In 1970 the story of Grease begins with two unemployed actors, Kim Jacobs and Warren Casey, who to make ends meet write a show to recreate the emotions of their student life in the late 1950s.
John Travolta , just seventeen, was already present as Doody, the boy who idolizes Danny and to make him work the producers were forced to cast his sister Ellen as well, in the choir. The new show premiered on February 14, 1972 at Chicago’s Eden Theater, a theater housed in a former coach depot.
The choice of the title was certainly not accidental: ” Grease “, to evoke the Fifties style, with hair pulled back with a lot of grease and the presence of fast food greases. The musical is much more irreverent than the film, in presenting the youth vocabulary without any sweetening.
The debut of ” Grease ” was received better by audiences than by critics. The Tony Awards commission ruled that the show could not get any nominations since the Eden Theater was part of off-Broadway. The producers threatened a lawsuit; so it was that ” Grease ” received seven Tony nominations and moved to Broadway .
” Grease ” became widely popular in the United States and not a week went by without some high school staging a revival of the show.
And here too the musical has depopulated, as has the film. I find it impossible not to start dancing as soon as the notes of “You’re the one that I want” start. And that Olivia in black leather pants and cascading curls I think has remained in the hearts of many. Don’t you agree?