|
Grease by J*Company  All local Greasers, Pink Ladies, Burger Palace Boys, Rock n’
Roll Party Queens, people that were Born to Hand Jive, and Beauty School
Dropouts will be glad to know that this rock n’ roll favorite is currently
cruising through J*Company’s theatre in La Jolla – and with a stunning cast of
some of San Diego’s best young singers belting out hit after hit.
Set during the golden age of rock n’ roll at fictional Rydell High, this amusing story of teenage friendship, romance, peer pressure, and hormones centers around Greaser Danny Zuko and nice girl Sandy Dumbrowski. For those of us used to the film version, the stage production’s plot is a little less focused, but offers the various Pink Ladies and Greasers their own moments to shine, and never ceases to entertain with its hilarious characters and its remarkable score that made it one of the top-selling soundtracks in history. Summer Nights, Greased Lightnin’ and Beauty School Dropout make up just a few of the more popular tunes, with You’re the One That I Want being added from the film version to this production. Singing these songs and more are a seemingly unending supply of outstanding vocal talents. With a stunning voice who handles the more challenging songs with a sense of beauty and effortless ease, Sandy (Alisha Zalkin) sings the wistful ballads Since I Don’t Have You and It’s Raining on Prom Night. She’s feeling wistful because boyfriend Danny Zuko (Joseph Glaser) keeps saying the wrong thing in order to keep his ultra-cool image with his gang of friends, but that’s gonna leave this prototypical rock singer singing the blues when left All Alone at the Drive-In Movie. Marty (Sarah Petrella) leads her Pink Lady friends in a powerhouse rendition of Freddy, My Love. Rizzo (Tiffany Scarritt-Silveira) nails the only touching song of the show when she thinks she may be pregnant with a moving performance of There are Worse Things I Could Do. The boys get the livelier and most humorous numbers with Doody (Jesse Bradley) showing off how much he has learned on the guitar in Those Magic Changes, Roger (Phillip Bowen) describing his much-admired Mooning techniques, and Kenickie (Adam Covalt) leading the Burger Palace Boys in the big Greased Lightnin’ number celebrating his new car adorned with mostly stolen accessories. But hold onto your leather jacket or poodle skirt – cuz that’s not all! With his heaven-sent voice, Teen Angel Brian Crum descends from that “malt shop in the sky” to give charming-but-not-so-bright “Beauty School Dropout” Frenchy (Tatiana Holthaus) some cosmic career counseling. Amusing performances by Cailene Kilcoyne as always-eating Jan and Brett Alters as goofy Sonny La Tierri round out the respective Pink Ladies and Burger Palace Boys. Jimmy Lundgern is a riot as fast-talking American Bandstand personality Vince Fontaine, Elizabeth Kreutz is enchantingly saucy and sleazy as bad girl Cha-Cha DiGregorio, Mary Lucas is insufferably upbeat and cheerleader-ish as Patty Simcox, and Amitai Zuckerman is an appropriately nerdy Eugene. Director/Choreographer Becky Cherlin’s entire talented ensemble definitely “Go Together” as they fill the stage with fun and energy in scene after scene. So if you’re ready to revel in some Summer Nights before winter has yet ended, drive like Greased Lightnin’ over to J*Company (as safely as possible, of course) and enjoy this blast from the past!Performs through March 21, 2004.
~ Cast ~
 Miss Lynch: Tova KatzPatty Simcox: Mary Lucas Eugene Florczyk: Amitai Zuckerman Jan: Cailene Kilcoyne Marty: Sarah Petrella Betty Rizzo: Tiffany Scarritt-Silveira Doody: Jesse Bradley Roger: Phillip Bowen Kenickie: Adam Covalt Sonny LaTierri: Brett Alters Frenchy: Tatiana Holthaus Sandy Dumbrowski: Alisha Zalkin Danny Zuko: Joseph Glaser Vince Fontaine: Jimmy Lundgren Johnny Casino: Parnia Ayari Cha-Cha DiGregorio: Elizabeth Kreutz Teen Angel: Brian Crum Ensemble (in alphabetical order): Director/Choreographer/Music Director: Becky Cherlin |