About Arlene Schulman Expertise As a professional director, dramaturg, acting coach and actor for over 25 years in the NYC/NJ area, I can help with questions on acting technique, character development, audition and rehearsal techniques, dealing with directors and stage managers, what directors are looking for, and other aspects of the acting and directing professions.
Experience A professional director, dramaturg, acting coach and actor for over 25 years in the NYC/NJ area, I have directed in professional, university and amateur theatre and have directed and acted in dramas, comedies, musicals, Shakespeare as well as collaborating closely with playwrights in the development of original plays and musicals.
Organizations SSDC associate member Advisory Board - Isle of Shoals Productions Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of America associate member Shakespeare Association of America The Shakespesare Institute -
MA "Shakespeare & Theatre" candidate, Stratford-upon-Avon, UK
Question Our school has already obtained the rights to the original Grease musical without the additional movie songs, but since the actual Grease 2007 musical revival now features these songs, it feels to me that audience will be disappointed if the popular numbers 'You're The One That I want', 'Hopelessly Devoted' and 'Sandy' were not part of our school production. Our production is in March, how would we go about being able to include those numbers in the show? Please note that I am not a teacher or involved in the producing of this musical, I am simply a year 13 cast member.
Answer Hi Holly,
When a school, or any other organization, obtains the rights to perform a play or musical, those rights are very specific. There may be more than one version of a show, but you have contracted to do a very specific version.
Since the current version of Grease is actively in production on Broadway, it is very likely that it is not available for amateur production yet. Most often shows only become available once the Broadway production (and often the National tour) closes. Therefore only the original version of Grease would be available for production at the moment.
If those songs are not included in your show, there is no legal way for you to include them. Not only do you not have the rights to perform the songs, but in order to include them you would have to change the script to include scenes in which they are places. And that is totally against any copyright laws and against the contract that you have.
If you want to find out if there is a way to include the songs legally, or if the current version is available, your teacher or school would have to contact the publisher through which they acquired the rights to perform the show and ask them. Very likely the answer will be that you cannot legally do that, but it never hurts to ask.
Hope you have a great time with the show. It's a wonderful show even without those songs.
