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Prepare For GREASE: LIVE By Tracking Those Magic Changes On A Handy GREASE Flow Chart

By: Jan. 29, 2016
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When FOX's GREASE: LIVE hits the small screen this Sunday night, January 31st (7:00-10:00 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed), fans will certainly be singing along to beloved hits like "Summer Nights," "Beauty School Dropout" and "Greased Lightnin'," but there'll be one new tune in the mix this time around.

Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey's "All I Need Is An Angel" introduced by Carly Rae Jepsen's Frenchy, is a fresh number penned just for the occasion.

This isn't unusual for the classic 1950s nostalgia musical. Like SHOW BOAT and ANYTHING GOES, GREASE has seen its song list mixed and matched throughout the years with every major production.

The Jim Jacobs/Warren Casey score for the 1971 premiere Kingston Mines Theatre production in Chicago was more of an ensemble piece, and included solos for Patty Simcox ("Yeeughh!") and Miss Lynch ("In My Day"). "Rock Progression" was an early version of "Those Magic Changes" and "Foster Beach" was eventually revised into "Summer Nights." Sandy introduced her revised self to Danny with the song "Kiss It," Johnny Casino and The Gamblers entertained with "Boogie Man Boogie" and act two began and ended with a song called "Grease," which had nothing to do with the number that opened the 1978 film.

When GREASE hit Manhattan, the story was refocused to emphasis the Danny/Sandy love story, with all of the above songs cut and new ones added like "Alone At A Drive-In Movie" and Sandy's "Sandra Dee" reprise.

Though GREASE on Broadway was a record-breaking smash and became The Street's longest running show until being overtaken by A CHORUS LINE, the 1978 film was a worldwide phenomenon, with new songs added and classic 50s hits featured. Though the 1994 Broadway revival of GREASE retained most of the original Broadway production's score, the 2007 return mixed stage songs and movie hits.

How do you keep up with all of GREASE's magic changes? Click onto the link below for a full-size view of the handy flow chart seen above, tracing the song lists for GREASE's four major stage productions and the classic film. Just follow the different colored arrows to see how the show has evolved through the years.

The chart does not include two songs cut before the 1971 production's opening, "Comin' At Ya" and "Tattoo Song," nor does it have "How Big I'm Gonna Be," penned for Danny for the 2011 revival of the Chicago version. The jukebox songs used in the film are not listed, but you will see "Since I Don't Have You," the 1958 hit for The Skyliners that was sung by Sandy in the 1994 revival.

GREASE: LIVE stars Julianne Hough ("Safe Haven," "Rock of Ages") as the angelic "Sandy" - Rydell High's most talked-about newcomer - and Aaron Tveit ("Graceland," "Les Miserables") as bad boy "Danny Zuko." Also tapped to star are Vanessa Hudgens (Broadway's "Gigi," "Spring Breakers") as iconic bad girl "Rizzo"; Keke Palmer (SCREAM QUEENS, "Masters of Sex") as sassy Pink Lady "Marty Maraschino"; Carlos PenaVega ("Big Time Rush") as "Kenickie," Danny's tough-guy sidekick; multi-Platinum Grammy® Award-nominated singer and songwriter Carly Rae Jepsen as Pink Lady and beauty school dropout "Frenchy"; Kether Donohue ("You're The Worst") as Pink Lady "Jan"; David Del Rio ("Spare Parts," "The Troop") as T-Bird "Putzie; Jordan Fisher as "Doody"; and Andrew Call as "Sonny."




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