| Grease (musical) |
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The musical is based around some of the Subcultures of 1950s High School America , including the "tough guy" Working-class Greasers from which the musical takes its name. The musical takes place at Fictional Rydell High and the Chicago, Illinois in which it is located. Some of the social issues featured in the musical are Teenage Pregnancy and Gang Violence ; its themes include Love , Friendship , Rebellion and sexual exploration during Adolescence , and, to some degree, Class Consciousness / Class Conflict . When the show opened on Broadway in 1972 , it was nominated for seven Tony Awards ; the 1994 revival was nominated for three. In 2003 , Grease was voted Best Musical of All-Time in a Channel 4 poll. A darker, harder-edged portrayal of some of the same subcultures (though slightly later) can be found in S.E. Hinton 's novel '' The Outsiders ''. Other dramatic portrayals include the classic James Dean movie, " Rebel Without A Cause ", and the 1957 musical West Side Story . Later, there is a "National Bandstand" (from " American Bandstand ") live, nationally-televised dance competition from Rydell High, which Danny wins by doing the Hand Jive . The competition's M.C. is Vince Fontaine (compare with Dick Clark ). There is also a Drag Race featuring the show's famous Hot Rod , "Greased Lightning". National Bandstand and the drag race are events that do not occur in the stage version of Grease. These events were two of many changes made when the show was adapted to film. SONGS Act I # Alma Mater - Miss Lynch, Patty, and Eugene # Alma Mater Parody - Pink Ladies and Burger Palace Boys # Summer Nights - Sandy and Danny, Pink Ladies, and Burger Palace Boys # Those Magic Changes - Doody, Burger Palace Boys, and Pink Ladies # Freddy, My Love - Mardi and Pink Ladies # Greased Lightnin' - Kenickie and Burger Palace Boys # Mooning - Roger and Jan # Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee - Rizzo # We Go Together - Pink Ladies and Burger Palace Boys Act II # Shakin' at the High School Hop - Entire Company # It's Raining on Prom Night - Sandy and offstage radio voice # Shakin' at the High School Hop (Reprise) - Entire Company # Born to Hand-Jive - Johnny Casino and Company # Beauty School Dropout - Teen Angel, Frenchie, 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 and Danny, Pink Ladies, and Burger Palace Boys # We Go Together (Reprise) - Entire Company STAGE PRODUCTIONS The musical Grease originally opened as a five hour production staged in a garage with an all amateur cast in Chicago. Despite these fairly shaky beginnings, Grease had huge success and sold out tickets in Chicago. This was enough to catch the eye of Broadway producers Ken Waissman and Maxine Fox. They persuaded Jacobs and Casey to move to New York and bring their show with them. In New York, Grease was reduced to two hours and opened at Eden Theatre just off of Broadway on February 14, 1972 , starring Barry Bostwick as Danny Zuko , and Carole Demas as Sandy Dumbrowski. Also in the cast was Adrienne Barbeau as Rizzo. Instantly popular with the public, the critics remained unimpressed, and the Tony Awards committee ruled that Grease was ineligible for nomination because the theatre was several blocks away from Broadway itself. The producers threatened to sue the committee, which soon backed down and it was nominated for 9 Tonys , including Best Musical. It ran for 3388 performances in four different theatres, most notably the Royale Theatre on Broadway where it remained from November 1972 until January 1980, only three months before it closed for good. Its eight year run was a musicals record until overtaken by '' A Chorus Line ''. When it reopened, the role of Danny was taken by the then-unknown actor Richard Gere , with Stacey Gregg as Sandy. They were later replaced by Paul Nicholas and Elaine Paige . Its revival began in London in 1993 , when a new version opened starring Craig McLachlan and Deborah Gibson in the main roles. The UK production is now a perennial favourite with audiences of all ages and has gone on many nationwide tours. The role of Danny was also played during this time by Shane Richie , Ian Kelsey and Luke Goss . The revival production in New York began in 1994 at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre and ran for four years, starring Ricky Paull Goldin as Danny, Susan Wood as Sandy, Rosie O'Donnell as Rizzo, and a pre '' Will & Grace '' Megan Mullally as Mardi (one of the "Pink Ladies") . During this time it picked up three Tony Award nominations, again all unsuccessful. In 1995 Brooke Shields won the Theatre World Special Award for her role as Rizzo, after following such stars as Jody Watley , Lucy Lawless , Linda Blair , Debby Boone , Sheena Easton , Joely Fisher , Deborah Gibson , Jasmine Guy , and Mackenzie Phillips in the role. Grease - The Arena Spectacular toured Australian stadiums in 1998/99 starring Dannii Minogue , Craig McLachlan , Jane Scali and Tottie Goldsmith. As far as school and community productions go, ''Grease'' is unpopular due to its coarse language and themes. It was usually abridged by those who wanted to do it. There is however an official cleaned-up "school version" available with all of the language and vulgar themes removed and the musical re-edited to suit it as a more "G" rated production. ALUMNI Famous actors who have appeared in Grease include: Danny Zuko: John Travolta , Richard Gere , Treat Williams , Patrick Swayze , Adrian Zmed , Rex Smith , Ricky Paull Goldin , Jamey Isenor Sandy: Olivia Newton John , Debbie Gibson , Dannii Minogue Rizzo: Stockard Channing , Lucy Lawless , Rosie O'Donnell , Debbie Gibson , Danica McKellar , Linda Blair , Debby Boone , Sheena Easton , Joely Fisher , Deborah Gibson , Jasmine Guy , Mackenzie Phillips , Jody Watley , Brooke Shields Teen Angel: Frankie Avalon , Donny Most , Davy Jones , Jeff Conaway , Peter Scolari , Eddie Mekka , Chubby Checker SEE ALSO
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