TV: Marc Platt Reveals the Strategy Behind Making GREASE: LIVE a Hit

The countdown begins! In just weeks, FOX will transport viewers back to Rydell High for GREASE: LIVE, airing January 31 (7PM ET live/PT tape-delayed). BroadwayWorld just met with Executive Producer Marc Platt, who told us all about how the project got started and where they stand now!

GREASE: LIVE will reintroduce and reimagine some of the show's most memorable moments, great music and timeless love story to an entirely new generation. In this live television adaptation of the musical classic, the beginning of senior year means the end of Danny and Sandy's summer romance - until Sandy unexpectedly transfers to Danny's high school. With their friends pulling them in different directions, it's up to Danny and Sandy to stay hopelessly devoted as they make their way from Rydell High to a new frontier.

Platt stands among the few producers who have successfully bridged the worlds of theater, film and television. His projects have garnered a combined 11 Academy Award nominations, 18 Tony Award nominations, 16 Golden Globe nominations and 19 Emmy Award nominations. In theater, Platt is the producer of Broadway's blockbuster "Wicked," which just celebrated its 5000th performance. The musical also is playing in London and on a North American tour, and recently has had productions in Korea, Japan, Germany, Holland, Australia and Mexico City. Platt also is a producer of the recent Broadway musical "If/Then," starring Idina Menzel, which is touring the U.S. In addition, he produced the Broadway debut of "Three Days of Rain," starring Julia Roberts, Paul Rudd and Bradley Cooper; Matthew Bourne's ballet "Edward Scissorhands," for which he won his second Drama Desk Award; and the recent revival of "Pal Joey," starring Stockard Channing. In television, Platt won the Golden Globe Award for Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television for "Empire Falls," starring Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Ed Harris, Helen Hunt and Philip Seymour Hoffman.