Grease
a '50s Rock 'n' Roll musical in 2 acts, 15 scenes: Book, Music and Lyrics by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey
Broadhurst Theatre, Broadway - 14 February, 1972 (3388 perfs)
Produced at the New London Theatre 1973
Revived at the London Astoria 1979 (124 perfs)
Synopsis
Rydell High's spirited class of '59-gum-chewing, hub-cap-stealing, hotrod-loving boys with D.A.s and leatherjackets and their wise-cracking girls in teased curls, bobby sox, and pedal pushers-capture the look and sound of the 1950s in a rollicking musical that salutes the rock 'n' roll era. While hip Danny Zuke and wholesome Sandy Dumbrowski resolve the problems of their mutual attraction for each other, the gang sings and dances its way through such nostalgic scenes as the pyjama party, the prom, the burger palace, and the drive-in movie.
- "A lively and funny musical-as well as the dancingest one in town-that brings back the look and sound of the teenage world of the late 1950s with glee. It's a winner... The songs... are dandies [that portray] the early rockers ... with zip and charm .... The sheer energy of Grease carries all before it." New York Daily News
Story
Grease is a class reunion flashback to the "days that were" in the fabulous fifties.
Miss Lynch, still the old-maid English teacher, and the high achievers of the class, Patty Simcox and Eugene Florcyk, are presiding at the head table once again, but the Greasers and all the gang are back in the '50's reliving their hell-raising days at Rydell High.
Kenickie, Roger, Sonny, and the group are pressing Danny about his "hot" summer. Concealing the fact that he met a girl he really cared about and didn't score at all, he leads them on.
Rizzo, the tough-talking leader of the Pink Ladies, joins with other members (Frenchy, Marty, and Jan) in meeting Sandy Dumbrowski, a perfect Sandra Dee, girl-next-door type. As it turns out, Sandy was Danny's summer love.
When Rizzo forces a confrontation, Danny plays the "big deal" for his peers rather than show the tenderness he shared with Sandy last summer. Sandy is confused and hurt by his strange behavior.
At a pyjama party Sandy tried to get into the groove with the other Pink Ladies but gets sick. Rizzo mocks Sandy and splits to join the boys.
Kenickie and the guys customize "Greased Lightnin'," a fouron-the-floor hot rod, guaranteed to snag any girl.
Sandy, still puzzled about Danny, becomes a cheerleader. Danny longs for Sandy but doesn't know how to approach her. It's time for the school dance, a special event to be hosted by Vince Fontaine, the nationally known D.J. There is a dance contest won by Danny and Cha-Cha, an obviously loose lady who seems to drive the final wedge between Danny and Sandy. Frenchy becomes a beauty-school dropout, encounters her teen angel, then flunks out. Rizzo confides that her period is late, and word spreads that she is knocked up. Danny and Sandy are briefly united, but he makes a pass at the drive-in and Sandy walks home.
On second thought, she turns to the girls for help and becomes a greaser's dream girl. Danny is knocked out. Frenchy is back in school and Rizzo is not P.G. Everyone is back together to rock 'n' roll happily ever after.
Cast
- DANNY: - The leader of the "Burger Palace Boys." Well-built, nice looking, with an air of cool easy-going charm. Strong and confident.
- SANDY: - Danny's love interest. Sweet, wholesome, naive, cute, like Sandra Dee of the "Gidget" movies.
- THE "PINK LADIES" - (The club-jacketed, gum-chewing, hip-swing ing girls' gang that hangs around with the "Burger Palace Boys")
- RIZZO: - Leader of the Pink Ladies. She is tough, sarcastic and outspoken but vulnerable: Thin, Italian, with unconventional good looks.
- FRENCHY: - A dreamer. Good-natured and dumb. Heavily made-up, fussy about her appearance-particularly her hair. She can't wait to finish high school so she can be a beautician.
- MARTY: - The "beauty" of the Pink Ladies. Pretty, looks older than the other girls, but betrays her real age when she opens her mouth. Tries to act sophisticated.
- JAN: - Chubby, compulsive eater. Loud and pushy with the girls, but shy with boys.
- THE "BURGER PALACE BOYS" - (A super-cool, D.A.-haired, hard-looking group of high school wheeler-dealers . . . or so they think)
- KENICKIE: - Second-in-command of the Burger Palace Boys. Tough-looking, tattooed, surly, avoids any show of softness. Has an off-beat sense of humour.
- DOODY: - Youngest of the guys. Small, boyish, open, with a disarming smile and a hero-worshipping attitude toward the other guys. He also plays the guitar.
- ROGER: - The "anything-for-a-laugh" stocky type. Full of mischief, half-baked schemes and ideas. A clown who enjoys putting other people on.
- SONNY: - Italian-looking, with shiny black hair and dark oily skin. A braggart and wheeler-dealer who thinks he's a real ladykiller.
- PATTY: - A typical cheerleader at a middle-class American public high school. Attractive and athletic. Aggressive, sure of -herself, given to bursts of disconcerting enthusiasm. Catty, but in an All-American Girl sort of way. She can also twirl a baton.
- CHA-CHA: - A blind date. Slovenly, loud-mouthed and homely. Takes pride in being "the best dancer at St. Bernadette's."
- EUGENE: - The class valedictorian. Physically awkward, with weak eyes and a highpitched voice. An apple-polisher, smug and pompous but gullible.
- VINCE FONTAINE: - A typical "teen audience" radio disc jockey. Slick, egotistical, fast-talkinb A veteran "greaser."
- JOHNNY CASINO: - A "greaser" student at Rydell who leads a rock 'n' roll band and likes to think of himself as a real rock 'n' roll idol.
- TEEN ANGEL: - A good-looking falsetto-voiced, Fabian-look-alike. A singer who would have caused girls to scream and riot back in 1958.
- MISS LYNCH: - An old maid English teacher.
For the Chorus
Two gangs, the Pink Ladies and the Burger Palace Boys are involved in twelve of the musical numbers.
Singing Principals
Sandy, Danny, Doody, Kenicke, Marty, Roger, Rizzio and Jan.
Other Principals
Frenchy, Jan, Sonny.
Smaller Parts
Patty, Cha-Cha, Eugene, Vince Fontaine, Johnny Casino, Teen Angel, Miss Lynch.
Scenes and Setting
2 acts, 12 scenes. Unit set with various set pieces. The basic unit is a raised platform with metal stairways up to each side. Posters and ads create the mood of the period, plus rows of school lockers, brick walls, banners, graffiti.
ACT I
- Scene 1: Rydell High School Class of '59 Reunion
- Scene 2: The High School Cafeteria
- Scene 3: A Hallway in the High School
- Scene 4: Marty's Bedroom
- Scene 5: A Street
- Scene 6: Cheerleader Practice
- Scene 7: A Deserted Section of the Park
ACT II
- Scene 1: The High School Hop
- Scene 2: Outside the Burger Palace
- Scene 3: The Twi-Light Drive-In
- Scene 4: Jan's Basement
- Scene 5: Inside the Burger Palace
Musical Numbers:
- All Choked Up - Sandy and Danny, Pink Ladies & Burger Palace Boys
- Alma Mater - Miss Lynch, Patty & Eugene
- Alma Mater Parody - Pink Ladies, Burger Palace Boys
- Alone at a drive-in Movie - Danny & Burger Palace Boys
- Beauty School Dropout - Teen Angel, Frenchy and Choir
- Born To Hand-Jive - Johnny Casino and Company
- Freddy My Love - Marty & Pink Ladies
- Greased Lightnin' - Kenickie & Burger Palace Boys
- It's Raining on Prom Night.. - Sandy
- Look at Me I'm Sandra Dee - Rizzo
- Moonin' - Roger and Jan
- Rock 'n' Roll Party Queen - Doody and Roger
- Shakin' At the High School Hop - Entire Company
- Summer Nights - Sandy & Danny, Pink Ladies, Burger Palace Boys
- Those Magic Changes - Doody, Burger Palace Boys & Pink Ladies
- There Are Worst Things I Could Do - Rizzo
- We Go Together - Pink Ladies and Burger Palace Boys
Orchestration
1 Bass, 1 Reeds (Tenor Saxes 1 & 2), 1 Drum, 1 Guitar 1 & 2
Period and Costumes:
- The '50s. All the stereotyped outfits: matron school teacher dress and sweater, full "poodle" skirts, bobby socks, saddle oxfords, pastel blouses, "Pink Lady" pink windbreaker jackets, pedal pushers, muu-muus, fuzzy slippers, school sweaters and slacks for "straights," pegged pants, white T-shirts, black leather jackets, baggy gymsuit, cheerleader outfit, crinolines, high school formals, skinny neckties, boy dress-up pegged slacks and loud sports jackets, jogging suit, white Fabian sweather, white chinos, white boots, white plastic dropcloth sheets for beauty school girls.
Choreography:
- Rock`n'roll, jazz, twist, cha-cha, "slow" dancing.
Lighting and Special Effects:
- General lighting, mirror ball for prom.
NB: Grease is a creampuff of nostalgia that works best for those who grew up in the '50s. The second act ending is weak. The movie version solved this problem by reprising several songs. The movie is available on videotape and discs.
Listen to the Music (You will need to have Real Player installed and Java Script enabled - Real Player can be downloaded from here also)
NB: This title is on limited release: -please enquire before commencing rehearsals