Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024
10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Stay cool with us this summer with Musicfest at the Movies! We explore the evolution of musical films, starting from the 1930s into the 21st century, with each film representing an important contribution to the art form. After a brief introduction on the film’s music, we will view the film in its entirety and conclude with a brief discussion. Popcorn and soda are provided!
Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey’s Grease, which opened in 1971 in Chicago (transferring to off-Broadway then Broadway in 1972) positions itself as a 1950s film whose basic plot serves “as a subversion of common tropes of 1950s cinema, since the female lead, who in many 1950s films transformed the alpha male into a more sensitive and sympathetic character, is instead draw into the man’s influence and transforms into his wild, roguish fantasy.” (Jacobs) In line with the development of topics within musicals in the 1960s, the show mentions social issues such as teenage pregnancy, peer pressure, and gang violence; its themes include love, friendship, teenage rebellion, sexual exploration during adolescence. The original Broadway production played a stunning 3,388-performance, making it the longest running Broadway show by the time it closed in 1980.
The film adaption in 1978 became the highest-grossing film of the year, featuring new songs in addition to the songs from the stage production. The plot depicts the lives of greaser Danny Zuko (John Travolta) and Australian transfer student Sandy Olsson (Olivia Newton-John), who develop an attraction for each other during a summer romance.
The concept, storyline, and music stem from Jim Jacobs’s personal experience as a greaser himself. The score serves as a great example of musical pastiche, reflecting the era of doo-wop and early rock n’ roll. It was with this idea of rejecting rock n’ roll’s evolution in the 1960s that Jacobs conceived of the idea to do a musical celebrating the musical style of the 1950s, while simultaneously undermining the cultural stereotypes of that era.
Though Jacobs and Casey continued as writers for plays and musicals, and in one case attempted a collaboration on writing a new musical together for Columbia College in 1981, Grease was somewhat a one-hit wonder; it was the only piece that either of them achieved commercial success with.
Instructor
Josh Condon
As a pianist equally adept in the genres of jazz, pop, and classical, Josh Condon has served as music director/supervisor for over 40 musical theatre productions, in addition to leading concerts with symphony orchestras, choirs, jazz ensembles, and pop/rock bands. He has traveled the world as a music director and pianist for the Norwegian, Celebrity, and Princess Cruise Lines where he worked with numerous Broadway and West End performers.
Currently, Josh serves as Resident Artist and Director of Community Music Programs for Arizona Musicfest in Scottsdale, an organization which features concert performances of the music industry’s top talent. In addition to serving as Assistant Conductor for the Musicfest Festival Orchestra, he lectures on topics surveying a huge breadth of music history and analysis, including popular song, symphonic repertoire, jazz performance practice, musical theatre, and everything in between.
He also serves as Assistant Conductor for the North Valley Symphony Orchestra, and has appeared as Guest Conductor with the Scottsdale Symphony Orchestra, the Scottsdale Philharmonic, and the Arizona Musical Theatre Orchestra. Josh is passionate about using flexibility, positivity, and encouragement to create spaces where all can learn and perform to their best ability. He holds a BM in Jazz Studies from Ithaca College and an MM in Musical Theatre/Opera Music Direction from Arizona State University, and resides in Phoenix, AZ with his wife Lexy, their son Arlo, and their cat Sadie.