Reading: GREASE: THE DIRECTOR'S NOTEBOOK - Randal Kleiser

1st Line: "In late 1976, after I signed on to direct the movie, producer Allan Carr organized a trip to Chicago to attend the road company production of the iconic stage musical by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey."

Prose (Story): Director Randal Kleiser takes readers through a detailed, bird's-eye view of his experiences directing the now-iconic film musical Grease, still as popular 40+ years after its release as it was in its original run - with new interviews/thoughts from members of the cast, including Olivia Newton-John, John Travolta, Stockard Channing, and more. 

Don's (Review): I was a teenager when Grease hit theaters in 1978, and instantly fell in love with the film's songs nd choreography, humor, 50's slice-of-life, and the brilliant chemistry of the cast - Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta especially, but the entire cast was letter-perfect. Having listened to the soundtrack so much, I know every song on it by heart - watched the film so often, I can quote entire scenes worth of dialogue from memory - and read/heard so much trivia about the film and its cast over the years, I was more than a little curious as to other insights director Kleiser could, or would, reveal here. Turns out, it's a lot. This is a freaking amazing book of memories, in which Randal Kleiser puts it all out there for fans - his original production notes, original script pages (including plenty of scenes or bits of business that never made it into the film), never-before-seen behind-the-scenes photos, and so, so much more - as he takes us literally from the film's beginning, with the opening Frankie Valli theme and where/how the opening animated credits came about, then continues dropping his bread crumbs as we follow along, scene by scene through the film via his eyes, to the accompaniment of the aforementioned script pages, images, call sheets, costume design details, thoughts on cast members ... my God, there is so much here, for what is actually a pretty short book, and I read it slowly, devouring every word and absorbing all this new information like a sponge. Truly, it was like watching the film all over again, but with new eyes and from behind the scenes; easily a five-star read, and an absolute must-have for any fan of the film. Forty-three years after its opening, this love letter of a book (which includes a forward by John Travolta) reminds you that Grease is - will always be - the word.  5/5 stars