Grease (franchise)

Grease
Official franchise logo, as released in 1978.
Created by	Jim Jacobs & Warren Casey
Original work	Grease
Owner	Paramount Pictures (Paramount Global)
Films and television
Film(s)	List of films

The Grease franchise consists of American films and television productions, based on the 1971 musical. The stage production was first adapted for film with, Grease (1978), followed by Grease 2 (1982); while a prequel titled Summer Lovin' entered development beginning in 2019.

The franchise centers around the students of Rydell High, with each individual entry depicting the love story of a couple at opposite ends of the popularity spectrum: one, a popular and unruly student while the other is a shy immigrant and new student who is well behaved. The pair ultimately help each other step out of their comfort zone, balance each other out, and realize their ideal selves. The musical explores the themes of classic rock and roll overcoming differences (including opposing gangs), as the students experience high school and make memories together.

Revered as a cult classic,^[1] the original film was met with critical and financial success, and quickly became highest-grossing musical film ever (circa 1978),^[2] while its soundtrack album ended 1978 as the second-best-selling album of the year in the United States.^[3] The film earned an Oscar nomination at the 51st Academy Awards. In 2020, the film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".^[4] The sequel however, did not fare well at the box office nor with critics and was nominated for a Stinkers Bad Movie Awards for Worst Picture.^[5] Later on, it was awarded #13 in the 100 worst films of the 20th century, in Stinkers' "100 Years, 100 Stinkers" list.^[6][7]

The film series expanded into a franchise with the release of a Broadway musical adaptation, various reality television programs centered around the Broadway production, as well as releases in various other mediums. It will continue with the release of a streaming television series titled Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies, an exclusive on Paramount+. Additionally, a prequel film titled Summer Lovin', which will depict the summer prior to the events of Grease, is in early development.

Origin[]

Grease is a 1971 stage musical, originally written by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey, that originated from the Chicago theater scene. It moved to Off-Broadway and then to Broadway in 1972, where it ran until 1980. The original musical was set in urban Chicago and was based on Jacobs's own teenage years, with several of the characters having identifiably Polish-American and Italian-American ethnicities. The Chicago production was more profane and had less musical elements, while the writers partially sanitized the production for Broadway audiences.^[8] The musical functioned as an ensemble comedy, while the subplots involving supporting characters were given greater development. The stage production ends with a definitive decision in Danny's favor, as he reverts to his old ways while Sandy transforms into the wild Pink Lady to fit in.^[9]

Film[]

Grease (1978)[]

In fall 1958 following their summer romance, wholesome Australian immigrant Sandra "Sandy" Olsson and popular greaser Daniel "Danny" Zuko find themselves classmates, when Sandy enrolls at Rydell High School (in a generic setting based on suburban Philadelphia)^[10] instead of moving back home. At Rydell, Danny has long been the de facto leader of the T-Birds, a crew of fellow greasers; the T-Birds' female counterparts are the Pink Ladies, a tight-knit clique helmed by queen bee Betty Rizzo. As Danny attempts to maintain his reputation in the T-Birds as the coolest guy at the school amongst his peers, he struggles with keeping his relationship with Sandy alive. Sandy stands by her morals and education, being torn between the upright preppies of Rydell High (typified by cheerleader Patty Simcox) and the cruder Pink Ladies, to whose influences she eventually succumbs in order to keep Danny. Along the way the couple and their friends, experience adolescence amongst 1950s rock and roll culture: sex, substance abuse, and music.^[11]

Re-releases[]

Grease was re-released in May 1979 in 1,248 theatres in the United States and Canada, Paramount's biggest ever saturation release at the time, and grossed $4.5 million in its opening weekend.^[12][13] During the reissue, it overtook The Godfather and became Paramount Pictures' highest-grossing film of all-time.^[14] It was re-released in March 1998 for its 20th anniversary where it grossed a further $28 million in North America.^[15] An additional re-release in 2018, for its 40th anniversary grossed $1 million.^[15]

Grease 2 (1982)[]

In 1961, Stephanie Zinone has succeeded to the leadership of the Pink Ladies following Rizzo's graduation in the first film. Tired of the recurring drama, Stephanie breaks up with her boyfriend Johnny Nogerelli. She receives the admiration of Michael Carrington, a mild-mannered bookish new exchange student and Sandy's cousin. Michael seeks to overcome his nerdy ways while earning her affections by learning to ride a motorcycle, and taking on a secret identity that his peers call the "Cool Rider". Johnny grows jealous of Michelle's romantic pursuits, and as the leader of the T-Birds attempts to use his popularity to win her back.^[16]

Summer Lovin' (TBA)[]

In April 2019, Paramount Pictures announced a prequel movie titled Summer Lovin' was in development, with John August serving as screenwriter. The project will be a joint-venture production from Paramount Pictures, Paramount Players, Temple Hill Productions, and Picturestart. Receiving its title from the song, the plot will center around the summer in which Danny and Sandy met and fell in love.^[17] By July 2020, Brett Haley was hired to serve as director with the most recent draft of the script being written by Leah McKendrick.^[18]

Television[]

Reality television[]

Grease: You're the One That I Want! (2007)[]

A reality television series of a talent competition of singing and dancing. From the producers of Dancing With the Stars, the series was patterned after a format designed and created by Andrew Lloyd Webber for the BBC series How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?. Hosted by Billy Bush and Denise van Outen, the series featured celebrity judges Kathleen Marshall and David Ian alongside co-creator Jim Jacobs, who helped narrow the search for the Broadway leads amongst the contestants.^[19]

The program generated so much interest in the upcoming Broadway revival that, ticket sales had topped $9 million. Despite this the series was declared a "ratings loser".^[20]

Grease Is the Word (2007)[]

The United Kingdom version of NBC's Grease: You're the One That I Want!, which aired in 2007. The series was a production of Syco TV, with Simon Cowell serving as producer. The winning couple, Susan McFadden & Danny Bayne, became the stars of the West End revival production of the stage musical at the Piccadilly Theatre.

The judges were David Ian, David Gest, Sinitta, and Brian Friedman. The series was hosted by Zoe Ball. The after-show titled Greased Lightnin' shared unseen auditions, behind-the-scenes videos, and interviews; was hotes by Holly Willoughby.^[21]

Television production[]

Grease: Live! is a television special that was originally broadcast by Fox on January 31, 2016. It was a live, televised remake of the 1978 film Grease, executive produced by Marc Platt, directed by Thomas Kail, and starring Julianne Hough, Aaron Tveit, Vanessa Hudgens and Carlos PenaVega. Patterned on similar live television musicals that had recently been produced by NBC, the production incorporated elements and songs from both the original stage musical and the 1978 film version of Grease, as well as additional songs and a few elements (such as changing Sandy's last name to Young to reflect Hough's own background) that were not present in either. In an effort to emulate the "energy" of a theatrical setting, live audiences were incorporated into the production's stagings. Grease: Live was broadcast from Warner Bros. Studios, utilizing two soundstages and the studio's outdoor backlot—the usage of the latter was notably affected by rain in the Los Angeles area on the day of the broadcast.^[22][23]

Series[]

In September 2019, a musical television series was announced to be in development titled, Grease: Rydell High. The show was ordered straight-to-series, and will release exclusively on HBO Max. The project will be a joint-production between Paramount Television, Picturestart, and Temple Hill Entertainment. Erik Feig will serve as producer for the show. The series will be an adaptation of the original film with returning and new characters, as well as new and old songs.^[24] By April 2020, Annabel Oakes was hired as writer and executive producer for the series.^[25] In May of the same year, the project was retitled as Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies.^[26] In October 2020, it was announced that the series would be moving to Paramount+.^[27]

Main cast[]

Additional crew and production details[]

Reception[]

Box office and financial performance[]

Critical and public response[]

Accolades[]

Broadways[]

Following the film's success, stage adaptations were revived. Despite this, the new productions were adjusted to align closer with the film release.

• Grease: Due to the popularity of the film adaptation and the involvement of film producer Robert Stigwood in the West End revival in 1993, the subsequent revivals adopted several of the changes made in the film. One notable change includes renaming the Burger Palace Boys to their film name of T-Birds. However, in the revival the role of Sandy Dumbrowski maintains the original character name from the original stage production. John Farrar, who wrote two of the new songs is credited alongside Jacobs and Casey for the music in these productions. The revival was met with mixed critical reception.^[36][37]
• Cool Rider: Grease 2 was later adapted into a musical, albeit with an alternate title, with the script re-written and modified for the stage on Broadway and the West End.^[38] The Broadway production received positive critic reviews, favorably calling it superior over the film.^[39]

In other media[]

Video games[]

• Grease
• Grease Dance

References[]