The 1950s-themed musical “Grease” is back in an attractive production at the Little Theatre of Alexandria (LTA). The story begins shortly after a summer romance between upright and conventional high schooler Sandy (wonderfully portrayed by Shannon Hardy) and greaser Danny Zuko, the epitome of cool (played effectively by Jake C. Schwartz). When they meet again during the first day school—Sandy has just transferred into Danny’s high school—there seems to be an irreconcilable distance between the two; Danny is the leader of the school greaser gang, and he is more than a little embarrassed in front of his peers that he has fallen for unpopular “good girl” Sandy.
While Danny is presented as egotistical, disloyal, and with other less-than-stellar qualities, the plot oddly portrays Sandy as the one who should change and adopt a greaser-friendly persona, and “get with it,” as Rizzo (portrayed with verve by Lourdes Turnblom) of the Pink Ladies clique phrases it.
Numerous versions of “Grease” exist, and many soften the unabashed roughness of the original 1971 stage version of the show. This is certainly true of the phenomenally popular 1978 film version, which featured the winning charm of Olivia Newton-John as an Australian ingénue and, for nostalgia buffs, vintage television stars such as Eve Arden (spunky high school teacher Connie Brooks in “Our Miss Brooks”) and Sid Caesar. The Little Theatre version, directed with finesse by Frank D. Shutts II, is wedged somewhere between the original rough 1971 Chicago debut conception and the more genteel 1978 film.
In contrast to the nostalgic presentation of the 1950s as an era of innocent teenagers enjoying carefree times at sock hops and malt shops, the “Grease” musical addresses controversial subjects such as dropping out of school and teen pregnancy. Frenchy (depicted as conflicted by Sydney Morefield) waivers on her decision to stay in school, which would allow her to pursue her dream to become a hairstylist. She wishes for a “guardian angel” to guide her. Here a “teen angel” appears and serenades her into staying in school with the musical number “Beauty School Dropout,” sung by Garrett Rinker with great poignancy. Rizzo must face that she might be pregnant in “There Are Worse Things I Could Do,” sung strongly and with great effect by Lourdes Turnblom.
Other musical moments to watch and listen for are driving rock-and-roll numbers such as the Ensemble’s “Greased Lightnin’” and “Shakin’ at the High School Hop.” Johnny Casino, a Chubby Checker-type entertainer, is performed well by Brady Misustin, particularly in “Born to Hand-Jive.” The choreography by Suzy Alden in such numbers is outstanding.
The show has a superb live orchestra conducted by Mark V. Deal, which maintains a hard-driving rock-and-roll edge for the show’s many 1950s-style tunes as well as for instrumentals which serve to keep the audience entertained during set changes. The sets and props such as the Burger Palace Drive-In and 1950s vintage automobiles are simple and stylized and yet highly effective.
Fifties nostalgia abounds, from a disc jockey of the appropriately named radio station WAXX (the station’s call letters refer to 45- and 33-rpm records of the era which were “cut in wax”) to poodle skirts and a poster of Elvis Presley in an iconic pose from his film “Jailhouse Rock.” There is even a posted advert for the classic “greaser” hair product Brylcreem!
The Little Theatre’s “Grease,” playing through November 15, is a 1950s nostalgia fest, occasionally challenging some aspects of the supposedly innocent era’s reputation. What is unique about this production, however, is that it transcends both the “hard-boiled” original “Grease” as well as the more sanitized movie version to return us to our own bittersweet days of youth, when we navigated the challenges of balancing individual integrity and the desire to “get with it” in a bid to join the popular crowd.
