Over the past few years, NBC has started an annual tradition of airing a live musical every year during the holiday season. This year, Fox is starting a tradition of its own with the3-hour live musicalspecialGrease: Live, which aired last night.The Hollywood Reporterreveals that the show was a bona fide hit, attracting 12.2 million viewers, a higher figure than NBC’s last two live musicals.
NBC’s first musical special, The Sound of Music Live, was aratingsjuggernaut in late 2013, attracting a whopping 18.3 million viewers and scoring an impressive 4.6 rating in the 18-49 demographic. The network’s next musical, 2014’s Peter Pan Live!, shed more than half of The Sound of Music Live’s audience, with 9.1 million viewers and a 2.3 rating, but December’sThe Wiz Live!rebounded slightly with 11.5 million viewers and a 3.5 rating.
Grease: Livewas the most-watched program on Sunday night with 12.2 million viewers and a 18-49 rating of 4.3. Featuring a young ensemble cast,Grease: Livewill reintroduce and reimagine some of the show’s most memorable moments, great music and timeless love story to an entirely new generation. In this live television adaptation of themusical classic, the beginning of senior year means the end of Danny and Sandy’s summer romance - until Sandy unexpectedly transfers to Danny’s high school. Can Danny maintain his bad-boy image as the coolest member of the T-Birds, once he and Sandy start going together, and can Sandy remain a good girl after she joins the Pink Ladies? With their friends Rizzo and Kenickie pulling them in different directions, it’s up to Danny and Sandy to stay hopelessly devoted as they make their way from Rydell High to a new frontier.
Grease: LivestarsJulianne Houghas the angelic Sandy - Rydell High’s most talked-about newcomer - andAaron Tveitas bad boy Danny Zuko. Also tapped to star areVanessa Hudgensas iconic bad girl Rizzo,Keke Palmeras the sassy Pink Lady Marty Maraschino and Carlos PenaVega as Kenickie, Danny’s tough-guy sidekick. Pop powerhouse and Grammy Award-nominated singer Jessie J will open the live event with a performance of a brand-new version of “Grease (Is the Word),” written by Barry Gibb.
Based on the 1971 Broadway musical of the same name with book, lyrics and music by the legendary team of Warren Casey and Jim Jacobs, the 1978 hit filmGrease, starringJohn TravoltaandOlivia Newton-John, grossed nearly $400 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing movie musical ever at thebox office.Grease: Livewill be executive-produced by acclaimed film, television and theater producer Marc Platt, with Thomas Kail overseeing the stage direction and Alex Rudzinski serving as the live television director. Fox hasn’t announced if they’re producing another live musical after the success ofGrease: Live, but we’ll have to wait and see.
