Grease is still one of the most popular movie musicals of all time. Now, 32 years after its exhilarating cinematic debut with John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John as the clique- crossed lovers, it sports a brand-new singalong score.
And the very first place you will be able to see Grease: Sing-A-Long locally is at Frisco Square in Frisco, where it will be screened tonight. For free. The next opportunity will be a two-week engagement starting at AMC NorthPark on July 8 as part of a release planned for 12 cities across the United States, although additional ones are already scheduled for July 15.
So how did Frisco Square score this release for its Movies in the Square outdoor film series?
Paramount Pictures was looking for a large open-air facility where people would be comfortable singing and dancing. Paige Scheer of Scheer Mattlage, the event company in charge of Movies in the Square for Frisco Square Development, was happy to oblige.
“We were thrilled that Paramount called us,” says Scheer, who notes that she counts herself as one of the film’s big fans. “It’s an honor to be selected for the pre-screening. We’ve already had a lot of inquiries about Grease. There’s a general buzz and excitement about it.”
It’s a good fit, too, she says, because parents and kids at the Frisco series love to get up and dance at the pre-shows, which feature music a half-hour before the films start.
Scheer is not worried about accommodating the crowds, either. With lawn seating and a huge 26-by-13-foot screen, Frisco hosted about 800 for Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs earlier this month and more than 1,000 for The Polar Express two years ago.
To foster a party atmosphere, fans are encouraged to come in ’50s-themed costumes. Next Step Dance will perform a pre-show medley of ’50s song-and-dance numbers beginning at 8:30 p.m. Classic car owners have been invited to show off their wheels. Picnics are welcome, or people can eat at the restaurants at Frisco Square or buy popcorn and lemonade. Free samples of Freddy’s Custard will be offered. And, as with every movie in the series, Frisco Square Development will hold a free raffle at about 8:50 p.m. for a family pack of four movie passes provided by Cinemark and good at any of its locations. Coupons for the raffle will be available on-site; listen for the announcement.
Parents who have watched their kids go crazy over High School Musical , the 2006 Disney Channel blockbuster, have long known that High School Musical owes a lot to Grease. (One could add the tale owes a lot to West Side Story and Romeo and Juliet before that, but High School Musical and Grease do have happier endings.)
As with Grease, High School Musical tells the story of a boy and a girl who fall for each other during the summer and think they will never see each other again, but then find themselves in the same high school. They’re still drawn to each other, but it’s a struggle to be together because they belong to different groups and their friends disapprove.
Both shows have compelling music and dance numbers, including similarly themed final numbers in which all the characters break out of their cliques to bond. For Grease, that’s Scheer’s favorite song, “We Go Together.” For High School Musical it’s the similarly named “We’re All in This Together.”
But an important difference for parents to note is the rating. High School Musical has a G rating. Grease was given a PG when it was originally released, but that was before the PG-13 rating came into existence. While the movie hasn’t changed, the rating has been altered to acknowledge sexual content, teen smoking and drinking, and language.
“There are titles that appeal to some and titles that appeal to others,” says Scheer, who has selected G and PG films for the rest of the summer. “We’re showing movies with a great variety for everyone to choose from and enjoy.”
{TriRight} Tonight at 9 with pre-show entertainment from Next Step Dance starting at 8:30 on the lawn in front of the George A. Purefoy Municipal Center (Frisco’s city hall), 6101 Frisco Square Blvd., Frisco. Take chairs and blankets. Free admission and parking. 469-633-1721. www.friscosquare.com.
Upcoming films: After tonight, the Movies in the Square series will start up again on July 9 and continue on Fridays through July 30. All Dogs Go to Heaven will be screened on July 9; Where the Wild Things Are on July 16; The NeverEnding Story on July 23; and The Black Stallion on July 30.
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