Despite Slips, ‘Grease’ Performance Is Slick
FROM FOR THE RECORD (Wednesday, July 26, 2000): Correction `Grease’ dates wrong: The Spokane Theatrical Group’s production of “Grease” continues Wednesday through Sunday at The Met. The performance dates were listed incorrectly in stories last Thursday and Sunday.
Grease Friday, July 21, The Met
The hackneyed jokes. The cornball songs. The over-the-top characters.
They’ve made “Grease” an enduring treat nearly three decades after it premiered.
And a fine Spokane Theatrical Group ensemble cast carried that torch Friday night, taking a modest Met crowd to Rydell High School and back to the oh-so-innocent 1950s.
The plot is a simple one. Prissy Sandy Dumbrowski transfers to Rydell and falls for rough-and-tumble Danny Zuko, one of the bad Burger Palace Boys. There’s a happy ending, of course, with the help of Sandy’s newfound friends, the Pink Ladies, but not without a good dose of teen hijinks first.
Jayce Charlesworth, as the super-dorky Eugene, got the audience laughing in the musical’s first scene, his huge buck teeth twinkling under the stage lights.
The Pink Ladies and Burger Palace Boys burst on the stage with wonderful energy for the show’s first big tune, a parody of the “Alma Mater” sung by Eugene, uptight cheerleader Patty Simcox (Christine Cresswell) and matronly teacher Miss Lynch (Maria Caprile).
That energy didn’t stick around for the entire performance, bogged down by the occasional missed cue and sound glitch.
Abby Crawford as the tough-talking Rizzo, leader of the Pink Ladies, proved early on to be one of the show’s shining stars with her deft comedic touch. Her powerful version of “There Are Worse Things I Could Do” provided the most stirring musical moment of the play.
M. Daniel Magallon, as the less-than-hip Burger Palace Boy Doody, showed off his standout vocal chops on “Those Magic Changes.” The humorous but lesser-known “Grease” tune is often one of the show’s throwaway numbers, but Magallon made it a highlight of the first act.
Danny, played by Steven Booth, came alive in the play’s second half with standout solos on “Alone at a Drive-In Movie” and “All Choked Up.”
Jennifer Davis returned to her hometown to play Sandy after performing in New York City. Her classical vocal training was evident, but she often sounded a bit too polished for the casual, teeny-bopper tunes of “Grease.”
Fine cameo appearances were handed out by Carolyn Pace, as dance maven Cha Cha, and by Teen Angel Mike Hynes (also known as Otto, the Spokane Indians mascot).
In the Spokane production, a four-piece band sits on a stage enveloped by a giant jukebox and festooned with record albums. Set designers Nik Adams and Kate VanderWende did a nice job creating a backdrop that sets the mood.
A talented cast, solid direction and fine design combined to make this production of “Grease” go together like ramma-lamma-lama-ka-dingety-ding-de-dong.
This sidebar appeared with the story: IF YOU GO Tickets
“Grease” continues today and again Thursday through Sunday. Performances are at 8 p.m., with Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. Tickets are $15 and $10, available at G&B.