Grease Lyrics – All Songs from the Musical

New Broadway Cast of Grease (2007): Description

New Broadway Cast of Grease (2007) vs. Original Broadway Cast (1972) - what’s different

Short version: the 2007 Broadway revival is a film-forward hybrid built for 21st-century audiences and TV-era casting; the 1972 original is a leaner rock-combo stage musical with a grittier book and a different finale. Below is a focused, practical breakdown.

Area	Original Broadway Cast (1972)	New Broadway Cast (2007)	Why it matters
Opening beats	Reunion scene at Rydell leads into “Alma Mater” and “Alma Mater (Parody)”.	Prologue (instrumental), then the pop title song “Grease”.	The revival signals the movie’s sound world from the first minute.
Finale	“All Choked Up” into “We Go Together (Reprise)”.	Swaps in “You’re the One That I Want”, followed by a curtain-call “Grease Medley”.	Iconic film closer replaces the stage-original ending to match audience memory.
Added film songs	None of the 1978 movie add-ons were in the original Broadway score.	Imports “Grease” (Barry Gibb), “Hopelessly Devoted to You” and “You’re the One That I Want” (John Farrar), plus “Sandy” (Louis St. Louis & Scott Simon).	Shifts balance toward Sandy/Danny’s screen arcs and ballad/pop polish.
Cut/shifted material	Full 1972 sequence including “All Choked Up”; no film-only numbers.	Some originals are repositioned; the film songs occupy prime slots (Act II ballads and finale).	Story emphasis and musical texture change, especially in Act II.
Gang name	Burger Palace Boys.	T-Birds (film naming).	Aligns character branding with the movie.
Orchestration & pit	Small rock combo sound: piano, 2 saxes, 2 guitars, bass, drums; 8-voice backup chorus.	Expanded pit with strings and brass (2 keyboards, strings, 2 trumpets, trombone, 2 saxes, guitars, rhythm section); 12-voice backup chorus.	2007 is brighter, glossier, and more Broadway-sized sonically.
Creative team	Direction Tom Moore; choreography Patricia Birch; orchestrations Michael Leonard; vocal arrangements Louis St. Louis.	Directed & choreographed by Kathleen Marshall; orchestrations Christopher Jahnke; designs by Derek McLane (sets), Martin Pakledinaz (costumes), Kenneth Posner (lighting); sound Brian Ronan; music direction/conducting team led by Kimberly Grigsby.	Stylistic shift toward sleek revival staging and dance-forward musical numbers.
Casting concept	Traditional casting; later long run produced many future stars.	Leads cast via NBC reality series “Grease: You’re the One That I Want!” (winners Laura Osnes & Max Crumm), with later replacements Ashley Spencer & Derek Keeling.	TV cross-promotion shaped marketing, audience expectations, and performance style.
Run	Opened 1972; ultimately 3,388 performances (through 1980) after theatre moves.	Opened Aug 19, 2007; 31 previews, 554 performances; recouped by week 52.	Gives context for cultural impact (1970s juggernaut vs. mid-2000s nostalgia vehicle).
Licensing note	1972 score is the standard licensed version.	Film songs used in 2007 require separate rights via the Robert Stigwood Organisation.	Explains why many school/community productions don’t legally include the movie hits by default.

Where the feel changes most. The 1972 “All Choked Up” finale makes the ending feel like a stage-era pastiche of 50s rock. The 2007 swap to “You’re the One That I Want” reframes the climax as a modern pop single moment; adding “Hopelessly Devoted to You” and “Sandy” puts two TV-friendly ballads into Act II, redistributing emotional weight from the ensemble toward the central couple. The opener “Grease” resets your ears: disco-funk gloss over a 50s story.

How the teams signal their approach. Patricia Birch’s original choreography and Michael Leonard’s orchestrations keep the band tight and club-sized; you hear a gym dance more than a Broadway overture. Kathleen Marshall’s revival wraps the score in larger, brass-and-string color and tighter musical theatre polish, with Christopher Jahnke’s charts and Brian Ronan’s sound giving sheen to the film imports. The TV-sourced lead casting became part of the show’s story, onstage and off.

Think of 1972 as the scrappier, stage-first Grease with a punchy rock combo and different ending, and 2007 as the Broadway-movie handshake: film songs, bigger band, T-Birds branding, and a finale built to trigger screen nostalgia.

How the lyrics were created — step-by-step, with concrete context

Lived source material (late 1950s–60s): Jim Jacobs drew on his own days as a Chicago “greaser” at Taft High—teen slang, hallway swagger, and doo-wop harmonies—then teamed with Warren Casey to turn that world into songs and scenes. First draft in Chicago (1970–71): Jacobs & Casey co-wrote book, music, and lyrics as a gritty, slang-heavy piece that sounded like early rock-’n’-roll. The raw Chicago version was frank and raunchy; the language and local references were baked into the lyrics. It premiered at Kingston Mines in February 1971. New York reshaping (1972): When producers moved Grease to New York, the team rebalanced the structure “from about three-quarters book and one-quarter music to one-quarter book and three-quarters music.” Result: more songs, tighter hooks, and cleaner language so audiences would embrace the characters. (Opening Off-Broadway Feb 14, 1972.) Pastiche craft: Jacobs & Casey’s lyric style intentionally echoed 1950s hits—call-and-response choruses, teen-idol rhymes, car/engine innuendo—yielding numbers like “Summer Nights,” “Greased Lightnin’,” and “We Go Together.” (They are credited as both lyricists and composers on the stage score.) Film additions that changed the songbook (1978): For the movie, John Farrar wrote “You’re the One That I Want” and “Hopelessly Devoted to You,” while Barry Gibb wrote the title song “Grease”; “Sandy” was by Louis St. Louis & “Screamin’” Scott Simon. Later stage revivals (including 2007) often folded these film hits back in, so modern audiences expect them in 2007 revival’s lyric set: Director-choreographer Kathleen Marshall used the crowd-pleasing film songs alongside the original stage numbers; the official synopsis for the revival and its cast album explicitly includes “You’re the One That I Want.”

History of the musical’s creation — key milestones, fast and factual

Chicago birth (Feb 1971): World premiere at Kingston Mines; a rough-edged, Chicago-specific show by Jim Jacobs & Warren Casey with their own music and lyrics. New York launch (Feb–Jun 1972): Opened Off-Broadway at the Eden Theatre on Feb 14, 1972, then moved to Broadway’s Broadhurst on Jun 7, 1972, later the Royale and Majestic. The original Broadway run totaled 3,388 performances—a record at the time. Cultural explosion (1978): Film adaptation added the Farrar/Gibb/St. Louis–Simon songs, supercharging the property’s popularity and forever entwining the movie numbers with the stage brand. Broadway revivals: Major revivals in 1994 and 2007 kept Grease in the mainstream; the 2007 second revival cast its leads via NBC’s Grease: You’re the One That I Want!, began previews July 24, 2007, and opened Aug 19, 2007 at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre, running 554 performances. 2007 cast album: Recorded for Masterworks Broadway, released Oct 2, 2007; produced by David Lai and tracked at Legacy Studios—a recording designed to capture the revival’s blend of original stage score and movie additions.

Bottom line: Grease’s lyrics started as Jacobs & Casey’s Chicago-born, 1950s-style pastiche—salty, specific, and rooted in lived experience—then expanded and cleaned up for Broadway, and finally absorbed blockbuster film songs that later revivals (notably 2007) adopted as canon. That’s why today’s stage Grease sounds like the show and the movie you know.

Cast Details: Grease 2007 Broadway Revival.

Previews began July 24 2007. Opening was August 19 2007 at Brooks Atkinson Theatre in NYC.

Leads Danny Zuko and Sandy Dumbrowski were chosen via an NBC reality series.

Grease: You’re the One That I Want! engaged new fans nationwide.

Background & Reality-Show Drama.

From Rydell High to Prime-Time TV.

A jukebox classic reborn on network television in January 2007 inspired millions. It ran 554 performances into 2009.

Why a New Cast Album.

Director Kathleen Marshall beefed up orchestrations, adding film-only hits back into the score.

Sony Masterworks recorded during preview week to capture live-theatre energy.

Track Highlights & Stage Sparks.

Summer Nights.

Max Crumm croons with a snapping chorus and flutey Sandy. Heartfelt prom-night vibes occur.

“Tell me more, tell me mo-o-ore…”

Greased Lightnin'.

Matthew Saldivar’s Kenickie growls through a brass-heavy wall with a revved-up tempo.

Hopelessly Devoted to You.

Laura Osnes shades vowels with Midwestern grit. Strings swell then drop for emotional impact.

We Go Together.

Cast stacks vowels like cafeteria trays. An onstage joke laugh remains for authenticity.

Musical DNA.

• Genre: Rock-’n’-roll musical theatre with sock-hop harmonies.
• Instrumentation: Added Hammond B3, fatter baritone sax, forward kick drum.
• Stylistic nods: Buddy Holly hiccups and Motown back-beat in “Mooning.”
• Theme: Identity vs image under leather jackets and teased curls.

Plot & Character Cheat-Sheet.

1. Prologue: Beach fling between Danny and Sandy survives fall semester.
2. Act I: Rydell High turns “Summer Nights” into a big-talk revelation.
3. Midpoint: Kenickie dreams of Daytona in “Greased Lightnin’.”
4. Act II: Dance chaos, drive-in heartbreak, and Sandy’s leather jacket moment.
5. Finale: “You’re the One That I Want” unites identities in celebration.

Behind the Studio Glass.

• Recording took place 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. after Sunday matinees.
• Engineer joked the booth smelled of Brylcreem and nerves.
• Kathleen Marshall insisted on live ensemble over isolation booths.
• A sneaky backstage rail replaced the missing triangle in “Beauty School Dropout.”

Voices from the Crowd.

“A sugar-rush of nostalgia, but with an espresso shot of modern bite.”Broadway Tabloid, opening night

“Bought the CD for the commute, stayed for unexpected grit.”NYC busker, 6 Train platform

“Finally a ‘Grease’ that lets the girls rev their octane.”Fan blog comment thread 2007

Cast Through the Years.

1972 Original Broadway.

• Barry Bostwick – Danny Zuko
• Carole Demas – Sandy Dumbrowski
• Adrienne Barbeau – Betty Rizzo
• Timothy Meyers – Kenickie

1994 Broadway Revival.

• Sam Harris – Doody
• Brooke Shields – Betty Rizzo (replacement)
• Rosie O’Donnell – Rizzo cameo

2007 Broadway Revival.

• Max Crumm – Danny Zuko
• Laura Osnes – Sandy Dumbrowski
• Jenny Powers – Betty Rizzo
• Matthew Saldívar – Kenickie
• Lindsay Mendez – Jan
• Robyn Hurder – Marty
• Kirsten Wyatt – Frenchy
• Daniel Everidge – Roger
• Ryan Patrick Binder – Doody
• José Restrepo – Sonny LaTierri
• Stephen R. Buntrock – Teen Angel
• Jeb Brown – Vince Fontaine

Tech Specs.

• Release Date: October 2 2007
• Label: Masterworks Broadway
• Running Time: 58 minutes 48 seconds
• Producers: Jim Jacobs, Warren Casey, Kathleen Marshall
• Chart Peak: #4 Billboard Cast Albums
• Recording Venue: Legacy Recording Studios NYC
• Formats: CD, Digital, Pink vinyl repress 2017

FAQ.

What made the 2007 revival unique?

It cast leads via an NBC reality series vote.

Who led direction and choreography?

Kathleen Marshall held both roles.

When was the cast album released?

October 2 2007 on Sony Masterworks.

Which actress replaced Laura Osnes?

Ashley Spencer assumed Sandy in July 2008.

Where did the revival tour?

The UK and Australia in 2008 and 2009.

Is the album different from the 1978 film soundtrack?

Yes, with new orchestrations and live-theatre crackle.

Why include movie songs in a stage revival?

Excluding them would disappoint audience expectations.

Did the reality-show winners stay full run?

Both completed year contracts before moving on.

Where can I stream the cast album?

Major platforms and vinyl available online.

Any Easter eggs on the recording?

A soft backstage door slam remains at 0:37 in “Those Magic Changes.”