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He took her bowling in the arcade. They went strollin', drank lemonade. They made out, under the dock. They stayed out until 10 o'clock. Oh those summer nights! The Orpheus Musical Theatre Society hauled out its rose-coloured glasses this past weekend for a nostalgic trip down memory lane, staging Grease. Best known for John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John's 1978 film version, the story is about as basic as it gets. It's September, 1959. Rydell High School. Boy - Danny Zuko - meets girl - Sandy Dumbrowski. The two had shared a tender summer romance and Danny, too cool by half, is surprised to find the wholesome Ivory girl now attending his school. She starts hanging with the Pink Ladies, a clique of hep chicks, to try to gain Danny's favour. He, meanwhile, joins the track team, in an effort to square down a little. Will their colliding worlds find a middle zone where true love can prevail? Well, you know they will. In fact, at the risk of ruining the story, everything works out: Danny and Sandy live, presumably, happily ever after. Kenickie gets his car. Rizzo turns out not to be pregnant. Frenchy sees the error of her drop-out ways and returns to school. For Grease isn't really about any of those things. It is merely a chance to relive those bygone days that never really existed; when rock'n roll, Saturday night rumbles and rounding the bases with your girlfriend were the only things that mattered. Orpheus's production doesn't pretend to be anything else, either, serving up a slight parody on the '50s that is entertaining and fun, and leaving the turmoil of the human condition to other theatre groups. Shaun Toohey, in putting together a tight, well-paced two-hour show, scored big in his directorial debut. Sure, there were faults. Some of the vocals in the 21-song musical were scarcely audible over the music, while Danny and Sandy's big number together, Your'e The One That I Want lacked the chemistry they spun earlier in Summer Nights. Stepan Pruchnicky's solo on Greased Lightnin', meanwhile was the single weakness he brought to the role of Kenickie. But those were small when compared to what went right. Derek Eyamie and Shawna Morgan were both excellent in the lead roles, while Nicole Williams shone as the tough Rizzo. Tricia MacNeil Baldwin assembled a clever set, essentially one large jukebox, and Debbie Millett's choreography went off without a hitch. Joy Lackey's costumes evoked the period perfectly and supporting the script's levity - especially the gold hair curlers and lamé for the Beauty School Dropout number.
Grease continues at Centrepointe Theatre until March 8, but all shows are sold out. |