NLE photographer Maryann Lopinto was on hand to capture the heart-warming moments of Tell Me More, Tell Me More: The Grease 50th Reunion at Feinstein’s/54 Below on Wednesday, June 1 (the show repeats on Monday, June 6). Music direction was by Michael Orland (“American Idol”).
Grease began as a Chicago community theatre production in a converted trolly barn and opened fifty years ago at the Eden Theater on Second Avenue in the East Village, before moving to Broadway, where it became one of the greatest success stories in American theater history. The musical has launched the careers of multiple actors who have gone on to great success. Marilu Henner and James Canning (who both appeared in the original Chicago production, Broadway, First National Tour) hosted a cast of performers who sang and told stories of the show that started small and grew into a worldwide phenomenon.
Grease was conceived and written by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey, set in 1959 at fictional Rydell High School, following ten teenagers as they navigate peer pressure, politics, personal values, social issues and love. It opened at the Broadhurst Theater in 1972 and when it closed in 1980, its 3,388-performance run was the longest in Broadway history, only to be surpassed by A Chorus Line in 1983.
