GREASE 2
THE STORY
In 1961, two years after the original GREASE gang’s graduation, a new crop of seniors invades All-American Rydell High School. It’s time for straight skirts, scoring with chicks and good, old rock and roll.
British newcomer Michael Carrington (MAXWELL CAULFIELD) arrives at the unfamiliar campus and is immediately smitten with sexy Stephanie Zinone (MICHELLE PFEIFFER), the leader of the outlaw sorority, the Pink Ladies, and grease monkey in her dad’s gas station. Stephanie is the coolest Pink Lady of them all, a girl who will do almost anything for a ride on the hottest cycle she can find.
True to tradition, the T-Birds are out in force. Striking an attitude with black leather jackets and revved-up motorcycles, they protect their turf and prized possessions, the Pink Ladies, from inter- ference by the rival Cycle Lords or anyone else.
Head T-Bird Johnny Nogerilli (ADRIAN ZMED) is still interested in ex-girlfriend Stephanie, but she’s outgrown him over the summer. She’s looking for a new love, the cool rider on his hot bike. Since Stephanie’s slipping out of Nogerilli’s grasp, sister Pink Lady Paulette Rebchuck (LORNA LUFT) moves in on Johnny with her best imitation of Marilyn Monroe.
Though Stephanie is faithful to the Pink Ladies’ Code (“To act cool, look cool and be cool”), she’s got a serious problem with the Code bylaw, “To only hang out with the T-Birds.” As she moves further from the Pink Ladies’ pack, her “sorority” sisters, Sharon Cooper (MAUREEN TEEFY), Rhonda Ritter (ALISON PRICE) and even tagalong little sister, Dolores Rebchuck (PAMELA SEGALL), witness her liberation with a mixture of dismay and a touch of envy. Even Paulette is mystified by Stephanie’s change in character,though it means that the territory’s opening up on Johnny.
Nogerilli’s just not getting through to Stephanie anymore. His brother T-Birds, con man Lou DiMucci (PETER FRECHETTE), gawky “Goose” McKenzie (CHRISTOPHER McDONALD) and little Davey Jaworski (LEIF GREEN) back their leader with T-Bird support, but there’s nothing anyone can do to bring Stephanie back into the fold. The guys also have their own romances to attend to, making plays for their choice Pink Ladies.
Michael Carrington is also determined to win the prime Pink Lady for his own. As she’s establishing her independence, she’s put off by his polite advances. Not only does he have to get through the phalanx of the T-Birds to get to her, he’s also got to transform him-self into her kind Of dream lover.
Aided by the returning GREASE alumna Frenchy (DIDI CONN), Michael schemes his way into her heart by assuming the double identity of the daring Lone Biker.
Teenage romance is never easy, but, in true movie musical fashion, love will out and eventually conquer all
BACKGROUND NOTES
On November 9, 1981, GREASE 2 began principal photography on a sunny football field at the recently vacated campus of Excelsior High School in Norwalk, California, 25 miles from Paramount Studios in Hollywood.
First-time feature film director and long-time choreographer Patricia Birch set up her opening shot as 125 members of the USC Trojan Marching Band warmed up with the strains of “High Hopes.” GREASE 2, which chronicles campus activities at Rydell High School in 1961, two years after the original GREASE gang’s graduation, began to unfold from the pages of Ken Finkleman’s screenplay. Produced by Robert Stigwood and Allan Carr, with Bill Oakes serving as executive producer, GREASE 2 is the sequel to the most successful movie musical of all time, GREASE.
With the sun glaring and temperatures in the 80’s, the band paraded across the field. Appropriately clad in woolen uniforms and fall clothing for the back-to-school look of the beginning of Rydell’s school term, band members and actors had a long way ahead of them in the unusually warm Southern California weather.
Director Birch placed her well-known touch on everyone within camera range, as director of photography Frank Stanley positioned the crane. Birch requested a kick here, a turn there to give the band a casual quality she intended. Blending the choreographer’s attention to movement and rhythm with the director’s eye, she would note even the most subtle nuance of each extra in every scene of the film. She is the first female choreographer to assume the post of feature film director.
Maxwell Caulfield, starring as Michael Carrington, British newcomer to Rydell High, took his place ion the track-. GREASE 2’s sorority girls, identical twins Liz and Jean Sagal, shook their red and white pom-poms as they ran down the bleachers to flirt with him.
A line of jocks deftly navigated through a row of tires, working on their coordination for football moves. Rydell’s legendary T-Birds, headed by sexy Johnny Nogerilli (Adrian Zmed), followed clumsily, encouraged by the philosophizing and ever-harried Coach Calhoun (Sid Caesar). Two pole vaulters flew through the air, while the threatening Cycle Lords, led by the returning Balmudo (Dennis Stewart), cruised menacingly. Rydell High’s outlaw sorority, the Pink Ladies, with their beautiful, blonde leader, Stephanie Zinone (Michelle Pfeiffer), stopped by, adjusting their sunglasses to check out the action.
The well-intended, but slightly confused principal’s aide, Blanche (Dody Goodman), climbed her ladder and raised her megaphone, yelling her lines to conduct band practice. GREASE 2 was off to a glorious start.
The cast of GREASE 2 is made up of many new faces, discovered during a nationwide talent search, conducted by producers Robert Stigwood and Allan Carr, director Patricia Birch and executive producer Bill Oakes. Actors and actresses and thousands of dancers auditioned on both the East and West Coasts.
Maxwell Caulfield stars as Michael Carrington, a new arrival at Rydell High. Smitten by the beautiful Stephanie Zinone (Michelle Pfeiffer), eader of the Pink Ladies and grease monkey in her dad’s gas station, he assumes the double identity of the mysterious Lone Biker to become the man of her dreams.
The strikingly handsome Caulfield was starring in the smash hit revival of “Entertaining Mr. Sloane” at New York’s Cherry Lane Theatre when he was cast as the male lead of GREASE 2. His electrifying performance in “Sloane” had caused a sensation.among theatregoers and brought him to the attention of filmmakers. The young British actor had won a Theatre World Award for his work in a showcase of Nigel Williams’ “Class Enemy” and had appeared in the title
role of the national touring company of “The Elephant Man,” under the direction of Jack Hofsiss. Caulfield co-starred in a West Coast production of Stephen Poliakoff’s play, “Hitting Town,” before returning to New York to star in “Entertaining Mr. Sloane.”
GREASE 2 marks his motion picture debut.
Michelle Pfeiffer stars as Pink Lady Stephanie Zinone. Having outgrown her relationship with top T-Bird, Johnny Nogerilli (Adrian Zmed), she is asserting her independence from his possessiveness, looking for a new love. Pfeiffer won the coveted female leading role in this multi-million dollar production over hundreds of other actresses. The enviable part of Stephanie is her first starring role on screen, having previously appeared in the films “Hollywood Knights,” “Falling in Love Again” and “Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen.” She has been seen as a series regular on “Delta House” and “B.A.D. Cats.” She has also guest-starred in the made-for-television movies “Callie and Son” with Lindsay Wagner, “The Solitary Man,” “Splendor in the Grass” and “The Children Nobody Wanted.”
Co-starring as T-Bird leader Johnny Nogerilli is Adrian Zmed, who has starred as Danny. Zuko in both the Broadway and national touring companies of “Grease.” Among his many television credits are starring roles in the series “Angie” and “Flatbush,” and as Frankie in “The Goodtime Girls. He stars with William Shatner in ABC-TV’s “Sergeant Hooker,” and as guest-starred on the series “Starsky and Hutch” and “Bosom Buddies.” Prior to joining the cast of GREASE 2, he starred in the feature film, “Three Blind Mice.”
Lorna Luft makes her motion picture debut, co-starring as Paulette Rebchuck, the PinkyLadies’ answer to Marilyn Monroe. As Paulette, she is thrilled to see Stephanie moving away from Johnny, so that she can take her place in his heart. Lorna’s Broadway debut in “Promises, ProMises” earned her the 1972 Rising Star of the Year Award. Her 1976 concert appearances at the London Palladium drew unanimous critical acclaim. An internationally known concert performer, she starred in the national touring company of “They’re Playing Our Song,” prior to which she starred with Gary Sandy in John Kenley’s revival of “Grease.”
Other Pink Ladies vowing their code of honor are Sharon Cooper (Maureen Teefy) and Rhonda Ritter (Alison Price). The faddish:Sharon-Cooper is currently taken by the always fashionable style of then-First Lady Jackie Kennedy. . The trendy Miss Cooper is played by Maureen Teefy, who was trained at Julliard and the Boston Conservatory of Music. Having appeared in the films “1941” and “Scavenger Hunt,” she is best known for her starring role in the film “Fame.”
Alison Price plays Rhonda Ritter, the girl who is worried that without a nose job, there is no hope for her to rate an appearance on “National Bandstand.” Price was featured in the original film GREASE, as well as “The Fan,” “The Wanderers,” “Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” and “First Love.” She appeared in the national touring company of “Grease” and has been seen on television in the film “The Seduction of Leona,” and the series “Saturday Night Live.”
Pamela Segall plays Paulette’s little sister, Dolores Redchuck, a tagalong, pesky kid who will do anything to be included in Pink Lady activities. Segall, who was featured on the Goldie Hawn special, “Goldie & Kids,” stars in the NBC-TV Paramount pilot of “Little Darlings,” playing Angel, the role Created in the film by Kristy McNichol. This is her film debut.
Nogerilli’s got strong back up from his infamous T-,Birds. Peter Frechette plays Lou DiMucci, the T-Bird with ulterior motives for Sharon Cooper’s affections. Frechette co-wrote and starred in the play “Strawberry Blonde.” He appeared in the Off-Broadway pro-ductions of “Harry Ruby’s Songs My Mother Never Sang” and “In Cahoots” at the Ensemble Studio Theatre, of which he is a member. With his roots in theatre, he is making his motion picture debut in GREASE 2.
Gawky T-Bird Goose McKenzie is played by Christopher McDonald, who has co-starred in the films “The Black Room’! and “The Hearse.” Having trained with Stella Adler and at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts, .he was a 1977 Obie Award winner for his performance:in the Off-Broadway production of “Nightclub Cantata.” He has been seen in the television movies “Twirl,” “Getting Married” and on the series “Shirley,” in the recurring role of Jacques.
GREASE 2 is actor Leif Green’s first film. Featured as the littlest T-Bird, Davey Jaworski, Green has an extensive theatre background, including productions of “Carnival,” “Mame” and the national touring company of “West Side Story.” He has co-starred in the TV production of “Cliffwood Avenue Kids” and guest-starred in the series“The Music Shoppe.”
Frenchy, GREASE’s beauty school dropout, is back, Again played by Didi Conn. Having flunked tinting in trade school, Frenchy’s re- turned to Rydell to master chemistry and help Michael Carrington adjust to the unfamiliar American high school campus. Conn’s film credits include “You Light Up My Lite,” “Almost Summer,” “Raggedy Ann and Andy” and “The Magic Show.” She is a series regular on ABC’s “Benson” and has guest-starred on “Happy Days,” “The Practice” and “The Rookies.” She starred in the Academy Award-winning live ac- tion short film, “Violet.”
This year’s faculty lounge finds Eve Arden returning in the role of Principal McGee. Her long film career includes “Stage Door,” “Anatomy of a Murder,” “Under the Rainbow” and “Mildred Pierce,” for which she received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. She is fondly remembered for her Emmy Award-winning portrayal of “Our Miss Brooks” and starred in her own television series, “The Eve Arden Show.”
Assisting Miss McGee is her trusty aide, Blanche, played again by Dody Goodman. She is currently featured on the popular television series “Diff’rent Strokes” and was a regular on the classic “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman” as Louise Lasser’s dizzy mother. She has been seen in a number of Broadway productions.
Sid Caesar returns to Rydell High’s corridors as Coach Calhoun. Caesar is best known for his unforgettable TV comedy series, “Your Show of Shows,” in which he co-starred with Imogene Coca. With a career that encompasses film, television and stage, he has also created a one-man show that is an annual event in Las Vegas. His most recent film was Mel Brooks’ “The History of the World, Part I.”
Dick Patterson is back as Mr. Spears, the anxiety-ridden biology teacher. His long Broadway career began when he succeeded Dick Van Dyke in “Bye, Bye, Birdie.” He was a series regular on TV’s “Stump the Stars” and is a frequent guest star on a number of popular television shows, including “Laverne and Shirley.” He has appeared in several films, including “Can’t Stop the Music” and “A Matter of Innocence.”
Tab Hunter and Connie Stevens team as the flirtatious new faculty members of Rydell High. Teen idols and superstars of the Sixties, Hunter and Stevens are seen together for the first time on screen in GREASE 2.
Hunter plays the over-eager substitute biology teacher, Mr. Stuart. His film credits include “Damn Yankees,” “Battle Cry,” “The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean” and John Waters’ recent Odorama classic, “Polyester.” Coincidentally, he played Dody Goodman’s husband on the series “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman.”
Connie Stevens plays Miss Yvette Mason, the beautiful music and English teacher whose abundantly sprayed hairdo is the talk of the campus. Stevens began her professional career as a singer with the trio, The Three Debs. Her film debut was in “Dragstrip Riot,” followed by starringroles in “Rock-a-Bye Baby,” “Susan Slade,” “Parrish” and “Never Too Late.” Her role as Cricket on “Hawaiian Eye” won her national stardom, and she has appeared in the television movies “The Sex Symbol,” “Scruples” and others i She made her Broadway debut in “Star Spangled Girl” and continues to headline in nightclubs in Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe.
Dennis Stewart returns as the Cycle Lords’ leader, Balmudo, while Eddie Deezen reprises his role as the class dork, Eugene.
Matt Lattanzi, who was seen as Jacqueline Bisset’s’young lover in “Rich and Famous,” plays Brad, the leader of the clean-cut Preptones, who are played by Brad Jeffriesi and Charles McGowan.
Rounding out the cast are the sorority girls who swoon over the adorable Brad and a corps of 16 energetic dancers, called the Greasers. The sorority girls are played by identical twins Liz and Jean Sagal, who were curiously cast individually in New York and Los Angeles.
Famed cinematographer Frank Stanley began his film career as a lab technician at Technicolor in 1946, and subsequently designed many of the complex optical effects seen in “The Ten Commandments” and oth-er films. Stanley worked as an assistant cameraman to cinematographer Russell Harwin during a productive nine-year association, on such films as “Hatarit,” “To Kill a Mockingbird,” “Hawaii,” “Camelot” and “Darling Lili,” the last-named for director Blake Edwards. Edwards recognized Stanley’s artistry and talent and promoted him to director of photography in charge of second unit photography on “The Wild Rovers” with cinematographer Phil Lathrop. He went on to become a full director of photography on “A Separate Peace,” Clint Eastwood’s “Breezy,” “Magnum Force” and “The Eiger Sanction,” Michael Cimino’s “Thunderbolt and Lightfoot,” and on the films “Heroes,” “Corvette Summer,” “Car Wash,” “10,” “Wholly Moses” and “Under the Rainbow.” He is a member of the prestigious American Society of Cinematographers and has served on the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He is now in his third term as President of the International Photographers Camera Guild, Local 659. Stanley received an Emmy Award nomination for his camera work on the television mini- series “East of Eden.”
Production designer Gene Callahan has received numerous honors for his work in motion pictures. He won the Academy Award for set decoration (black and white) for “The Hustler” in 1961, and in 1963 won the Oscar for art direction and set decoration (black and white) for “America, America.” Callahan received Academy Award nominations for his work in “The Cardinal” in 1963, and for art direction for “The Last Tycoon” in 1976. Among the almost 50 films to his credit are “Butterfield 8,” “Splendor in the Grass,” “King of the Gypsies,” “Eyes of Laura Mars,” “‘Julia,” “Promises in the Dark” and “Annie.”
Louis St. Louis produced and arranged the score of GREASE 2, containing five of his original compositions. As a native of Detroit, he finds his musical roots in the Pentecostal Church. His association with “Grease” began when he served as the music director for the original stage production, which became the longest-running show on Broadway. He conducted the orchestra for more than four years of “Grease’s” historic run and later became special creative musical consultant on the motion picture. For the first movie, he composed “Sandy,” the popular song performed by John Travolta.
With a wide range of experience as a professional musician, Louis St. Louis has worked as performer, arranger, composer and producer. He was a soloist for the Presidential Premiere of Leonard Bernstein’s “Mass,” performed at the Kennedy Center in 1977. He has also served as music director for the American premiere of the Brecht-Weill opera “Mahagonny,” and for the Broadway productions of “Over Here” and his own original stage musical, “Truckload.” For television, he was musical director for the recent Robert Klein special and for the Emmy Award- winning “Lily Tomlin/Sold Out.” He also composed music for the film “The Fan” and for the television movie, “The Kitty O’Neill Story.”