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GREASE
Grease
Jim Jacobs
Jim Jacobs, an American musical theatre composer, lyricist and
writer was born in Chicago, IL in 1942. Growing up Jacobs learned
to play the guitar and while attending Taft High School began
singing and playing with a band called DDT & the Dynamiters.
In 1963, Jacobs became involved with a theatre group where he
met Warren Casey, a man who he would later collaborate with.
Over the next five years Jacob appeared in more than 50 theatrical
productions in the Chicago area, meeting well known individuals
such as the Second City founder, Paul Sills. By 1969, Jacobs had
landed a small role in the film Medium Cool.
In 1970, Jacobs acting career took off when he debuted on
Broadway with the revival of No Place to Be Somebody and
continued on with the national tour. Simultaneously Jacobs and
Casey were collaborating on a play called Grease about teenagers
during the early age of rock n roll in the 50s. In 1971, the show
premiered in Chicago where producers, Ken Waissman and Maxine
Fox, saw it and then suggested to Jacobs and Casey that a musical
version might be more successful. Waissman and Fox agreed to
produce the show off-Broadway if they liked the end result. Jacobs
and Casey headed to New York where they collaborated on the
musical version of Grease which opened at the Eden Theatre in
Manhattan later moving to Broadway. The Show earned Jacobs
and Casey a Tony Award nomination for Best Book of a Musical.
Warren Casey
Warren Casey was an American musical theatre composer, lyricist
and writer who was born in 1935 in Yonkers, NY. Casey received
his Fine Arts Degree from the Syracuse University School of Visual
and Performing Arts in 1957.
In the mid 1960s, Casey met Jim Jacobs while acting in the
Chicago Stage Guild. The two began to collaborate on a stage play
called Grease which they eventually made into a musical that went
on to open on Broadway. The show earned them a Tony Award
nomination for Best Book of a Musical.
Grease
Grease
Grease
The movie was a huge success receiving five Golden Globe Award
nominations in 1979 and was the highest grossing movie in the
U.S. for 1978. With the films instant success, Grease was revived
yet again in 1979 at the Astoria in London.
In 1980, just two years after the release of the film, Grease closed
on Broadway after a successful run of 3, 388 performances. The
show became the longest-running musical until it was surpassed
by A Chorus Line a few years later. Presently Grease is Broadways
12th longest-running musical.
In I982 Grease 2, a sequel to the original film, was released. Very
few of the original cast members were in it and the sequel flopped.
There had originally been plans to create a multi-picture franchise
and a television series but after the poor response of the second
film all plans were cancelled.
In 1993, Grease was revived yet again in West End where it ran
until 1999. During this six-year period, the production split its run
between the Dominion Theatre and the Cambridge Theatre.
On May 11 1994, the revival of Grease opened on Broadway at the
Eugene ONeill Theatre. The production starring Ricky Paull Goldin
as Danny, Rosie ODonnell as Rizzo, Megan Mullally as Marty and
Hunter Foster as Roger, ran for a total of 1,505 performances
before closing in 1998. Brooke Shields also joined the Broadway
cast as Rizzo after first touring the show throughout the United
States. Other cast members on the tour included Sally Struthers
as Miss Lynch, Angela Pupello as Rizzo, Rex Smith and Adrian
Zmed as Danny, Trisha M. Gorman and Sutton Foster as Sandy and
Marissa Jaret Winokur as Jan.
The 1994 revival was nominated for three Tony Awards including
Best Revival of a Musical, Best Performance by a Featured
Actress in a Musical (Marcia Lewis) and Best Choreographer (Jeff
Calhoun). Similar to the 1972 production, the show received Tony
nominations and was beat out by other productions at the awards
that year. Brooke Shields won a Theatre World Award for her
Grease
Play Synopsis
Setting: The play takes place at Rydell High School and follows the
senior year of the graduating class of 59.
ACT I
The play begins September 1958 with students arriving on the first
day of senior year at Rydell High. In the cafeteria the Pink Ladies
are found discussing their return to school yet again while the
Burger Palace Boys, also known as the greasers, on the other
side of the lunch room talk about their classes and the teachers
they have. As Marty, Jan, and Rizzo eat lunch, Frenchy approaches
with Sandy Dumbrowski, a new girl at the school. Rizzo, who
doesnt want someone as wholesome as Sandy joining the Pink
Ladies, isnt very welcoming but the other girls seem interested
Grease
in Sandy. Sandy goes into the details about her summer romance
telling the girls about her innocent summer love.
On the other side of the cafeteria where the Burger Palace Boys
are eating, the leader of the group, Danny Zuko, brags to the rest
of the guys about his summer love sometimes stretching the truth
to impress them.
Throughout Sandys story, Rizzo realizes that the boy who Sandy
fell for over the summer is actually Danny Zuko, who also goes to
Rydell High. She and the other Pink Ladies deliver Sandy to Danny
catching him off guard. While Sandy is pleased to see Danny again,
Danny blows her off in order to be cool in front of the guys not
wanting them to know that she was the girl he told them about.
Sandy is confused and upset about the way Danny greets her, and
the Pink Ladies decide to have a slumber party to cheer her up.
The girls spend the evening smoking, drinking wine and talking
about boys. Sandy feels left out and Rizzo pokes fun at Sandys
innocence. The girls all fall asleep except Rizzo, who gets dressed
and sneaks out.
Meanwhile, the Burger Palace Boys meet up with Kenickie who
just bought a car. The guys laugh and think its a piece of junk, but
Kenickie wants to fix it up and make it a dream car called Greased
Lightnin. Rizzo arrives and drives off with Kenickie leaving the rest
of the Burger Palace Boys to walk home.
The next day, Danny tries to talk to Sandy while she is at
cheerleading practice with her new friend Patty. Danny tries to
apologize for the way he treated her, but Sandy responds to Danny
coldly. When Danny teases the girls about being cheerleaders,
Sandy accuses Danny of being jealous of the jocks at Rydell and
Patty challenges him to try out for the track team.
The Pink Ladies and Burger Palace Boys head to the park for a
picnic to talk about Frenchy, who has decided to drop out of Rydell
and enroll in beauty school. They also talk about the upcoming
Grease
Grease
Characters
Grease
Jan a funny and loud member of the Pink Ladies gang who loves
food. She falls in love with Roger.
Marty - immature but most attractive and oldest looking member
of the Pink Ladies gang. She likes older guys and uses her looks to
get them.
Frenchy a fun-loving and foolish Pink Lady who eventually
drops out of high school to enter Beauty School. She is extremely
attentive to her appearance, well-meaning but an airhead who is
often off in her own world.
Sonny LaTierri - a big-talking and obnoxious, Italian member of the
Burger Palace Boys. A wise guy who thinks hes a real lady killer.
Doody - the youngest member of the Burger Palace Boys who
worships the older members. Generally he is foolish and gullible.
Cha Cha (Charlene DiGregorio) the best dancer at St.
Bernadettes who wins the dance competition with Danny Zuko.
Johnny Casino an all-American, rock-star student at Rydell High
School who leads a rock n roll band. He thinks of himself as a real
rock and roll idol.
Teen Angel - an extremely attractive Guardian Angel who tries to
help guide Frenchy when she drops out of Beauty School.
Patty Simcox - a typical athletic, attractive, confident and peppy
cheerleader. Loud and over-excited and very unpopular with the
Pink Ladies. She is also nominated for Student Council.
Eugene Florczyk - a pompous but gullible nerd. The class
valedictorian.
Vince Fontaine - An egotistical and slimy radio disk jockey who
is trying to relive his teenage years and therefore is attracted to
teenage girls. A veteran greaser.
Grease
Grease
Grease
In the late 1940s, early 1950s a genre of music known as rock and
roll was born. Rock and roll while evolved in the United States was
influenced by blues, rhythm and blues, country, folk, gospel, and
jazz to create a new sound. After the immediate popularity of rock
and roll the craze soon spread to the rest of the world which in
turn had a huge social impact. Rock and roll being featured in the
movies and on television at that time strongly influenced lifestyles,
fashion, attitudes and even language. Rock and roll continues to
affect and influence lifestyles and fashion to this day.
Early rock and roll in the 40s and early 50s usually featured one or
two electric guitars, a string bass guitar, drums and either a piano
or saxophone on lead. By the mid 50s guitars transitioned to the
lead instrument.
Grease
Grease
Teen Idols
A Teen idol, usually an actor or musician, is someone who is widely
idolized by teenagers. Most teen idols are popularized due to their
good looks and in the 1950s were mainly males who attracted a
large audience of female teens because of their sex appeal. Male
teen idols were often advised to keep their romantic relationships
a secret and appear available as to not decrease their popularity
among women.
At the beginning of the rock and roll craze, Elvis Presley became
one of the greatest teen idols of all time. Due to his mass success
promoters quickly created teen idols such as Frankie Avalon and
Ricky Nelson. Teen idols were often featured in magazines and
were promoted on television on such programs as American
Bandstand, Soul Train and The Ed Sullivan Show.
Something Interesting
Grease
Grease
9. Have a hula hoop contest and see who can hula the hoop
for the longest. You will need a hula hoop and stop watch.
10. During the 1950s music was recorded and distributed on
records. Research the journey from records to MP3s today.
Reference Materials