In this musical compiled by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey, it is 1959 and Rydell high is congested with defiant, fun-loving students. In the center of this surroundings, Sandy Dumbrowski gets there as the new female in school. As it happens that over the summer she and Danny Zuko, innovator of the Burger Palace Children gang, have had a brief love affair. While Sandy says her new classmates about the mental involvement she possessed with Danny, he makes of stories about the erotic side of their relationship. As the show progresses the youngsters at Rydell High have to deal with issues astonishing to people who have a romanticized view of the 1950's; love, gang violence, teen pregnancy, and friendship. In the end, Sandy and Danny workout their differences with each other and their friends and wrap up together and happy.
I noticed this production at the JSU/McClellan Theater in Anniston, Alabama. The stage in this theater is of the proscenium type. I feel that overall, this is the perfect type of stage for this play however the agreement of the theater was a little lacking for this production mainly because of the seating challenges. There were three sections of seating. The middle section was reasonably large and centered with the level. There have been two sections on either side that hugged the wall structure. The section on the way right was behind the orchestra. The orchestra pit had not been a really pit and was actually on level with the seats. Therefore, those people in the rows behind the orchestra possessed a very hard time seeing within the musicians and musical instruments; especially the harp that was found in this production. I know this because I had been one of those unlucky enough to be sitting down behind these musicians. I put in the play with my brain tilted at an strange angle aiming to see around them. What I did so have a good view of was the wing, stage left and regrettably I could see the actors on the point of make entrances and exits which ruined a little of the ambience. Got I been sitting in the center section and additional back I believe it could have been a lot more enjoyable.
This play possessed components of the reasonable and the non-realistic. It dealt with very real themes such as teenage motherhood, bullying, peer pressure, drinking alcohol, and gang assault. The non-realistic bits were naturally the musical statistics. In true to life, we do not just burst into songs because we broke up with a partner or sweetheart or acquired a teenage romance. The sets of the play weren't what I would call reasonable. They attempted realism but it appeared as if the budget of the play and the way it had to be staged remaining them without choice but leave it marginally abstract. The models were very basic and the automobile established used for the "Greased Lightning" and 'Only at a Drive-In Movie" numbers was very cartoonish. The costumes in this play attempted realism but fell short. Within the dance scenes, the dresses looked like leftovers from a 1980's prom sale that were re-cut so that they can make them appear to be they were from the fifties. The clothing in the earlier scenes was a bit better and nearer to the true fifties flavor. The use of props was done well. The actors used real props for the most part, there was very little miming of activities.
This play was a musical with elements of comedy. The humor was generally verbal with simple inflections of tone. There have been a few physical comedic elements typically utilized by the people of Eugene Florczyk and Cha-Cha DiGregorio, who did an outstanding job making the audience have a good laugh. The type of Jan played by Michelle Bain blended a few components of physical with verbal comedy. Betty Rizzo, played by Judy Shealy was surprisingly funny with her dry quips and incredibly sarcastic delivery of Rizzo's best lines. This play was organized episodically.
This play was very entertaining. There were a few elements of it that might be taken as sociable messages such as the drinking alcohol and rebelliousness that led to a motherhood scare for one of the character types. The playwright and director appeared to work in beautiful tranquility for this production. You could observe that there was a great deal of effort put into the performing and the path. The notice from the imaginative director that was imprinted in leading of this program gave a little amount of track record. For a person who was not acquainted with the work it could have helped them to perhaps understand a bit more of the inspiration behind the play.
There were several stick out performers in this play and also a few disappointments. Without doubt Judy Shealy's portrayal of Betty Rizzo was the show stealer. She offered the character real life. In the wisecracking to the miserable and terrified she made you value what happened to her. Her performance of "A COUPLE OF Worse Things I Could Do" was one of the standouts of the play. As I brought up earlier the heroes of Eugene and Cha-Cha enjoyed by Daniel Ruler Jr. and Georgia Make were wonderful. Both these heroes were very funny and amusing. Jacob Cummings Young Angel was excellent. The Young Angel arena is one that I rank among my least favorites and it usually bores me, but I found myself adoring this portrayal. Cummings sang excellently and lent a degree of laughter to the role that was refreshing. Michelle Bain as Jan was another standout. She is a very good comic celebrity and her afflicted accent was very funny. I was not however delighted with Heather Garlick or Joshua Cody Hunt who performed the roles of Danny and Sandy. These are the two main characters and should take the show. I came across myself tired I am unfortunately when these were on. Heathers performance as Sandy was real wood, one- dimensional and not in any way believable. I found myself weary whenever she was on. Joshua Hunt as Danny was almost as bad although when he was getting together with the Burger Palace Males he seemed to shine a bit more.
The scenery was low quality and it was apparent. It have detract just a little from the overall performance. It had been almost as if a high institution had tossed the production collectively at the last second so far as the scenery is concerned. The lighting was acceptable, but the strap was excellent. They and the stars worked together well and there appeared to be no missed cues and everything flowed seamlessly.
Overall, this was a very acceptable performance. The actors were all together very good, with the exceptions known above. The group and actors worked flawlessly jointly and were very enjoyable. There was certainly a great deal of effort put into the choreography of the dance picture and it arrived off perfectly. It was a fun night and certainly put a laugh on my face. I arrived away nostalgic for a while I had not been even alive to witness.
Production Details
Your name
Cassie Patterson
Name of production
Grease
Author
Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey
Producing business or theatre where you attended
Community Actors Studio Theatre
Date of performance
October 3, 2010
Style of performance (sensible, non-realistic,
Combination
combination)
Structure of the play (climactic, episodic, ritualistic,
Episodic
Etc. )
Form of the play (tragedy, episode, funny, etc. )
Musical
Stage space (proscenium, industry, etc. )
Proscenium
Acting styles (genuine, melodramatic, exaggerated,
Realistic, comedic
etc. )
Style of scenic designs (practical, abstract, etc. )
Abstract
Style of outfit designs (illusion, abstract, etc. )
Realistic
Style of lamps designs (practical, abstract, etc. )
Realistic
Production Personnel:
Director
Kimberly Dobbs
Scenic Designer
Eric Key
Costume Designer
Hayley Long, Lolly Payne, Sara Semmes
Lighting Designer
Terri Sherrill
Stage Manager
Pat Tiller, Chrissy Patterson, Cierra Parker, Tristan Waid, Janet Harbor, Tim Doyle, Alexandre de Lavalette
