A well-known revival recently hit the TV screens of millions across the nation.
Fox released “Grease Live” in late January as a three hour special. The show was a tribute to the original “Grease,” released in 1978.
The original starred John Travolta as Danny Zuko, Olivia Newton-John as Sandy Olsson, and many other stars during that time.
The musical was set in the 1950’s, back to the days of poodle skirts and leather jackets. It displayed traditional American culture evolving. The romantic musical defines society back in the 50’s, including the clash between traditionalism and modern views.
“The actress that played Sandy looked just like the original,” said freshman Kelly Johnson.
The 2016 version included a new cast, starring Julianne Hough as Sandy Young, Aaron Tveit as Danny Zuko, Vanessa Hudgens as Betty Rizzo, and Carly Rae Jepsen as Frenchy. Along with a new cast there were some other changes made to the musical.
The most obvious change was the different songs included in the newer version. The songs “Freddy, My Love” and “Those Magic Changes,” both in the original stage production, were also brought back into the spotlight after they were disguised in the 1978 movie.
“All I Need Is an Angel” was also a solo specially made for Frenchy for the newer remake.
“The cast was not right, they chose them because of fame and not talent; they should’ve added songs too,” said senior Lily Donahue. “The sets were cool though and the production value was pretty high.”
For every “Grease” fan out there, the biggest confusion is bound to be the fact that Sandy is no longer from Australia. It most likely raised some eyebrows to hear the character say she was from Salt Lake City, Utah.
There was also a larger amount of focus on Sandy’s cheerleading in the live production than there was in the movie; for example Fox decided to include a whole scene dedicated to cheer tryouts.
One scene that people might have not noticed was the flying car at the end of the finale song “We Go Together.” Although it was included in the movie, “Grease Live” cut out the flying car completely; however, this is understandable due to the fact that there was no special Hollywood green screen included in the live production.
““Grease” is cheesy and unrealistic, but it’s cute,” senior Claudia Ferrero
Overall the production was a success but might not have reached the expectations of original “Grease” fans. There were a lot of obvious changes between the original and the tribute that took away from the main theme.
“I liked the added songs to it,” said junior Raquel Ferra.