I just got done with a semi-pro production of Grease. I played Kenickie, and, since it was the high school edition, we couldn't come out and say that Rizzo was pregnant. That left me with a bit of a character dilemma. How was I supposed to make up with her when she sang her song? So, through a number of meaningful looks and glares, we managed to communicate that she was pregnant, without actually saying it.

Well, when the time came for her song, what the director had us do was this. As she was singing, I came out downstage left in a dimmed spot, while she was downstage right in a full spot. As she sang, I was supposed to let the realization hit me that it was me who got her pregnant. And by the time that she got to her last, "But to cry in front of you," I had come out of my spot, and walked over to her, she looked at me, and then ran to me and I held her while she sang her last line.

I've always found this to be a really interesting and moving scene, I'm just wondering how other productions chose to handle it.

?? i did grease when i was in high school. they kept he pregnancy bit. you cant legally cut it.

Since it was in the family series, we did the High School version. The pregnancy bit was already cut, as was Rizzo's song. We just added her song back in.

The last production I saw didn't even include Keneckie in "There
Are Worse Things..."; Rizzo sang it to Sandy. It's the only song in the show that I like, so my personal pet peeve is when the last section (starting with "I don't steal...") isn't belted.

Rizzo solves the problem by getting an abortion, right?

Correct. You can't cut things from the full version. But, if you get the licensing rights to the pre-cut School Edition from MTI, it's completely legal.

In the School Edititon, isn't Rydell High changed to Rydell Elementary? I heard that from somebody, and I laughed so hard.

................it is not.
Because if it was, I would have severely injured Jim Jacobs.
XD

Nope, it was just a false alarm.

And when I played Rizzo, I sung it to Sandy. Which works to some degree, but I somehow feel that Rizzo is thinking of Kenicke, especially on the line 'But to cry in front of you, that's the worst thing I could do'. However, it does apply to both, as Rizzo has this tough exterior that she doesn't want to let go of.

To correct one detail:

MTI has nothing to do with licensing Grease. Grease, in both its edited and unedited editions, is licensed by Samuel French.

No, the song was never meant to be towards Kenickie. It's to Sandy. People always think Kenickie is involved because it's about him in the movie, but I think it doesn't work at ALL when it's about him. She just becomes another high school cliche if she's singing and pouring her heart out about some guy.

Instead, she's telling Sandy that though it may be hard to believe, she DOES have feelings, and she does hurt, even if she's a stone wall almost all of the time.

"But to cry in front of you, that's the worst thing I could do" is all about how she's made Sandy cry SO much throughout the entire show, for the roles to be reversed, and for HER to cry now would be too much... which it is, this Rizzo storms out. Rizzo's finally weak, and guess who it's in front of.... because believe me, it's not Kenickie. He left AGES ago.

The song is very poetic. It doesn't work if it's about Kenickie at ALL.

Jman, it sounds to me like you agree with Scott Miller's vision of Grease (I do too). Fairly accurate statement?