Grease (musical)
Grease is a musical with music, lyrics, and a book by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. Named after the 1950s United States working-class youth subculture known as greasers and set in 1959 at the fictional Rydell High School in Northwest Chicago[1] (based on Taft High School in Chicago, Illinois,[2] and named after rock singer Bobby Rydell[3]), the musical follows ten working-class teenagers as they navigate the complexities of peer pressure, politics, personal core values, and love.[3]
For the 1978 film based on the musical, see Grease (film).Grease
- Jim Jacobs
- Warren Casey
- John Farrar
- Jim Jacobs
- Warren Casey
The score borrows heavily from the sounds of early rock and roll. In its original production in Chicago, Grease was a raunchy, raw, aggressive, vulgar show. Subsequent productions toned down the more risqué content.[4] The show mentions social issues such as teenage pregnancy, peer pressure, and gang violence; its themes include love, friendship, teenage rebellion, sexual exploration during adolescence. 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.[5]
Since it was first performed on February 5, 1971, at Kingston Mines nightclub in Chicago,[6] Grease 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. The first Broadway production opened on June 7, 1972; when 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 on September 29, 1983. It went on to become a West End hit, a successful feature 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.[7] It remains Broadway's 17th longest-running show.[8]
Grease was adapted in 1978 as a feature film, which starred John Travolta (who himself had been in stage productions in a different role) and British-Australian singer and actress Olivia Newton-John, removed the musical's Chicago urban setting, and changed 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. A 2016 live TV musical used elements from both the original stage version and the film.[9] A 1982 film sequel, Grease 2, 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[edit]
Original productions and Broadway[edit]
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 Jim Jacobs' experience at William Taft High School, Chicago.[3] Warren Casey collaborated with Jim and together they wrote the music and lyrics. It ran for eight months.[10] The cast: Doug Stevenson (Danny), Leslie Goto (Sandy), Sue Williams (Rizzo), Polly Pen (Patty), Gary Houston (Roger), Marilu Henner (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, the Chicago version of Grease included a substantially different songbook, which was shorter and included multiple references to real Chicago landmarks.[11]
Producers Ken Waissman and Maxine Fox saw the show and made a deal to produce it Off-Broadway. The team headed to New York City to collaborate on the New York production of Grease. It was after test runs of the original Chicago production had drawn extremely poor reviews that the production team transformed Grease into its familiar form.[12] The new production, directed by Tom Moore and choreographed by Patricia Birch (who later choreographed the film adaptation, and directed the ill-fated sequel), opened Off-Broadway at the Eden Theatre in lower Manhattan on February 14, 1972. Though Grease opened geographically off-Broadway, it did so under first class Broadway contracts.[13] The show was deemed eligible for the 1972 Tony Awards, receiving seven Tony Award nominations.
On June 7, 1972, the production moved to the Broadhurst Theatre on Broadway, and on November 21, it moved to the Royale Theatre there, 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 Broadway cast included Barry Bostwick as Danny, Carole Demas as Sandy, Adrienne Barbeau as Rizzo, and Timothy Meyers as Kenickie, with Alan Paul, Walter Bobbie and Marya Small in supporting roles. Replacements later in the run included Jeff Conaway as Danny, Candice Earley as Sandy, John Lansing as Danny, Peter Gallagher as Danny, Richard Gere as Sonny, Ilene Graff as Sandy, Randee Heller as Rizzo, Marilu Henner as Marty, Judy Kaye as Rizzo, Marcia Mitzman Gaven as Rizzo, Patrick Swayze as Danny, John Travolta as Doody, Treat Williams as Danny, Laurie Graff as Frenchy, and Jerry Zaks as Kenickie.
1973 London run and 1979 return engagement[edit]
After an out-of-town tryout in Coventry,[14] Grease made its London debut at the New London Theatre on June 26, 1973, with a cast that included Richard Gere as Danny, Stacey Gregg as Sandy, and Jacquie-Ann Carr as Rizzo.[15][16] Later Paul Nicholas and Elaine Paige took over the leads. The production closed on February 14, 1974.[17]
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 as Frenchy and Su Pollard as Cha-Cha.[18][19]
1993 London revival[edit]
The revival opened at the Dominion Theatre before transferring to the Cambridge Theatre in October 1996, where it ran until September 11, 1999. Directed by David Gilmore and produced by Robert Stigwood (who had also produced the film), the opening cast included Craig McLachlan (Danny); Debbie Gibson (Sandy — Sonia, then Samantha Janus later replaced Gibson as Sandy); Mike Doyle (Vince Fontaine); Tamzin Outhwaite (Patty); Shane Ritchie (Kenickie) and Sally Ann Triplett (Rizzo). (Variety, Review Abroad Grease, August 2–August 8, 1993) McLachlan was succeeded by Shane Richie, Luke Goss, Ian Kelsey and Darren Day. 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[edit]
After 20 previews, a Broadway revival directed and choreographed by Jeff Calhoun premiered on May 11, 1994, at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre, where it ran for 1,505 performances. The opening cast included Ricky Paull Goldin (Danny), Susan Wood (Sandy), Rosie O'Donnell (Rizzo), Sam Harris (Doody), Hunter Foster (Roger), Megan Mullally (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, Debby Boone, Chubby Checker, Dominique Dawes, Micky Dolenz, Sheena Easton, Debbie Gibson, Jasmine Guy, Al Jarreau, Lucy Lawless, Darlene Love, Maureen McCormick, Joe Piscopo, Mackenzie Phillips, Jon Secada, and Brooke Shields.[20] Shields proved so popular in the role of Rizzo that the cast album was re-released with her voice substituting for O'Donnell's.[21]
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.
1996 U.S. tour[edit]
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 starred as the Teen Angel for a one-week engagement at the Jackie Gleason Theater in Miami Beach (December 10–15, 1996).[22]
2003 U.S. tour[edit]
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).[23]
2007 Broadway and London revivals and UK tours[edit]
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. At the announcement of its closure, the producers revealed that the production recouped its entire investment during its 52nd playing week.[24]
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.[25][26] 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.[27]
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 as Sandy and Strictly Come Dancing's Louisa Lytton.
A further UK and Ireland tour of Grease was scheduled to commence from Curve, Leicester, on 30 July 2021. This production will star Peter Andre as Teen Angel and Vince Fontaine. The production will be directed by Nikolai Foster and choreographed by Arlene Phillips.[28] It is unknown if this tour went to production or not, as it was repeatedly rescheduled from earlier 2021 dates as well as its originally scheduled tour in 2020, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.
2008 U.S. tour[edit]
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.[29] Taylor Hicks reprised his role as the Teen Angel after playing the part on Broadway, with Eric Schneider as Danny and Emily Padgett as Sandy.[30] Lauren Ashley Zakrin replaced Emily Padgett as Sandy in October and Ace Young joined the tour as Danny on December 1, 2009.[31]
2011 Chicago revival - The Original Grease[edit]
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.[32] The Chicago production of The Original Grease opened on May 2 and closed on August 21.[33] This version was presented once more in Australia in 2016 from April 6 to May 7.[34] In Chicago, Adrian Aguilar played Danny and Kelly Davis Wilson played Sandy.[35]
2019 UK and Ireland tour and 2022/2023 London runs[edit]
A new production of Grease ran from 17 May to 29 October 2022 at the Dominion Theatre in London's West End, following a UK and Ireland tour in 2019–2021.[36] This revival was directed by Nikolai Foster (artistic director of the Curve) and choreographed by Arlene Phillips, with scenic and costume design 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. The production played a return engagement at the Dominion Theatre from 2 June to 28 October 2023.[37]
International productions[edit]
There have been professional productions of Grease in Argentina (with Florencia Peña and Gustavo Monje), Austria (with Pia Douwes) and Canada (a 1998 French spoken/English sung version incorporating songs from the movie starring Marina Orsini as Rizzo and Serge Postigo as Danny).
In 1984, the Mexican [then pre-teen] pop band Timbiriche starred in the musical, with Sasha Sokol 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, Mariana Garza, Alix Bauer, Paulina Rubio and Erik Rubin), along with other child singers and actors such as Eduardo Capetillo, Stephanie Salas, Thalía, Edith Márquez, Lolita Cortés, Hector Suarez Gomis, 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 and Julissa. The revival cast included Alejandro Ibarra, Juan Carlos Casasola, and Arturo G. Alvarez.[38][39]
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 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 and Gisela), and Elena Gadel as Betty Rizzo,
A New Zealand Production, 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.[40][41]
A second Spanish revival directed and choreographed by Coco Comín ran at Cúpula Las Arenas, Barcelona from November 15, 2011, to January 22, 2012, and then was transferred to Teatro Coliseum, Madrid from March 6, 2012, to May 6, 2012, before starting a national tour. Edurne reprised the role of Sandy, During the Madrid run, the singer Julio Iglesias Jr. guest starred as Teen Angel in some performances.
In France, the first production of Grease opened in November 1999 at Palais des Sports in Paris. The production moved to the Dôme Disney Village in Chessy in 2005.[42] The show was revived in 2008 at the Comédia in Paris 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 in 2012, after a break in 2011.[43] A third revival opened on September 28, 2017 at Théâtre Mogador in Paris. 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.[44]
An Australian revival opened at Brisbane's Lyric Theatre on August 27, 2013, before heading on an Australian tour.[45] The cast included Rob Mills as Danny, Gretel Scarlett as Sandy, Anthony Callea as Johnny Casino, Stephen Mahy as Kenickie, Lucy Maunder as Rizzo, Todd McKenney as Teen Angel, and Bert Newton as Vince Fontaine.[46]
A June 2022 Australian production, directed by Drew Anthony and choreographed by Jamie and Susie Rolton, was staged at Perth's Royale Theatre, 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.
A 2023-24 Australian tour production, directed by Luke Joslin and choreographed by Eric Giancola was announced in May 2023.[47][48] The principal cast was later revealed in June 2023 with Patti Newton as Miss Lynch, Marcia Hines as Teen Angel, Jay Laga’aia as Vince Fontaine, Annelise Hall as Sandy and Joseph Spanti as Danny Zuko.[49]
Orchestration and chorus[edit]
Original[edit]
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.[57][58] 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.
2007 revival[edit]
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.[60] 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.