Producers Ken Waissman and Maxine Fox saw the show and made a deal to produce it Off-Broadway. The team headed to New York City to collaborate on the New York production of Grease. The new production, directed by Tom Moore and choreographed by Patricia Birch (who later choreographed the film adaptation, and directed the ill-fated sequel), opened Off-Broadway at the Eden Theatre in lower Manhattan on February 14, 1972. Though Grease opened geographically off-Broadway, it did so under first class Broadway contracts. The show was deemed eligible for the 1972 Tony Awards, receiving seven Tony Award nominations.
