7 Origin Stories Behind Classic Film Musicals

In comparison to others on this list, Grease the musical was adapted from the original stage musical with no other source material to go off before. The show was written by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey, using Jacobs' own experience at his high school for inspiration. It premiered in Chicago in 1971, becoming an underground hit for the teen audience of America.

The original production was said to be vulgar and quite rude at times, featuring a multitude of cursing and aggressiveness that was unsurprisingly cut for the movie and stage shows in the future.

The show then moved to New York with the cut sections out of the narrative and then Broadway in 1972 in an eight year run across different theatres. The movie was released in 1978, as producers caught on to the popularity in the US and wanted to release a musical filmed version for the whole world. John Travolta and Olivia Newton John played the two leads Danny and Sandy and the film was a success worldwide, even though the actors looked way too old to appear in any high school classroom!