such role ...

'',

Sandra Dee Sandra Dee (born Alexandra Zuck; April 23, 1942 – February 20, 2005) was an American actress. Dee began her career as a child model, working first in commercials, and then film in her teenage years. Best known for her portrayal of ingén ...

, and the other greasers join in as she makes fun of Sandy, who has not arrived to the picnic yet ("Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee"). Sandy, working on a biology assignment with Eugene, comes in just as the greasers finish making fun of her. She attacks Rizzo in a fit of rage and erroneously assumes Danny is the one behind the mockery. Furious, she tells Danny that she wishes she never met him and storms out of the picnic. Danny shrugs off Sandy's negative response, and the greasers pair off for the upcoming

sock hop A sock hop or sox hop, often also called a record hop or just a hop, was an informal sponsored dance event for teenagers in mid-20th-century North America, featuring popular music. History Sock hops were held as early as 1944 by the American J ...

. Danny teases Marty for not having a date (recommending Eugene), and the greasers all laugh ("We Go Together"). For revivals that use " Hopelessly Devoted to You", the exact placement varies. It sometimes replaces the first rendition of "We Go Together" and in other examples, such as the 2007 revival, it is placed early in Act II.

Act II

The night of the sock hop arrives ("Shakin' At the High School Hop"). Sandy is at home by herself, listening to the radio and crying over how much she misses Danny ("It's Raining on Prom Night"). Meanwhile, Kenickie comes into the dance with his date, Cha-Cha DiGregorio, a girl from Saint Bernadette's Academy. Patty tries to pair up with Danny, trash-talking Sandy's cheerleading skills in the process, but is unable to get out of her promise to dance with Eugene despite Rizzo trying to seduce Eugene as a distraction. Kenickie ends up paired off with Rizzo, and Danny with Cha-Cha. The MC Vince Fontaine, a radio

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobil ...

, begins the

hand jive The hand jive is a dance particularly associated with music of the 1950s, rhythm and blues in particular. It involves a complicated pattern of hand moves and claps at various parts of the body, following and/or imitating the percussion instrum ...

dance contest, and everyone eagerly participates as he tags the contestants out ("Born to Hand Jive"). In the end, Danny and Cha-Cha are the winners. Amongst the awards given to the couple, Danny receives two free drive-in movie tickets. Sometime later outside of the Burger Palace hangout, Kenickie, Doody, and Sonny run into Frenchy. The boys are armed with an "arsenal" of household items and reveal that, to their surprise, Cha-Cha was the girlfriend of someone in the boys' rival gang, the Flaming Dukes; the Dukes, hearing of Cha-Cha's dancing with the Burger Palace Boys, challenged the boys to a rumble. Danny sprints into the scene wearing his track suit, to the disbelief of the other boys. Danny tells the boys he cannot partake in the rumble because of a track meet and sprints off. The three remaining boys go into the Burger Palace for a snack before the fight, and Frenchy laments at what to do with her life, having dropped out of beauty school in frustration at failing all of her classes. The heavenly Teen Angel appears with a chorus of back-up singing angels and tells her to return to high school (" Beauty School Dropout"). The three boys exit the Burger Palace, bemoaning Danny's betrayal while only halfheartedly noticing Roger is unaccounted for. They wait for the Flaming Dukes, but the rival gang never turns up. Roger finally turns up with only a broken antenna as a weapon; in response, the other three proceed to strip Roger of his pants and shoes. At the drive-in, Danny tries to make up for his behavior and offers Sandy his class ring. She initially is thrilled, but pulls back and exits the car when he tries to move beyond a kiss. Danny laments his loneliness ("Alone at a Drive-In Movie" or "Sandy"). Several days later, Sandy and the greasers — without Danny — are gathered in Jan's basement ("Rock 'N' Roll Party Queen"). Rizzo, who missed her period, fears she is pregnant and tells Marty (who herself laments that Vince tried to spike her drink at the dance) that the father is a stranger who had sex with her with a cheap, broken condom; word gets back to everyone else. The boys offer support as they leave; Rizzo rejects it, which leads Sandy to ask her why and concludes that Kenickie is the presumed father. Rizzo responds by saying that she is a better person than others make her out to be and that showing weakness is the worst thing she knows ("There Are Worse Things I Could Do"). Rizzo leaves, and Sandy decides what she needs to do to fit in with the greasers ("Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee" (Reprise)). The next day, the boys are hanging out at the Burger Palace. A dejected Patty reveals Danny, who follows her in, has reverted to his old ways and quit the track team. Sandy comes in alongside the Pink Ladies, having transformed herself from an innocent schoolgirl into a greaser's fantasy, punching out a dismayed Patty. Danny is delighted at this change and the couple express their mutual feelings for each other ("All Choked Up" or "You're the One That I Want"). Afterwards, the greasers prepare to head to Roger's to watch ''

The Mickey Mouse Club ''The Mickey Mouse Club'' is an American variety television show that aired intermittently from 1955 to 1996 and returned to social media in 2017. Created by Walt Disney and produced by Walt Disney Productions, the program was first televised ...

'', inviting Patty along. Frenchy takes a job as a makeup saleswoman at

Woolworth's Woolworth, Woolworth's, or Woolworths may refer to: Businesses * F. W. Woolworth Company, the original US-based chain of "five and dime" (5¢ and 10¢) stores * Woolworths Group (United Kingdom), former operator of the Woolworths chain of shop ...

, Rizzo reveals that she is not pregnant, and she and Kenickie reunite. All ends happily, and the Burger Palace Boys, the Pink Ladies, Sandy, and Patty sing about how they will always be friends to the end ("We Go Together" (Reprise)).

Revival changes

Due to the popularity of the 1978 film adaptation, which made several changes to the musical's songs and themes (many to accommodate its casting choice for singer

as Sandy), the subsequent revivals adopted several of the changes made in the film, particularly the replacement of several songs, and the renaming of the Burger Palace Boys to their film name, the T-Birds. However, in the revival, the role of Sandy Dumbrowski is not changed from the original Broadway production.

School version

In order to make the original musical suitable for young performers and audiences, Jim Jacobs decided to write a "school version" of the musical. This edition eliminates all of the references to cigarettes and alcohol, and also any swearing or bad language. Most of the songs have also undergone changes as well; the numbers are all shortened greatly and edited for content/language. Some plot lines are missing from the school version, such as Rizzo's pregnancy and her song "There Are Worse Things I Could Do" and "Hopelessly Devoted to You". This section is entirely cut from the script and score. The beginning of the pajama party in Marty's bedroom is also cut. (In this version, the Pink Ladies do not offer Sandy cigarettes or wine. Instead it begins directly with piercing her ears.) Overall, this version is considered to be G-rated. In addition to the removal of "There Are Worse Things I Could Do" and "Hopelessly Devoted to You", the following songs of the School Version have undergone lyric changes: * "Alma Mater Parody" * "Summer Nights" * "Freddy, My Love" * "Greased Lightnin'" * "Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee" * "Beauty School Dropout" The remainder of the songs have been greatly edited for time, deleting several verses from the original songs. A version of the play is available that keeps some of the adult references and

innuendo An innuendo is a hint, insinuation or intimation about a person or thing, especially of a denigrating or derogatory nature. It can also be a remark or question, typically disparaging (also called insinuation), that works obliquely by allusion ...

but excises some of the more explicit lyrics.

Cast and characters

*Danny Zuko: A smooth greaser from

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

and successful womanizer, the ''de facto'' leader of the Burger Palace Boys has his life upended when he falls for a strait-laced

square In Euclidean geometry, a square is a regular quadrilateral, which means that it has four equal sides and four equal angles (90- degree angles, π/2 radian angles, or right angles). It can also be defined as a rectangle with two equal-length a ...

during his summer vacation leading into senior year. *Sandra "Sandy" Dombrowski: An innocent ''ingenue'' when she moves into the neighborhood, she experiences severe

culture shock Culture shock is an experience a person may have when one moves to a cultural environment which is different from one's own; it is also the personal disorientation a person may feel when experiencing an unfamiliar way of life due to immigration ...

as she learns her summer boyfriend's true nature but eventually transforms into Danny's fantasy dame after she is unable to resist her continued attraction to him. Renamed with surname Olsson for the film and Young for the 2016 TV production. *Betty Rizzo: Described by Jim Jacobs as a "tough little Italian", Rizzo is the cynical leader of the Pink Ladies and a strong

alpha female Marie Kristin Gabert (June 4, 1982) is a German professional wrestler and former professional powerlifter, strongwoman, bodybuilder, and mixed martial artist under the names Alpha Female and Jazzy Gabert. She is best known on the independent scene ...

who embraces the

low culture In sociology, the term Low culture identifies the forms of popular culture that have Commoner, mass appeal, which is in contrast to High culture, which has a limited appeal to a smaller proportion of the populace. Culture theory proposes that b ...

and refuses to show her feelings. While she is condescending toward almost everyone, she and Danny have a particularly longstanding hostility toward each other, and she openly mocks Sandy in song. *Kenickie: A hard-nosed tough guy, Kenickie has great pride in his investment, a used car he has named ''Greased Lightning''. He has a tempestuous on-again, off-again relationship with Rizzo and is often at odds with Roger. Kenickie is given a larger role in the film as Danny's best friend. He was named Miller in the original Chicago production. *Doody: A younger member of the Burger Palace Boys, Doody has some childlike mannerisms and is shown to have great difficulty when approaching his crush, Frenchy, or handling tense situations. He fantasizes about being a great rock-and-roll guitarist. *Dominic "Sonny" LaTierri: The only member of the Burger Palace Boys without a musical number, Sonny is a character who imagines himself a Casanova, but most high-school girls find him repulsive. He is also quite cowardly, wilting in the face of any criticism. *Roger "Rump": A sardonic yet very self-confident Burger Palace Boy who is easily able to win over Jan and willing to go into a rumble with only a whip antenna as a weapon. He is frequently seen eating

fast food Fast food is a type of mass-produced food designed for commercial resale, with a strong priority placed on speed of service. It is a commercial term, limited to food sold in a restaurant or store with frozen, preheated or precooked ingredie ...

and earned his nickname because he was a proficient

mooner Mooning is the act of displaying one's bare buttocks by removing clothing, e.g., by lowering the backside of one's trousers and underpants, usually bending over, and also potentially exposing the genitals. Mooning is used in the English-speakin ...

. He is stated to be a Roman Catholic. Rump does not appear in the film or television versions. Putzie, a non-singing character, appears in Rump's stead (though ostensibly sharing the legal first name Roger), and his songs are included on the film's soundtrack, performed by Louis St. Louis. *Miller: The sixth member of the Burger Palace Boys, he appeared in the original 1971 production but was cut in the transition to Broadway. He was named Kenickie in the original Chicago production. Though he did not appear in any subsequent productions, he returned in ''The Original Grease''. *Frenchy: A member of the Pink Ladies, Frenchy is the first person (other than Danny) to meet Sandy, and the two quickly become friends. She claims to have earned her nickname from being able to "French inhale" a cigarette. She is a very poor student with aspirations of becoming a beautician, but she is equally inept when she drops out to attend beauty school. *Marty: Given the surname "Maraschino" in the film, Marty is a seasoned member of the Pink Ladies, with much experience in wine, men and cigarettes, and is bigoted against the Japanese and Polish. In Act One, she is said to be engaged to an overseas Marine, mainly because of the expensive gifts she receives by maintaining the relationship. In Act Two, she has a brief fling with DJ Vince Fontaine, and by the end she succumbs to Sonny's advances. *Jan: A member of the Pink Ladies, Jan is a quirky Lutheran who has a voracious appetite and has moments of extreme bluntness. Jamie Donnelly, who played Jan in the film, described her as not being as cool as the other Pink Ladies. She and Roger develop a relationship over the course of the musical, but the two frequently bicker. *Miss Lynch: A

spinster ''Spinster'' is a term referring to an unmarried woman who is older than what is perceived as the prime age range during which women usually marry. It can also indicate that a woman is considered unlikely to ever marry. The term originally den ...

English teacher and stereotypical disciplinarian. Her character role would be rewritten as Principal McGee for screen adaptions. *Eugene Florczyk: The class valedictorian is usually portrayed as an awkward nerd. He goes on to become a marketing executive after high school. Renamed Felsnick for the film. *Patricia "Patty" Simcox: A high-achieving cheerleader who befriends Sandy early in the play, Patty holds her own attractions to Danny and is especially drawn to him when he tries to change to please Sandy. Sandy turns against her at the end of the play. Other than Rizzo (who treats her with contempt), the greasers are amicable with her, while acknowledging their different social cliques. At the beginning of the play, it is noted that she has since gone on to marry a Mr. Honeywell and have a successful career. *Charlene "Cha-Cha" DiGregorio: a beastly girl who appears at the school dance as Kenickie's date, later ends up dancing with Danny, and is ultimately revealed as the girlfriend of a rival greaser gang member. *Vince Fontaine: the smooth-talking 19-year-old disc jockey and Rydell High alumnus whose voice-overs serve as continuity for the musical. He appears on-stage during the school dance and serves as an on-air host at WAXX, the local top-40 radio station. *Johnny Casino and the Gamblers: a low-rent rock and roll band that plays at the school dance. *Teen Angel: Frenchy's guardian angel who has blunt advice for his subject. A number of characters in the musical are not seen: Freddy Strulka, Marty's boyfriend and a member of the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through c ...

who showers Marty with lavish gifts from Japan; the coach of the track team; the Flaming Dukes, an adversary of the Burger Palace Boys who never show up to a threatened rumble; and Mr. Drucker, a perverted economics teacher who has made passes at the Pink Ladies. In the film, the Flaming Dukes are renamed the Scorpions and have an on-screen role, as does the track coach (who is surnamed Calhoun and is portrayed by

Sid Caesar Isaac Sidney Caesar (September 8, 1922 – February 12, 2014) was an American comic actor, comedian and writer. With a career spanning 60 years, he was best known for two pioneering 1950s live television series: ''Your Show of Shows'' (1950� ...

Notable cast members

Musical numbers

Original Chicago production

;Act I * "Alma Mater" – Miss Lynch, Dr. Devlin, Eugene and Alumni * "Alma Mater (Reprise)" – Company * "Foster Beach" – Danny, Sandy, Burger Palace Boys and Pink Ladies * "Yeeughh!" – Patty * "Freddy, My Love" – Marty and Pink Ladies * " Greased Lightnin'" – Miller and Burger Palace Boys * "Mooning" – Roger and Jan * "Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee" – Rizzo * "We Go Together" – Company ;Act II * "Grease"* – Company * "It's Raining on Prom Night" – Sandy * "Shakin' at the High School Hop" – Johnny Casino and The Gamblers * "Boogie Man Boogie" – Johnny Casino and The Gamblers * " Beauty School Dropout" – Teen Angel and Heavenly Choir * "Rock Progression" – Doody * "There Are Worse Things I Could Do" – Rizzo * "In My Day" – Miss Lynch * "Kiss It" – Sandy and Pink Ladies * "Grease (Reprise)" – Company Note*: Not to be confused with Frankie Valli's song of the same name..

Original Broadway production

;Act I * "Alma Mater" – Miss Lynch, Patty, Eugene and Company * "Alma Mater (Parody)" – Pink Ladies and Burger Palace Boys * " Summer Nights" – Sandy, Danny, Pink Ladies and Burger Palace Boys * "Those Magic Changes" – Pink Ladies and Burger Palace Boys * "Freddy, My Love" – Marty and Pink Ladies * "Greased Lightnin'" – Kenickie and Burger Palace Boys * "Rydell Fight Song" – Sandy and Patty * "Mooning" – Roger and Jan * "Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee" – Pink Ladies and Rizzo * "We Go Together" – Company ;Act II * "Shakin' at the High School Hop" – Company * "It's Raining on Prom Night" – Sandy and Radio Singer * "Shakin' at the High School Hop (Reprise)" – Company * "Born to Hand Jive" – Johnny Casino and Company * "Beauty School Dropout" – Teen Angel, Frenchy and Choir * "Alone at a Drive-in Movie" – Danny and Burger Palace Boys * "Rock 'N' Roll Party Queen" – Doody and Roger * "There Are Worse Things I Could Do" – Rizzo * "Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee (Reprise)" – Sandy * "All Choked Up" – Sandy, Danny, Pink Ladies and Burger Palace Boys * "We Go Together (Reprise)" – Company ''* The 1972 version is the standard version licensed to professionals and amateurs through Samuel French, Inc. in the US and Theatrical Rights Worldwide Ltd in the UK/IE/Europe''

1993 West End revival

;Act I * "Sandy" – Danny and Sandy * " Grease" – Company * "Summer Nights" – Sandy, Danny, Pink Ladies, T-Birds * "Those Magic Changes" – Doody and T-Birds * "Freddy, My Love" – Marty and Pink Ladies * "Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee" – Rizzo * "Greased Lightnin'" – Kenickie and T-Birds * "Rydell Fight Song" – Sandy, Patty and Girls * "Mooning" – Roger and Jan * "We Go Together" – Pink Ladies and T-Birds ;Act II * "Shakin' at the High School Hop" – The Company * "It's Raining on Prom Night" – Sandy and Donna Sue * "Born to Hand Jive" – Johnny Casino and Company * " Hopelessly Devoted to You"* – Sandy * "Beauty School Dropout" – Teen Angel and Female Angels * "Sandy"* – Danny * "Rock 'N' Roll Party Queen" – Doody and Roger * "There Are Worse Things I Could Do" – Rizzo * "Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee (Reprise)" – Sandy * "

You're the One That I Want "You're the One That I Want" is a song performed by American actor and singer John Travolta and Anglo-Australian singer, songwriter and actress Olivia Newton-John for the 1978 film version of the musical '' Grease''. It was written and produc ...

"* – Danny, Sandy, Pink Ladies, and T-Birds * "Finale" – The Company

1994 Broadway revival

;Act I * "Alma Mater (We Go Together)" – Company * "We Go Together" – Kids, Pink Ladies and Burger Palace Boys * "Summer Nights" – Sandy, Danny, Pink Ladies, Burger Palace Boys, Eugene and Patty * "Those Magic Changes" – Doody and Burger Palace Boys * "Freddy, My Love" – Marty and Pink Ladies * "Greased Lightnin'" – Kenickie and Burger Palace Boys * "Greased Lightnin' (Reprise)" – Rizzo and Burger Palace Boys * "Rydell Fight Song" – Sandy and Patty * "Mooning" – Roger and Jan * "Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee" – Rizzo * "

Since I Don't Have You "Since I Don't Have You" is a song written and composed by Jackie Taylor, James Beaumont, Janet Vogel, Joseph Rock, Joe Verscharen, Lennie Martin, and Wally Lester. It was first a 1958 hit single for the doo-wop group the Skyliners on the ''Bi ...

" – Sandy * "We Go Together" – Pink Ladies and Burger Palace Boys ;Act II * "Shakin' at the High School Hop" – The Company * "It's Raining on Prom Night" – Sandy, Jan and Radio Singers * "Shakin' at the High School Hop (Reprise)" – Orchestra and Kids * "Born to Hand Jive" – Johnny Casino and Company * "Beauty School Dropout" – Teen Angel and Female Angels * "Alone at a Drive-in Movie" – Danny and Burger Palace Boys * "Rock 'N' Roll Party Queen" – Doody and Roger * "There Are Worse Things I Could Do" – Rizzo * "Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee (Reprise)" – Sandy and Rizzo * "Finale Medley" (includes "All Choked Up") – Cast

2007 Broadway revival

;Act I * "Prologue" – Instrumental * " Grease"* – Company * "Summer Nights" – Sandy, Danny, T-Birds, Pink Ladies, Company * "Those Magic Changes" – Doody, T-Birds, Ensemble * "Freddy, My Love" – Marty and Pink Ladies * "Greased Lightnin'" – Kenickie, Danny, T-Birds, Boys * "Rydell Fight Song" – Sandy and Patty * "Mooning" – Roger and Jan * "Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee" – Rizzo * "We Go Together" – Company ;Act II * "Shakin' at the High School Hop" – The Company * "It's Raining on Prom Night" – Sandy and Jan * "Born to Hand Jive" – Vince Fontaine and Company * "Hopelessly Devoted to You"* – Sandy * "Beauty School Dropout" – Teen Angel and Female Angels * "Sandy"* – Danny * "Rock 'N' Roll Party Queen" – Doody and Roger * "There Are Worse Things I Could Do" – Rizzo * "Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee (Reprise)" – Sandy * "You're the One That I Want"* – Danny, Sandy, Company * "We Go Together (Reprise)" – Full Company * "Grease Medley" – Full Company Note*: "Grease Medley" is sung during the final curtain call. :''* The 2007 revival incorporates some changes from the popular film version. Some numbers were eliminated, and others were added to the score: "Grease" was written by

Barry Gibb Sir Barry Alan Crompton Gibb (born 1 September 1946) is a British musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. He rose to worldwide fame as a member of the Bee Gees, one of the most commercially successful groups in the history of popula ...

, "Hopelessly Devoted to You" and "You're the One That I Want" are written by

, and "Sandy" is by Louis St. Louis and

Scott Simon Scott Simon (born March 16, 1952) is an American journalist and the host of ''Weekend Edition Saturday'' on NPR. Early life Simon was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of comedian Ernie Simon and actress Patricia Lyons.

. These additional songs require a separate license from the

Organisation.''

2011 Chicago revival

;Act I * "Alma Mater" – Company * "Alma Mater (Parody)" – Pink Ladies and Burger Palace Boys * "Foster Beach" – Danny, Sandy, Burger Palace Boys, Pink Ladies * "Yeeughh!" – Patty * "Freddy, My Love" – Marty and Pink Ladies * "Comin' at Ya" – Burger Palace Boys * "Greased Lightin'" – Kenickie and Burger Palace Boys * "Greased Lightin' (Reprise)" – Rizzo * "Tattoo Song" – Burger Palace Boys * "Rydell Fight Song" – Patty * "How Big I'm Gonna Be" – Danny * "Mooning" – Roger and Jan * "Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee" – Rizzo * "We Go Together" – Company ;Act II * "Grease"* – Pink Ladies and Burger Palace Boys * "It's Raining on Prom Night" – Sandy, Radio Voice, Johnny Casino * "Shakin' at the High School Hop" – Johnny Casino * "Boogie Man Boogie" – Johnny Casino and Company * "Born to Hand-Jive" – Johnny Casino and Company * "Beauty School Dropout" – Teen Angel and Angels * "Rock 'N' Roll Party Queen" – Burger Palace Boys * "Rock Progression" – Doody and Company * "There Are Worse Things I Could Do" – Rizzo * "Alone at a Drive-in Movie" – Kenickie * "Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee (Reprise)" – Sandy * "In My Day" – Miss Lynch * "Kiss It" – Sandy and Pink Ladies * "All Choked Up" – Danny, Sandy, Company * "Grease (Reprise)" – Full Company Note*: Not to be confused with Frankie Valli's song of the same name.

Orchestration and chorus

Original

The original score calls for a piano, 2 saxophones, 2 guitars, bass guitar, and drums, while the original backup chorus calls for 8 singers: 4 males and 4 females. This is the version licensed for performance by amateur groups. The piano and the first keyboard is usually played by the band's conductor. The two guitarists double on acoustic and electric.

1994 revival

The 1994 revival is scored for 2 keyboards, 2 guitars, bass guitar, drums, percussion, 2 violins, viola, cello, 2 trumpets, trombone, and 2 saxophones. The 1994 revival chorus calls for 5 males and 5 females.

2007 revival

The 2007 revival is scored for 2 keyboards, 2 violins, viola, cello, 2 trumpets, trombone, 2 saxophones, 2 guitars, bass guitar, and drums and percussion. The first keyboard is played by the conductor. The two guitarists double on acoustic and electric. One guitarist plays lead while the other plays rhythm. The first woodwind doubles on tenor and alto saxophone and flute while the second one doubles on tenor, alto and baritone saxophone, flute and soprano saxophone. The 12-piece backup chorus calls for 6 males and 6 females.

Awards and honors

Original Broadway production

1993 West End revival

1994 Broadway revival

2007 Broadway revival

Footnotes

References

Synopsis and other information
* Winer, Linda
"Hopelessly Devoted to ''Grease''"
''Newsday'', January 7, 2007
''Understudy''
Vol. 1, September 2006; magazine of the Fulton Theatre, Lancaster, Pennsylvania * "The 1970s, Part I: Rock Musicals", John Kenrick, Musicals101.com, accessed on 19 May 2017, https://www.musicals101.com/1970bway1.htm * Miller, Scott. "inside GREASE." In ''Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll, and Musicals''. Lebanon, New Hampshire: University Press of New England, 2011. http://www.newlinetheatre.com/greasechapter.html

External links

* *
Grease

Official website for Australian production

Official website for Spanish production

Official website for 2011 remake of original Kingston Mines production

Ovrtur page for original Kingston Mines production

Ovrtur page for 2011 remake of original Kingston Mines production

* ttp://www.floormic.com/show/119722 ''Grease'' on Floormic.com
Longest-running plays on Broadway, Off-Broadway, London, Toronto, Melbourne, Paris, Vienna, and Berlin
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grease (Musical) 1971 musicals American rock musicals Broadway musicals West End musicals Original musicals Fiction set in 1959 Fiction set in 1960 Plays set in the 1950s Plays set in the 1960s Plays set in California Teen musicals

Production history

Original productions and Broadway

1973 London and 1979 return engagement

1993 London revival

1994 Broadway revival and U.S. tour

1996 U.S. tour

2003 U.S. tour

2007 Broadway and London revivals and UK tours

2008 U.S. tour

2011 Chicago revival - ''The Original Grease''

2019 UK and Ireland tour and 2022 London run

International productions

Adaptations

Film

Television production

Synopsis

Act I

Act II

Revival changes

School version

Cast and characters

Notable cast members

Musical numbers

Original Chicago production

Original Broadway production

1993 West End revival

1994 Broadway revival

2007 Broadway revival

2011 Chicago revival

Orchestration and chorus

Original

1994 revival

2007 revival

Awards and honors

Original Broadway production

1993 West End revival

1994 Broadway revival

2007 Broadway revival

See also

Footnotes

References

External links