![]() ![]() Added Paramount TV president Amy Powell, “It’s incredibly exciting to have one of our first major network productions be based on this universally celebrated Paramount title. Fox’s staging will feature a young ensemble cast, the Casey/Jacobs songs “Summer Nights,” “Greased Lightnin’” and “We Go Together” as well John Farrar’s “Hopelessly Devoted To You” and ”You’re The One That I Want.” “ Greese‘s iconic characters and addictive songs make it the perfect fit for Fox, and we’re going to give it the kind of star power and production quality to make every Sandy, Danny, Rizzo and Kenickie out there want to get up and sing along,” said Shana C. The 1971 Broadway musical was written by Warren Casey and Jim Jacobs, with its feature adaptation grossing nearly $400 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing movie musical ever. NBC will follow it up with a live production of Peter Pan this year. Live musicals have become a hot TV commodity following the huge success of NBC’s staging of The Sound Of Music. The project, which drew interest from multiple networks, comes from Paramount Television and marks the first official network green light for the recently relaunched TV division of the movie studio that was behind the blockbuster 1978 feature adaptation of Grease starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. In what seems to echo the entire country’s recent disposition for all things politically correct, we’d like to take issue with this change in script not because we’d like to think that showing a girl with a cigarette in hand shouldn’t necessarily coincide with an incitement of bad behavior (if that were the case, 16 and Pregnant and a slew of other shows should be banned from all networks).Fox has jumped into the live musical business with Grease Live, a three-hour production of the popular musical to air live next year. The smoking was missing in last night’s live production. There Was No Cigarette in the Final SceneĪrguably one of the most renowned scenes of the original movie is the final one, in which a dolled-up Sandy surprises Danny at the carnival and recites the famous line: “Tell me about it, stud,” right before throwing down her cigarette. But…why did Sandy ask Rizzo for help at the end of the scene instead of Frenchy? ![]() To be fair, a real driving scene is almost impossible when shooting live. ![]() One of the movie’s key songs, “Greased Lightning,” was anchored by John Travolta’s rubbing of plastic wrap on himself and the T-Birds’ new car. No Plastic Wrap in the “Greased Lightning” Scene Palmer over-acted her part, at times almost rendering her character laughable. Supposed to be an emblem of cool characterized by a hidden sensibility, PenaVega simply lacked the aura of effortless, sexy composure that originally drew us to Kenickie.Īlthough we’re big fans of Palmer (have you seen her on Scream Queens?), she didn’t cut it as Marty, a highly sexualized, big-breasted high school student that’s supposed to look anything but. Besides the physical differences between the original Kenickie (the late Jeff Conaway) and PenaVega (who, honestly, looked more like the original Sonny), the latter’s acting was not ideal for the part. Stay tuned for our take on some not-so-great musical numbers, but the famous Hand Jive scene was exactly what we wanted. Let the others finish the ride!” But, the casting choice (mostly) worked: Hey, if I tap your shoulder, move to the side. Don’t worry about where the camera is, just keep on dancin’, that’s your biz. We’ll give the folks at home a real big treat. Even before that live performance was broadcast, TV edits of the film had already cut the offending lyrics to ensure they didn’t. This is the version Fox used in their live television production of Grease in 2016. Towpilot, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. So, forget about the camera and think about the beat. Of course, they win the race, but Greased Lightning is damaged in the process. We weren’t sure Lopez could pull off Fontaine’s sexy-cool disposition, especially when thinking of him reciting the whole: “And to look your best for the big contest, just be yourselves and have a ball. ![]() Mario Lopez Reciting Vince Fontaine’s Famed “Tongue Twister” The Real Frenchy and Real Doody Make Appearances!Īs a diner waitress and a TV producer, respectively, Didi Conn and Barry Peal were tapped for small cameos that reminded us about our original love for the characters. Possibly the Olivia Newton-John of the 21st century, Hough’s wardrobe and makeup were perfect as well. In addition to her already-proven dancing chops, the performer impressed us with her acting and singing. Alongside Hudgens’ Rizzo, Hough’s Sandy was the most true-to-the-original character on the TV production. ![]()
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