10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Grease the Movie

There's so much more to this iconic musical than catchy songs
John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John
John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John are hosting singalong screenings of Grease in December in Florida. Publicity photo

Grease is still the word – at least in Florida. Actors John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John recently announced they’ll host meet-and-greet singalongs to their popular movie on select dates in the Sunshine State.

The dates are Dec. 13th in West Palm Beach, Dec. 14 in Tampa and Dec. 15 in Jacksonville. Could more singalongs be staged around the country? We’re certainly hopelessly devoted to that idea.

While many die-hard fans might know the lyrics to the musical’s popular songs, how well do they know the movie itself? Here are 10 things you probably didn’t know about the film Grease.

Where It Started

Maybe fans know that Grease began its life as a musical on stage, but it didn’t get its start on Broadway. According to Broadway World, the original production debuted in Chicago in 1971. This version of the musical was “rough, aggressive and purposely vulgar,” the magazine reports, unlike the film version we all love today.

Broadway

The production moved to Broadway in New York City in 1972. Barry Bostick – best known as “Brad” in The Rocky Horror Picture Show – starred as Danny while Carole Demas (Geneviève in The Baker’s Wife) played Sandy.

In the stage version, Sandy was an all-American girl with the last name Dumbrowski. When Olivia Newton-John was cast in the film version, her character was renamed Sandy Olsson and she became an Aussie.

Inspiration

Elvis in Blue Hawaii
Elvis as Danny Zuko? It almost happened. Publicity photo

When producer Allan Carr bought the rights to Grease, he first thought of Elvis Presley and Ann-Margret to play the lead roles. (Elvis was also considered for the role of the teen angel that ultimately went to Frankie Avalon.) John Travolta had an inside edge getting the role of Danny because he had acted in the stage version in different roles. As for Olivia Newton-John, her singing career caught Hollywood’s attention. In the ’70s, she had a string of No. 5 hits including Please Mr. Please, I Honestly Love You and Have You Never Been Mellow.

The Original Plan

Grease 2
Michelle Pfeiffer, right, starred in Grease 2 – which jumpstarted her movie career but killed the Grease franchise. Publicity photo

Grease was supposed to have three movie sequels but that plan was scrapped after Grease 2 opened in 1982 to scathing reviews. (Famed film critic Roger Ebert wrote: “…this movie just recycles Grease, without the stars, without the energy, without the freshness and without the grease.”)

In all fairness to Grease 2, it opened the same day in 1982 as ET: The Extra-Terrestrial. Other summer blockbusters such as Rocky III and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan were also still playing in theaters.