GREASE

SYNOPSIS

*Spoiler alert! Plot and/or ending details follow…

ACT ONE

With the sound of rock and roll music flowing into our ears, the most colorful members of the class of '59 enter in “Grease is the Word.” The "greasers," comprised of the T-Birds and the Pink Ladies tell about the “groove and meaning” of Grease. Scene transitions to the first day of senior year, September, 1958. The high school cafeteria bustles with kids groaning about the annual return to lousy food ("You want my coleslaw?") and dreaded teachers ("I got Old Lady Lynch for English again. She hates my guts."). The Pink Ladies sit on one side of the lunchroom, and the T-Birds sit on the other. There's a new girl in town, Sandy Dumbrowski, who shares with the Pink Ladies - Jan, Marty, Frenchy, and Betty Rizzo--the details of her summer romance.

At the same time, Danny Zuko, leader of the T-Birds (Roger, Doody, Sonny, and Kenickie), brags about his love conquest (Summer Nights). Sandy and Danny bump into each other, and while Sandy is happy to find her summer love again, Danny blows her off under the guise of being too cool.

When lunch hour ends, rock star wannabe Doody gives an impromptu concert in the hall (Those Magic Changes), making it clear that grades and SAT scores aren't nearly as important as learning to play the guitar. Boys rank even more highly than songs on the Pink Ladies' charts, which is evident at Marty's pajama party, where the girls experiment with pierced ears, and Marty tells about her long-distance courtship with a Marine (Freddy, My Love).

Meanwhile, the T-Birds are busy daydreaming about girls and cool cars (Greased Lightnin'). Sandy is still hurt by Danny's brush off, but when they get a minute alone together Danny tries to explain. Head cheerleader Patty Simcox interrupts to prompt Sandy to join the squad and to tease Danny about his latest indiscretions.

The kids take their newfangled portable radios for a rock and roll picnic in the park and plan how they'll pair off at the upcoming school dance (Mooning). Sandy passes through with valedictorian-to-be (i.e. school nerd) Eugene; she seems to have given up on Danny since she's found out that he has been telling his friends that she's "easy," which is not what a nice girl who almost went to Immaculata likes to have said about her. Rizzo teases Danny for falling for a girl who resembles the excessively proper teenage ingenue, Sandra Dee (Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee). Act I ends with almost all the couples having some sort of fight with each other, even as they proclaim We Go Together.

ACT TWO

When Act II begins, everyone is Shakin' at the High School Hop - everyone, that is, except Sandy. She's home asking the stars up above why she must be a teenager in love and otherwise feeling sorry for herself (It's Raining on Prom Night). Meanwhile, all the kids are getting their kicks at the hop. The favorite radio DJ of the T-Birds and the Pink Ladies, Vince Fontaine, is the MC at the dance, which takes place in the gym. He's warming the kids up for a dance contest. Kenickie, who got a blind date after the fight that ended Act I, now dumps her and pairs off with his usual thrill, Rizzo. Danny enters the contest with Kenickie's cast-off, Cha-Cha DeGregorio, and they win (Born to Hand Jive).

As Danny and Cha-Cha leave the dance with the trophy, they see Sandy, who wonders why she is so head over heels for and foolishly in love with Danny (Hopelessly Devoted).

A few days later at the Burger Palace after school, a couple of the guys run into Frenchy who flunked out of Rydell and is now studying cosmetology (Beauty School Dropout). Danny, who has taken up track in order to win back Sandy's affections, doesn't know that the guys have been challenged to a rumble by Cha-Cha's friends. He's more concerned about patching things up with Sandy at the Twi-Light Drive In, but he moves too fast for her and she leaves (Sandy).

The "greasers" are having a party, as Doody and Kenickie sing Rock and Roll Party Queen. Rizzo is worried that she's pregnant, but she's so mad at Kenickie that she tells him he's not the father. The other kids are sympathetic, but Rizzo rejects their offers of help, especially Sandy's (There Are Worse Things I Could Do). Sandy wonders what she needs to do to fit in at Rydell (Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee Reprise).

The next time Sandy meets up with the T-Birds and the Pink Ladies, a transformation has taken place. Sandy is now a greaser's dream date, leaving Danny with chills (You’re the One that I Want). Rizzo is relieved to learn that she isn't pregnant, and she and Kenickie reunite. It's happily-ever-after time for all (We Go Together Reprise).