An Electrifying Adaptation of Grease, Grease: Live

The T-birds and the Pink Ladies are back and better than ever in a live television remake of the 1971 classic Grease, and it was electrifying.

Grease: Live was a live television special that aired on January 31st, 2016. It was based on the 1971 musical Grease, written by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. The director of Grease : Live envisioned the telecast as being a combination of the 1971 musical, and the film adaptation in 1978, featuring classic songs such as “You’re The One That I Want” and “Hopelessly Devoted to You.” However, some of the songs didn’t quite make the cut, so fans of “Raining on Prom Night” and “Those Magic Changes” were left a bit disappointed.

Grease : Live experienced many challenges throughout the course of filming, such as large thunderstorms throughout the entire day they went live, but it was all worth it in the end to make those critics burst with happiness.

Grease : Live follows the same story line of the original, that most people know; Good girl Sandy falls head over heels for bad boy Danny in an epic summer romance, but challenges occur when Danny goes to the same school as Sandy and has a reputation to maintain, and he wouldn’t be caught dead with a girl like Sandy.

However, Grease : Live made some changes that some may find appealing, and some may find to be an outrage. For example, in the original, Classic film, smoking cigarettes was the norm and it was not frowned upon, however in Grease : Live, they ditched the cigarettes, and hope to fulfill the characteristics of the rebellious teens with more attitude.

More changes in Grease : Live, were changes made to fit the cast. Beloved Sandy Olsson was played by the lovely Julianne Hough, who does not have the Australian accent that Olivia Newton John had in the classic, so Sandy in Grease : Live, just had an American accent.

They also changed lyrics and added songs. The infamous “Grease lightning” had lyrics changed that caused an uproar in the fan base, but to be fair, the original lyrics might not have been the most appropriate thing to air on live TV. Since the wonderful Carly Rae Jepsen played Frenchie, they added a new song, called “All I need is an Angel” because everyone listening had to be blessed with Jepsen’s voice.

Possibly the most talked-about thing to occur during the entire filming of Grease : Live was Vanessa Hudgen’s stunning performance as Rizzo. It was talked about by millions across America, one in honor of the fact that she did a terrific job portraying the sassy Pink Lady, and second, Hudgens had announced the day before the performance, that her Father, Greg, passed away from his battle with cancer. Hudgens still performed, and flawlessly, and she was very proud to say that she did it in his honor.

Many fans were ecstatic while watching the adaptation; some even said that they had chills, and they were multiplyin’. Grease : Live earned an eight out of ten review on IGN, and provided the satisfaction of many critics. Many people were unsure if Grease was still a well-known movie in today’s culture, but now, there’s only one answer; it’s still the word.