| Grease | |
|---|---|
Original Broadway Cast Recording |
|
| Music | Jim Jacobs Warren Casey |
| Lyrics | Jim Jacobs Warren Casey |
| Book | Jim Jacobs Warren Casey |
| Productions | 1971 Chicago 1972 Broadway 1973 West End 1978 Film 1979 West End revival 1993 West End revival 1994 Broadway revival 1994 U.S. national tour 2001 West End revival International productions 2007 West End revival 2007 Broadway revival 2008 U.S. national tour 2010 - 2011 U.S. Non Equity National Tour 2011 Chicago 2011 Gdynia (Poland) |
Grease is a 1971 musical by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. The musical is named for the 1950s United States working-class youth subculture known as the greasers. The musical, set in 1959 at fictional Rydell High School (loosely based on William Howard Taft School), follows ten working-class teenagers as they navigate the complexities of love, cars, and drive-ins. The score attempts to recreate the sounds of early rock and roll. In its record-breaking original Broadway production, Grease was a raunchy, raw, aggressive, vulgar show that since has been sanitized and tamed down by subsequent productions.[1] The show tackles such social issues as teenage pregnancy and gang violence; its themes include love, friendship, teenage rebellion, sexual exploration during adolescence, and, to some extent, class consciousness/class conflict.
Grease first was performed in 1971 in the original Kingston Mines Theatre in Chicago, located in an old trolley barn (now the site of a hospital parking garage). From there, it has been successful on both stage and screen, but the content has changed drastically and its teenage characters have become less Chicago habitués 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 surpassed by A Chorus Line a few years later. It went on to become a West End hit, a hugely successful film, two popular Broadway revivals in 1994 and 2007, and a staple of regional theatre, summer stock, community theatre, and high school and middle school drama groups.[2] It remains Broadway's thirteenth longest-running show.[3]
Contents |
The show's original, grittier 1971 incarnation has been described as either a musical from the start[4] or a play with incidental music.[5] In either case, it was first staged under the name Grease Lightning at the original location of the Kingston Mines in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago. The script was based on Jim Jacobs' experience at William Taft High School.
In April 2011 writer Jim Jacobs finally said Sandy's character was based on Jeanie Kozemczak.[6]
Producers Ken Waissman and Maxine Fox saw the show and suggested to the playwrights that it might work better as a musical, and told them if the creative partners were willing to rework it and they liked the end result, they would produce it Off-Broadway. The team headed to New York City to collaborate on what would become Grease. The new production, directed by Tom Moore and choreographed by Patricia Birch (who later directed the ill-fated sequel of the film adaptation of Grease), opened Off Broadway at the Eden Theatre in downtown Manhattan on February 14, 1972. Though Grease opened geographically off Broadway, it did so under first class Broadway contracts.[7] The show was deemed eligible for the 1972 Tony Awards, receiving seven Tony Award nominations.
On June 7, 1972, the production moved to Broadway and the Broadhurst Theatre, and on November 21, it moved to the Royale Theatre, where it ran until January 27, 1980. For the five final weeks of the run, the show moved to the larger Majestic Theatre. By the time it closed on April 13, 1980, it had run 3,388 performances.
The original cast included Barry Bostwick as Danny and Carole Demas as Sandy, with Adrienne Barbeau, Timothy Meyers, Alan Paul, and Walter Bobbie in supporting roles. Replacements later in the run included Jeff Conaway, Gail Edwards, Marilu Henner, Peter Gallagher, Ilene Graff, Judy Kaye, Patrick Swayze, John Travolta, Jerry Zaks, and Treat Williams. Richard Gere was an understudy for many roles in this production, including Danny Zuko, Teen Angel, and Vince Fontaine.
The London production opened at the New London Theatre in June 1973 with a cast that included a then-unknown Richard Gere as Danny, Stacey Gregg as Sandy, Jacqui-Ann Carr as Rizzo, Derek James as Doody, and Stephen Bent as Roger.[8][9] Later Paul Nicholas and Elaine Paige, who had been in the London production of Hair, took over the leads. Kim Braden would also play Sandy. It was revived in London at the Astoria in 1979 with Su Pollard and Tracey Ullman.
The revival opened at the Dominion Theatre and transferred to the Cambridge Theatre in October 1996, where it ran until September 11, 1999. Directed by David Gilmore, the opening cast included Craig McLachlan (Danny), Debbie Gibson (Sandy) (Samantha Janus and Sonia also both played Sandy during the revival), Mike Doyle (Vince Fontaine), Shane Ritchie (Kenickie) and Sally Ann Triplett (Rizzo). (Variety, Review Abroad Grease, 8/2/93-8/8/93) Other performers who played Danny were Luke Goss, Ian Kelsey and Darren Day. The huge success led to the 1st National Tour featuring Shane Ritchie as Danny, Helen Way as Sandy, Toby Hinson as Vince Fontaine / Teen Angel, Alex Bourne as Kenickie and Michele Hooper as Rizzo to name but a few.
After twenty previews, a Broadway revival directed and choreographed by Jeff Calhoun opened on May 11, 1994 at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre, where it ran for 1,505 performances. Featured were Ricky Paull Goldin (Danny), Brooke Shields and Rosie O'Donnell (Rizzo), Susan Wood (Sandy), Megan Mullally (Marty), Hunter Foster (Roger), and Billy Porter (Teen Angel).
A U.S. national tour of the 1994 production started in September 1994 in New Haven, Connecticut, and ran for several years. The opening tour cast included Sally Struthers (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. Other notable performers on the tour were Mickey Dolenz (Vince Fontaine), Adrian Zmed (Danny), Debbie Gibson, Heather Stokes, Mackenzie Phillips and Jasmine Guy (Rizzo), Sutton Foster (Sandy) and Marissa Jaret Winokur (Jan), and Lucy Lawless (Rizzo, 1997).[10]
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 Vosa andy Dumbrowski)Danny Smith (Sonny LaTierri), John Ashley (Kenickie), Sarah Hubbard (Frenchy), Craig McEldowney (Doody), Kirsten Allyn Michaels (Marty), Jaqueline Colmer (Betty Rizzo), Jason Harper (Roger), Kristen Bedard (Jan), and Arthur J. Callahan (Vince Fontaine).[11]
A second Broadway revival, directed and choreographed by Kathleen Marshall, began previews at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre 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 reality series 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.[12]
A West End revival opened at the Piccadilly Theatre, London on August 8, 2007 and ran for nearly four years (the longest running show in the Piccadilly Theatre's history). The leads were similarly cast via ITV's Grease Is The Word, with Danny Bayne and Susan McFadden playing Danny and Sandy.[13][14] 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.[15]
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.
A U.S. national tour began on December 2, 2008 in Providence, Rhode Island and closed on May 23, 2010 at the Palace Theatre in Cleveland, Ohio.[16] Taylor Hicks reprised his role as the Teen Angel, with Eric Schneider as Danny and Emily Padgett as Sandy.[17] Lauren Ashley Zakrin replaced Emily Padgett as Sandy in October and Ace Young joined the tour as Danny on December 1, 2009.[18] In the U.S. Tour, before the show begins, the DJ of WAXX, Vince Fontaine, plays music from the 1950s for the audience to sing. Thereafter, he reminds about safety instructions before the show begins.
A U.S. national tour began October 12, 2010 in Denver, Colorado and closed May 15, 2011 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Directed by David John O'Brien and choreographed by Joyce Chittick, the cast featured Dominic Fortuna as DJ Vince Fontaine, Alyssa Herrera as Sandy and Matt Nolan as Danny.
The tour also included Patrick Cragin as Kenickie, Chris Duir as Eugene, Audrey Filson as Patty Simcox, Kelly Teal Goyette as Miss Lynch, Patrick Joyce as Sonny, Alicia Kelly as Marty, Brad Lawson as Roger, Ashley Rubin as Frenchy, Lauren Elaine Taylor as Rizzo, Lauren Turner as Jan and Marc Winski as Doody.
American Theater Company artistic director P.J. Paparelli and Grease co-creator Jim Jacobs staged the restored original version of Grease on Chicago’s North Side, starting on April 21, 2011 and ending on August 21, to coincide with the fortieth anniversary of the musical's début.[19] This was a revival of the original 1971 version first staged at the old Kingston Mines Theatre in Chicago. Procuring the rights to the original music was, for the most part, easy, while certain legal issues were preventing this production from being staged.[20]
This production went on to win Best Production - Musical at the 2011 Equity Joseph Jefferson Awards on November 7, 2011. The Original Revival Cast reconvened to perform their A Cappella version of "We Go Together," the finale to Act 1 in the production. Despite many nominations and personal wins for performers and designers, this is the first time in the storied history of "Grease" that the show itself has actually won an award.
There have been professional productions of Grease in Argentina (cast: Zenon Recalde/Marisol Otero/Florencia Peña/Gustavo Monje), Austria (cast:Pia Douwes, Andreas Bieber, Susanne Eisenkolb, Brian Carmack, Eric Minsk), Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, Estonia, Czech Republic, Colombia, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden and Poland.
In 1984, the Mexican group Timbiriche, starred in the musical, with Sasha Sokol and Benny Ibarra in the leading roles, getting an overwhelming success. Also recorded a CD with musical themes. Also participating: Diego Schoening, Mariana Garza, Eduardo Capetillo, Alix Bauer Paulina Rubio, Alejandro Ibarra, Erik Rubin, Stephanie Salas, Thalía, Edith, Lolita Cortés, among others.
A Spanish revival ran successfully at Teatre Victòria, Barcelona from October 3, 2006 to January 6, 2008. After a short national tour, the production was transferred to Teatro Nuevo Alcalá, Madrid, where it ran from October 14, 2008 to January 31, 2010 and then continued touring Spain until its finally closing on August 1, 2010, becoming one of the Spain's longest running production in history with 1090 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 and Gisela), Elena Gadel as Betty Rizzo, Daniel Millet as Kenickie (later replaced by Marc Parejo), Marisa Gerardi as Miss Lynch and Xavier Mateu as Vince Fontaine/Teen Angel (later replaced by Victor Díaz).
The New Zealand Production, based on the London West End Revival, ran at the Civic Theatre in Auckland during August 2010. The production featured the South African cast, with Jonathan Roxmouth as Danny, Bethany Dickson as Sandy and Genna Galloway as Rizzo.[21][22]
In 1959, Rydell High School's rebellious, happy, thrill-loving students start a new year. The "greasers" are the Burger Palace Boys (in the revival, the T-Birds) and the Pink Ladies ("Alma Mater Parody") are their auxiliary. In the revival, the play begins with the T-Birds and the Pink Ladies singing, "Grease (is the Word)". The start of the new school year means lousy food ("You want my coleslaw?") and dreaded teachers ("I got Old Lady Lynch for English again. She hates my guts."). The Pink Ladies sit on one side of the lunchroom, and the Burger Palace Boys sit on the other.
There is a new girl at school, Sandy Dumbrowski. She and the leader of the Burger Palace Boys, Danny Zuko, had a brief love affair the summer before, but the summer ended for them with unresolved feelings of love. In describing the fling to the Pink Ladies (Jan, Marty, Frenchy, and Betty Rizzo), Sandy focuses on the emotional attachment that she and Danny had, while Danny lies to the Boys (Roger, Doody, Sonny, and Kenickie) about the physical aspects of their relationship ("Summer Nights"). Sandy and Danny soon bump into each other at school, and while Sandy is happy to see Danny, he brushes her off, pretending to be too cool. Meanwhile, the teenagers gather in the hall as Doody, the youngest Burger Palace Boy, shows off his new guitar. The rock star wannabe gives an impromptu concert in the hall ("Those Magic Changes").
At Marty's pajama party, the girls experiment with wine, cigarettes, pierced ears, and talk about boys. Marty tells about her long-distance courtship with a Marine ("Freddy, My Love"). Meanwhile, the Burger Palace Boys are busy stealing hubcaps and teasing Kenickie about his new (used) car ("Greased Lightning").
Danny sees Sandy again and tries to apologize for his behavior, but she is hurt to find out that he has told his friends that she is "easy." Head cheerleader Patty Simcox interrupts to prompt Sandy to join the squad and to tease Danny about his latest indiscretions ("Rydell Fight Song"). The kids take their newfangled portable radios for a rock and roll picnic in the park and plan how they will pair off at the upcoming school prom, while Roger shares his love for Jan and his favorite hobby ("Mooning"). Rizzo teases Danny for falling for a girl who resembles the excessively proper teenage ingénue, Sandra Dee ("Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee"). Sandy realizes that Danny is putting her off to be cool and wishes she had never met him.
Then Danny suggests that Marty go out with Eugene, and she chases after him. The kids declare that they will "always be together" and they will always be friends ("We Go Together").
At the High School Hop, everyone is dancing, except Sandy ("Shakin' At the High School Hop"). She is home feeling sorry for herself ("It's Raining on Prom Night"). Meanwhile the favorite radio disc jockey of the Burger Palace Boys and the Pink Ladies, Vince Fontaine, is the MC at the dance, which takes place in the gymnasium. He is warming the kids up for the hand-jive dance contest. Kenickie dumps his blind date, Cha-Cha DiGregorio, and pairs off with Rizzo. Danny originally entered the contest with Rizzo, but she instead chooses to dance with Kenickie. Meanwhile, Kenickie pairs Danny up with Cha-Cha despite Danny's protest. He and Cha-Cha then proceed to win the dance contest ("Born to Hand Jive"). In the revival, Sandy hears the news that Danny and Cha-Cha got up close and won. She feels betrayed but she cannot stop thinking about Danny ("Hopelessly Devoted to You").
A few days later at the Burger Palace after school, a couple of the guys run into Frenchy, who flunked out of Rydell and has now dropped out of beauty school since she failed all of her classes ("Beauty School Dropout"). Danny, who has taken up track in order to win back Sandy's affections, does not know that Cha-Cha’s boyfriend’s gang has challenged the guys to a rumble. He is more concerned about patching things up with Sandy at the Twi-Light Drive In, but he moves too fast for her, and she leaves ("All Alone at a Drive-In Movie", with "Sandy" substituted in the revival). A couple days later, the "greasers" are having a party in Jan’s basement, as Doody and Roger sing ("Rock ’n’ Roll Party Queen"). Rizzo is worried that she is pregnant, but she is so mad at Kenickie that she tells him he is not the father. Rizzo rejects the kids' offers of help, especially Sandy's ("There Are Worse Things I Could Do"). Sandy wonders what she needs to do to fit in at Rydell ("Look at Me; I'm Sandra Dee [Reprise]").
The next time Sandy meets up with the Burger Palace Boys and the Pink Ladies, she has transformed herself into a greaser's dream date ("All Choked Up", with "You're the One That I Want" substituted in the revival). Rizzo reveals that she is not pregnant, and she and Kenickie reunite. All ends happily ("We Go Together [Reprise]").
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 Sandy, Australian singer Olivia Newton-John), 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.
In order to make the original musical suitable for young performers and audiences, Jim Jacobs decided to write a "School Version" of the play. This edition eliminates all of the references and uses of cigarettes and alcohol, as well as any swearing or bad language. Practically all of the songs have undergone changes as well; the numbers are all shortened tremendously 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." This section is entirely cut from the script and score. The beginning of the pajama party in Marty's bedroom is cut as well. (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.
The following songs of the School Version have undergone lyric changes:
The remainder of the songs have been edited severely for time, deleting several verses from the original songs.
The professional, notable stage performers include:
The Pink Ladies
The Burger Palace Boys (T-Birds)
Other Cast Members:
| Role | Broadway Première (1972) Broadhurst Theatre |
London Première (1973) New London Theatre |
Motion Picture (1978) N/A |
London Revival (1993) Broadhurst Theatre |
Broadway Revival (1994) Eugene O'Neill Theatre |
Chicago 40th Anniversary Revival (2011) American Theater Company |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Danny Zuko | Barry Bostwick | Richard Gere/Patrick Swayze | John Travolta | Craig McLachlan | Ricky Paull Goldin | Adrian Aguilar |
| Sandy Dumbrowski (Olsson in movie) | Carole Demas | Stacey Gregg | Olivia Newton-John | Debbie Gibson | Susan Wood | Kelly Davis Wilson |
| Kenickie Murdoch | Timothy Meyers | Jeff Conaway | Shane Ritchie | Tony Clarno | ||
| Betty Rizzo | Adrienne Barbeau | Jacqui-Ann Carr | Stockard Channing | Sally Ann Triplett/Katie Verner | Brooke Shields/Rosie O'Donnell | Jessica Diaz |
| Dominic "Sonny" LaTierri | Jim Borrelli | Michael Tucci | Patrick De Nicola | |||
| Roger "Rump" (Putzie in movie) | Walter Bobbie | Stephen Bent | Kelly Ward | Hunter Foster | Rob Colletti | |
| Doody | James Canning | Derek James | Barry Pearl | Bubba Weiler | ||
| Frenchy | Marya Small | Didi Conn | Jessie Fisher | |||
| Marty Maraschino | Katie Hanley | Dinah Manoff | Megan Mullally | Carol Rose | ||
| Teen Angel | Alan Paul | Frankie Avalon | Toby Hinson | Billy Porter | Bryan Howard Connor | |
| Vince Fontaine | Don Billett | Edd Byrnes | Mike Doyle | Toby Hinson | Michael Accardo | |
| Jan | Garn Stephens | Jamie Donnelly | Sadieh Rifai | |||
| Charlene “Cha-Cha” DiGregorio | Kathi Moss | Julie Henderson | Annette Charles | Hannah Gomez | ||
| Eugene Florczyk | Tom Harris | Eddie Deezen | Hank Rion | Adam Shalzi | ||
| Johnny Casino | Alan Paul | Glenn Carter | Sha-Na-Na | Bryan Howard Connor | ||
| Miss Lynch (movie: Principal McGee) | Dorothy Leon | Eve Arden | Sally Struthers | Peggy Roeder | ||
| Patty Simcox | Ilene Kristen | Susan Buckner | Katie Verner | Alaina Mills |
|
|
* The 1972 version is the standard version licensed to professionals and amateurs through Samuel French Inc.
|
|
* Some aspects are not present in this edition of the play at all, including Rizzo's pregnancy and her song "There Are Worse Things I Could Do." Many of the musical numbers have undergone lyric changes, and have been arranged to make the songs much shorter.
|
|
|
|
The original score calls for a piano, two tenor saxophones, bass guitar, percussion, and two guitars. The 2007 revival includes two pianos, two reeds, trombone, trumpet, guitar, bass guitar, and percussion.
| Year | Award Ceremony | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Choreography | Patricia Birch | Won |
| Outstanding Costume Design | Carrie Robbins | Won | ||
| Theatre World Award | Adrienne Barbeau | Won | ||
| Tony Award | Best Musical | Nominated | ||
| Best Book of a Musical | Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey | Nominated | ||
| Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical | Barry Bostwick | Nominated | ||
| Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical | Timothy Meyers | Nominated | ||
| Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical | Adrienne Barbeau | Nominated | ||
| Best Choreography | Patricia Birch | Nominated | ||
| Best Costume Design | Carrie Robbins | Nominated | ||
| Year | Award Ceremony | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical | Sam Harris | Nominated |
| Outstanding Choreography | Jeff Calhoun | Nominated | ||
| Theatre World Award | Brooke Shields | Won | ||
| Tony Award | Best Revival of a Musical | Nominated | ||
| Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical | Marcia Lewis | Nominated | ||
| Best Choreography | Jeff Calhoun | Nominated | ||
| Year | Award Ceremony | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Tony Award[24] | Best Revival of a Musical | Nominated | |