Grease The Musical

Grease The Musical

Writing a hit musical is something of a challenge, especially one that's going to endure through the years. Grease the musical is one such production, popular for its catchy songs and entertaining characters. It was written by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. They set the story in 1959 and wrote rock and roll numbers that got people dancing in the aisles. Most people can sing along to Summer Nights, Greased Lightning, Hopelessly Devoted to You, and You're the One That I Want. The action takes place at Rydell High School in Chicago where the greaser Burger Palace Boys Gang, led by Danny Zuko, and the Pink Ladies Gang rule the roost.

The hit show was in the record books as the longest running musical on Broadway until A Chorus Line grabbed the title. The Broadway debut was in 1972 and the cast starred Barry Bostwick as Danny. Danny meets the beautiful, innocent Sandy, played by Carole Demas, during the summer break and they fall in love.  This romance is at the heart of the story and inspires lovely ballads to contrast with the up tempo songs. The London production in the West End opened the following year and Danny was played by Richard Gere, who was largely unknown at the time. This time, Sandy was played by Elaine Paige, who would later be known for her role in Andrew Lloyd Webber shows. Grease the musical has also enjoyed successful revivals on Broadway and in the West End and the show has toured in the United States and in Asia

The show has given opportunities to many rising stars, who would go on to become household names. Different incarnations of Grease the musical have included Marilu Henner, Peter Gallagher, Patrick Swayze, Treat Williams and Brooke Shields. The recent revivals in 2007 were tied in to reality television. The Broadway production cast Danny and Sandy from the winners of Grease: You're The One That I Want! The London revival drew from the winners of Grease Is The Word.

The show transferred to the big screen in 1978 and was a huge hit. All the exuberance of Grease the musical on stage was caught on camera and John Travolta as Danny and Olivia Newton-John as Sandy gave terrific performances. They were well supported by other members of the cast. Stockyard Channing played Betty Rizzo, fiery leader of the Pink Ladies Gang, and Jeff Conaway took the role of Danny's best friend, Kenickie. A sequel, set in Rydell but with other characters, was released in 1982. It starred Maxwell Caulfield, Michelle Pfeiffer and Lorna Luft.