Grease is one of the most popular musical comedies in the history of the American theater. The show opened in New York City on Feb. 14, 1972, and ran for 3,388 performances, a record at that time. The motion-picture version, released in 1978, was one of the most successful musicals in Hollywood history.
Grease was written by Warren Casey and Jim Jacobs. Tom Moore was the director, and Patricia Birch was the choreographer (creator of dances). The show is a humorous and affectionate satire on American high school life at the beginning of the rock ‘n’ roll era during the late 1950’s. It pokes fun at the music, clothing, fads, and attitudes of teen-agers of the time. The show reflected Jacobs’s experiences while attending Taft High School in Chicago during the late 1950’s.
The central characters in Grease are students Danny Zuko and Sandy Dumbrowski (named Sandy Olsson in the movie version). Zuko is the leader of the “Burger Palace Boys” at fictional Rydell High School, and Sandy is a prim and naive girl who just enrolled in the school. Danny and Sandy had begun a romance the previous summer, and their up-and-down relationship during the school year is a central part of the plot. The other major characters are primarily divided between the members of Danny’s gang and their girlfriends in the school.
The songs were inspired by the rock and pop styles of the time. They include “Alone at the Drive-In Movie,” “It’s Raining on Prom Night,” “Beauty School Dropout,” “Freddy, My Love,” “Look at Me, I’m Sandra Dee,” and “Summer Nights.” The motion-picture version retained much of the Broadway score and added a few new songs, notably “You’re the One That I Want” and “Hopelessly Devoted to You.”
Grease originated at the small Kingston Mines community theater in Chicago. On Broadway, Barry Bostwick played Danny Zuko and Carole Demas played Sandy Dumbrowski. In the movie version, the roles were taken by John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. The title song for the movie became a number-one hit in 1978 as sung by Frankie Valli. The song was composed by Barry Gibb.
