Grease is still “the” word, judging from the packed house and enthusiastic response to the 50’s-style Broadway score most people can easily sing along with. The stage show has been a popular favorite for years; the 1978 film version solidified it as a movie musical icon.
Toby’s Dinner Theatre has brought out the leather jackets, loafers, poodle skirts and cardigans once again so that the students of Rydell High School can sing and dance for their supper.
Director and choreographer Mark Minnick keeps the show moving with style, fostering a kinetic energy that matches the pastiche tunes, echoing back to the jukebox favorites of the early days of rock and roll. Minnick has cast a lively bunch of greasers and bobby soxers, as well, all who get the tongue-in-cheek nature of the show’s nostalgic look at a world that hints at “Happy Days” by way of “Rebel Without A Cause” and the early days of “American Bandstand.”
If you have somehow missed Grease at the movies, on video or onstage before now, all you need to know is Rydell’s resident bad boy Danny Zuko – Matt Hirsh – had a secret and romantic summer fling with girl-next-door Sandy Dumbrowski – Nicki Elledge. School begins and Sandy finds herself a transfer student at Rydell. Danny wants to preserve his ultra-cool image and Sandy is perplexed why he acts like a jerk one minute and a knight the next. Will the boy change the girl or vice versa? That’s the $64,000 question of the day and I am pretty sure you know how it turns out.
Along the way we meet the other romanticized school mates of the late 1950s scene: members of the Pink Ladies, Danny’s Burger Palace Boys, and kids who don’t fit into either of those cliques – the school goody-two-shoes and the ubiquitous nerd. All are drawn with broad strokes, but with enough heart to transport some people back to their halcyon days of high school.
Hirsh has the charm and smarm to make Danny memorable. Elledge offers a nice contrast as the “Sandra Dee”-esque good girl. I hope they warm up and smooth out some rough spots with their singing, but they have a long run to work out the kinks.
They are more than ably supported by the energetic cast, starting with Maggie Dransfield’s tough-as-nails Rizzo, leader of the Pink Ladies. The other Pink Ladies handle their characters and moments with pizzazz: Kalen Robinson is hilarious as the food obsessed Jan; Nia Savoy is a hot-to-trot Marty; and Allie O’Donnell makes the most of her “beauty school drop-out” as Frenchie.
For Danny’s ragtag band of brothers, Paul Roeckell is a memorable Kenickie. He is backed up by the innocent and naive Doody – Taylor Witt; sex crazed Sonny – Joey Ellingham; and the “king of the mooners,” fun loving Roger – Justin Calhoun.
All of the Pink Ladies and Burger Palace Boys sing and dance with abandon; some even look nearly the right age.
Comic relief is offered by several other cast members who take their smaller roles and build them up by sheer skill and personality. Louisa Tringali is a hoot as the snooty and practically perfect cheerleader Patty Simcox. And as the adult teacher figure – parallel to Principal McGee (Eve Arden) in the movie – Miss Lynch, Crystal Freeman makes the most of her comic turns. Freeman also provides one of best vocal performances of the night, returning as the Teen Angel to sing “Beauty School Dropout” to Frenchie. Instead of a Pat Boone-type crooner, Minnick cast Freeman as the guardian angel, this time with a diva-vibe – think Della Reese or Etta James – allowing Freeman to unleash her large and expressive contralto.
Grease at Toby’s Dinner Theatre closes July 28, 2019. Details and tickets
Other highlights include “Greased Lightnin’,” “Born to Hand Jive,” and the act one closer, “We Go Together.”
The stylish production will continue through most of the summer but don’t expect to wait to get tickets; Toby’s is such a popular venue even weeknights are often sold out. So if you want to walk down memory lane and shake it at this high school hop, get on the horn.
Grease . Book, music, and lyrics by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey . Directed and choreography by Mark Minnick . Music Directed by Ross Scott Rawlings . Scenic Design: David A. Hopkins . Costume Design: Janine Sunday . Lighting Design: Lynn Joslin . Sound Design: Mark Smedley . Stage Manager: Kate Wacherle . Produced by Toby’s, The Dinner Theatre of Columbia . Reviewed by Jeff Walker.
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