[rating=3] I graduated high school in June of 1960. “Grease”, with a book by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey ( who also did the music and lyrics) with the original production having taken place at Kingston Mines Theatre in Lincoln Park in 1971. I recall the show, which was based on the writer’s own high school experience at Taft High School ( one of the largest high schools in Chicago). The show was raunchy, raw, aggressive and perhaps for some audience members vulgar. Over the years, as they moved the show to larger stages and more lavish productions, they toned down some of this.The original show dealt with topics such as social issues: peer pressure, teen-age pregnancy, gang violence, friendship, love, class conflict and more. Jacobs has described the plot as a subversion of common tropes of 1950’s cinema, since the female lead, rather than the male lead, goes in his direction.
Over the years, the show has been cleaned up to reduce the topics that cause tension and the current version is designed to make everyone feel good. The film version that was released 7 years later, was even cleaner than the last stage versions. While the film version was a money maker, I for one felt that they took something away from the script that was the play and that the taking the story out of Chicago, was to me negative. The film had a star-studded cast and while that is needed when investing in a film, on the stage , all we need are solid actors/singers to bring the story to the life that the writers wanted.
Over my years of reviewing plays, I have always said that if an actor tries to emulate or imitate the actor that played the role they are taking on, they are dooming their own history. It is imperative for an actor taking on a role to create their own character in a way that is comfortable for them and makes it easy for an audience to love them.
“Grease”, now on the stage at Drury Lane Oakbrook is a solid production. Smoothly directed by Paul Stancato on a set designed by Jeffrey Kmiec. They have a marvelous young cast with great energy and yet, I only gave it a recommended. I thiught Jake Dimaggio Lopez looked the role of Danny Zuko and is a fine dancer, but I felt that instead of creating his own “Danny” he was playing John Travolta, playing Danny Zuko. Emily Schultheiss was a perfect Sandy Dumbrowski , but I never felt the chemistry that must come at the end of the play to make it work. Please note that the main characters have Polish surnames. Taft high school was where the Polish community dominated so the majority of students in the late 1950’s would have been Polish.
The other main characters are Kenickie (deftly handled by Billy Rude), Sonny (Jordan Aredondo), Roger (Nik Kmiecik), Doody ( Ben Dow), Rizzo ( Alina Taber is terrific), Marty ( Anna Louise Bramlett), Jan (Elizabeth Stenholt), and Frenchy (Ciarra Stroud) . The Thunderbirds and Pink Ladies!
The rest of the ensemble members are: Olivia Belfie as Patty Wimcox, August Foreman as Eugene Florczyk, Victor Wallace as Vince Fontaine, Zac Richey as Johnny Casino, Emily Scinto as Cha-Cha DiGregregorio, Evan Tyrone Martin as the Teen Angel ( He sings “Beauty School Drop-Out”), and Kyra Leigh as Miss Lynch, the principal of Rydell.
The songs from the original are pretty much intact, but added to the mix are “Grease” written by Barry Alan Gibb, “Hopelessly Devoted To You” by John Farrar, “Sandy” by Louis St. Louis and Scott Simon and “You’re The One That I want” written by John Farrar. There are songs that movie buffs will not recognize if they have not seen the play- “Mooning” by Roger and Jan is adorable and in several productions, I have seen over the years, there has actually been a moon over the audience. These two just made it a sexy number.
The choreography by Stancato is superb, but I for one would have liked to see more “Hand Jive” at the dance when they are doing “Born To Hand Jive”.
I adored the costumes (Rachel Boylan), the lighting (John Burkland) and sound (Ray Nardelli) and the props were well done by Cassy Schillo. I am not sure who designed the car used for “Grease Lightning, but it was amazing and the choreography in this number was right up there with any other I have seen over the years ( I counted 17 productions witnessed by me).
Again, this is NOT the film and it is not the original production in its infancy stage. It s a solid production that brings you back to a time when our lives were far simpler and our worries far less. We had no social media! We did have clubs and freinds, and I think we valued those we called freinds a lot more than we see today.
If you love “Grease”, the movie, and have never seen the stage production, you will truly enjoy this presentation. Yes, there are differences, but none of them change the outcome. If you have never seen the play before, get ready for 2 1/2 hours of magic. Ladies and gentlemen please listen to the announcements at the top of the show- turn off your not yet invented cell phones when asked to do so. It will ruin the essence of the work if one goes off during this show.
“Grease” will continue at Drury Lane Theatre in Oakbrook thru June 4th with performances as follows:
Wednesdays 1:30pm & 7:00pm
Thursdays 1:30pm & 7:00pm
Fridays 7:00pm
Saturdays 3:00pm & 8:00pm
Sundays 2:00pm & 6:00pm
Show Type: Musical
Box Office: 630-530-0111
To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at “Grease”.
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