Grease (musical)

This is about the stage musical. For the film, see Grease (1978 film).

Grease is a stage musical

Cast[]

Barry Bostwick - Danny Zuko
Carole Demas - Sandy Dumbrowski
Adrienne Barbeau - Betty Rizzo
Ilene Kristen - Patty Simcox
Timothy Meyers - Kenickie
Tom Harris - Eugene Florczyk
Katie Hanley - Marty
James Canning - Doody
Dorothy Leon - Miss Lynch
Alan Paul - Johnny Casino/Teen Angel
Walter Bobbie - Roger
Garn Stephens - Jan

Plot[]

A class of 1959 Rydell High School reunion headed by old maid English teacher, Miss Lynch starts off with a recitation of the school anthem. She welcomes former cheerleader/yearbook-editor Patty Simcox Honeywell and class valedictorian Eugene Florczyk. Eugene gives a rousing speech, mentioning that the alumni who are missing from the reunion are surely present in-spirit. Suddenly, the greaser gang known as the Burger Palace Boys and their auxiliary, the "Pink Ladies", appear and recite their own parody of the Rydell anthem.

The play fades away into Rydell High's first day of the new school year. The Pink Ladies sit in the lunchroom, and the Burger Palace Boys sit at the entrance to the school. There is a new girl at school, Sandy Dumbrowski. She describes to the Pink Ladies (Frenchy, Marty, Jan, and Betty Rizzo) how she and the leader of the Burger Palace Boys, Danny Zuko, had a brief love affair the summer before, which ended with unresolved love. In describing the fling, Sandy focuses on the romance, while Danny exaggerates to the other Burger Palace Boys (Doody, Sonny, Roger, and Kenickie) regarding the physical aspects of their relationship.

Sandy and Danny soon bump into each other at school, and while they are mutually happy to see each other, he brushes her off due to the expectations of his companions. As the Burger Palace Boys leave, Sandy is heartbroken, but the Pink Ladies calm her down and invite her over to Marty's pajama party. Shortly afterwards, the teenagers gather in the hall as Doody, the youngest Burger Palace Boy, shows off his new guitar. The rock star wannabe gives an impromptu concert in the hall.

At Marty's pajama party, the girls experiment with wine, cigarettes, and pierced ears; and talk about boys. Marty tells about her long-distance courtship with a Marine named Freddy. That same night, the Burger Palace Boys are busy stealing hubcaps and teasing Kenickie about his "new" used car, Greased Lightning, which he proudly brags about.

Danny sees Sandy again at her cheerleader practice, and tries to apologize for his behavior. Head cheerleader Patty Simcox interrupts and flirts with Danny. Patty informs Danny that track try-outs are nearing, and Danny tells Sandy that he will join the track team to prove that he is sophisticated. After Danny leaves, Patty and Sandy practice their cheer choreo.

The Burger Palace Boys and Pink Ladies take their newfangled portable radios for a picnic in the park. Roger shares his love for Jan and his hobby of exposing his rear end to unsuspecting victims. Rizzo teases Danny for falling for a girl who resembles the excessively proper teenage ingénue, Sandra Dee, and the other greasers join in as she makes fun of Sandy, who has not arrived to the picnic yet.

Sandy comes in just as the greasers finish making fun of her, and tells Danny that she wishes she never met him. Sandy leaves the picnic, Danny shrugs off Sandy's negative response, and the greasers pair off for the upcoming school prom. Danny teases Marty for not having a date, and the greasers all laugh, declaring that they will be friends no matter what.

It is the night of school prom where everyone is having fun dancing in the gym. Sandy is at home by herself, listening to the radio and crying over how much she misses Danny.

Meanwhile, Kenickie comes into the dance with his date, Cha-Cha DiGregorio, a homely looking girl from a different school known as Saint Bernadette's. Kenickie dumps his date Cha-Cha and pairs off with Rizzo, whom Danny entered the dance contest with, leaving Danny with Cha-Cha. The MC Vince Fontaine, an enthusiastic radio disc jockey, begins the hand jive dance contest, and everyone eagerly participates as he tags the contestants out. In the end, Danny and Cha-Cha are the winners. Amongst the awards given to the couple, Danny receives two free drive-in movie tickets. Sandy shows up at the dance shortly after the awards are handed out. The attendees are leaving, and Danny does not notice Sandy when he exits the room. Sandy cannot stop thinking about Danny despite how he has treated her.

Sometime later outside of the Burger Palace hangout, Kenickie, Doody, and Sonny run into Frenchy. The boys are armed with household "arsenal", and reveal that, to their surprise, Cha-Cha was the girlfriend of someone in the Burger Palace Boys' rival gang, the Flaming Dukes. Cha-Cha told the Flaming Dukes about how she danced with Danny, and, as a response, the Flaming Dukes challenged the Burger Palace Boys to a rumble. Danny sprints into the scene, wearing a track suit after having joined the Rydell track team, to the disapproval and confusion of the other Burger Palace boys. Danny turns down their urgent invitation to the Flaming Dukes rumble due to time conflicts with a track race, which he sprints off to.

The three remaining Burger Palace Boys go into the Burger Palace for a snack before the fight, and Frenchy laments at what to do with her life, having dropped out of beauty school for failing all of her classes. The heavenly Teen Angel appears with a chorus of back-up singing angels and tells her to return to high school, but she rejects the advice.

Shortly afterwards, the three Burger Palace Boys exit the Burger Palace. They wait for the Flaming Dukes, but the rival gang never turns up. The greasers realize that Roger is missing. Just as they decide to leave, Roger finally turns up with a car antenna as his weapon, and the greasers criticize him for showing up so late with such a pathetic excuse for a weapon. Roger challenges the three Burger Palace Boys, who proceed to run off with Roger's pants and shoes.

In the next scene, Danny and Sandy are in Greased Lightning, watching a drive-in movie. Danny tells Sandy how upset his buddies are at him, and how sorry he is for his companion's behavior during the picnic. After Danny offers Sandy his ring, he attempts to get intimate with her, but moves too fast, and she leaves. Danny misses Sandy, and wishes that they could be together again.

Several days later, Sandy and the greasers — without Danny — are having a party in Jan's basement as Doody, on guitar, performs alongside Roger. Rizzo is worried that she is pregnant, but tells Kenickie that he is not the father, and rejects offers of comfort from the other greasers, who leave the party. Rizzo is left alone with Sandy, who questions Rizzo on why she rejected her friends. Rizzo responds by saying that she is a better person than others make her out to be. Rizzo leaves, and Sandy decides what she needs to do to fit in with the greasers.

The next day, the Burger Palace Boys are hanging out at the Burger Palace. Patty Simcox comes in, miserable and emotionally hurt. She tells them that Danny quit the track team and gave the finger to the coach. The Burger Palace Boys laugh and congratulate Danny, who returns. Sandy comes in alongside the Pink Ladies, having transformed herself into a greaser's dream date. Danny is delighted at this change and the couple express their mutual feelings for each other.

Afterwards, the other Burger Palace Boys and Pink Ladies cheer for Danny and Sandy being together again. They happily invite Patty to watch The Mickey Mouse Club with them at Roger's house, and she agrees. Rizzo reveals that she is not pregnant, and she and Kenickie reunite. All ends happily, and the Burger Palace Boys, the Pink Ladies, Sandy, and Patty sing about how they will always be friends to the end.

Musical numbers[]

Act I

"Alma Mater" - Miss Lynch, Patty Simcox and Eugene
"Alma Mater" (reprise) Burger Palace Boys and Pink Ladies
"Summer Nights" - Danny, Sandy, Burger Palace Boys and Pink Ladies
"Those Magic Changes" - Doody
"Freddy, My Love" - Marty 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" - Company

Act II

"It's Raining on Prom Night" - Sandy and Cha-Cha
"Born to Hand-Jive" - Johnny Casino and Company
"Beauty School Dropout" - Teen Angel and Angels
"Alone at a Drive-in Movie" - Danny
"Rock 'n' Roll Party Queen" - Roger and Doody
"There Are Worse Things I Could Do" - Rizzo
"Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee" (Reprise) - Sandy
"All Choked Up" - Danny and Sandy
"We Go Together" (Reprise) - Company