Both the grand opening and closing of Fox’s Grease: Live happened in one night: January 31, 2016. After NBC pioneered the idea of a live musical on TV with The Sound of Music, Peter Pan, and The Wiz, Fox took its turn. Even though audiences had mostly lost hope in live TV musicals, Grease was met with excitement and praise, and for good reason. Luckily, Fox is streaming the production for free on their website. Here’s why you should give it a try:
THE CAST
Aaron Tveit as Danny Zuko. Remember him as Enjolras in Les Misérables?
Julianne Hough as Sandy. The rebellious daughter of the Footloose remake.
Vanessa Hudgens as Rizzo. No introduction necessary: we all know who she is.
Keke Palmer as Marty. The star of True Jackson VP!
Carly Rae Jepsen as Frenchy. Made famous by a little song “Call Me Maybe.” Remember it? Now it’ll be stuck in your head all day.
Didi Conn as Vi. The original Frenchy from 1978 comes back as the diner waitress to give new Frenchy some advice on beauty school.
1978:
2016:
THE PERFORMANCES
Vanessa Hudgens. If for nothing else, watch for Vanessa Hudgens’ Rizzo. She stole the show in almost every scene, and absolutely brought down the house with “There Are Worse Things I Could Do.” I dare you to watch it and not get chills and/or cry. Seriously. Here’s the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKsXNyb44Jw Go. Go now.
Different from the film, Marty (Keke Palmer) gets her own solo: a combination of the musical’s songs “Those Magic Changes” and “Freddie My Love.” And in the best scene change of the show, she switches from a nightgown at Frenchy’s slumber party to a ball gown in front of a crowd of marines.
THE CASTING
Compared to the mostly white cast of the 1978 film, Grease: Live features a much more diverse group. Keke Palmer as Marty, Mario Lopez as TV host Vince Fontaine, Wendell Pierce as Coach Calhoun and Boyz II Men as the Teen Angels all bring more diversity to the 1950s setting.
Although the cast is still primarily white, Fox does take a step in the right direction. Keke Palmer on the subject: “In this new fresh way, it’s still the story that you love but you have characters that are from various nationalities. I love that the producers made the effort to diversify the cast. Now my little brothers get to see Grease the way their world looks today.”
What are you waiting for? Hit play and get ready to sing nonsense words like “Chang chang changitty chang shoobop.”