- Performances: 1,505.
- Open / Close: May 11, 1994 – January 25, 1998
- Theater: Eugene O’Neill Theatre.
- Tony Awards: Nominated for three, including Best Revival of a Musical and Jeff Calhoun for his choreography. The curiosity here is that the only acting award nomination was for Marcia Lewis who played Mrs. Lynch. Critics did not seem to appreciate the “star forward” cast that included Rosie O’Donnell, Megan Mullally and Billy Porter. It’s perhaps worth noting that Brooke Shields won a Theatre World Award for replacing Rosie.
- Fun Fact: Not exactly fun, but interesting that Robert Stigwood – the producer of the movie version of “Grease” – was originally a co-producer of this revival but ultimately pulled out. For that reason, songs written specifically for the movie, like the title song, could not be used.
Podcast
It’s one of the most famous and beloved titles in musical theater. Because of its iconic mismatched lovers storyline and nostalgia evocation of the 1950s, “Grease” has been performed in high schools and colleges across the country for decades. The movie version with Travolta and Newton-John was the highest grossing movie musical of all time when it came out.
With all of that history, there seems like maybe not much else could be said about “Grease” but, thanks to my awesome guest, Patti D’Beck, we find plenty to say about it. Before she was an award-winning director and producer for regional theater, Patti was the assistant choreographer for this revival revival, working closely with Broadway legend, Jeff Calhoun. Even though it ran a long time, the revival had less than half the performances of the original production and, some might argue, it’s longevity was goosed by the ongoing parade of stars used as replacements in the cast.
Patti and I delve into all of that, including her unique perspective on stars and their different learning styles. Because of her long and varied career, we also can’t avoid a quick detour down a tangent about “A Chorus Line.” It’s a great episode thanks to Patti, clips of the banging tunes from the show don’t hurt!