Grease is the Word at Oakwood Summer Theater

by Stephen Kreal

On Saturday, August 16^th, I attended a performance of Grease, produced by Oakwood Summer Theater. The production was directed AND choreographed by Piper Byrne. It was presented on the campus of Salem Community College, in their beautiful, state-of-the art Davidow Theater. 

The history of this musical is interesting.  It started in Chicago in 1971 and underwent several permutations along the way. The original book, music, and lyrics were written by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. The show is loosely based on Jacob’s experiences in high school in Chicago. In 1971, the show premiered in Chicago, where New York theater producers Ken Waissman and Maxine Fox saw it, and then suggested to Jacobs and Casey that a musical version might be more successful. Waissman and Fox agreed to produce the show off-Broadway if they liked the end result.

The original Broadway run, which lasted nearly seven years, starred Barry Bostwick as Danny and Carole Demas as Sandy. Throughout the run, replacements included Peter Gallagher, Judy Kaye, Patrick Swayze, John Travolta as well as Richard Gere who understudied for many of the roles including Danny, Teen Angel and Vince Fontaine. The original 1972 production was nominated for seven Tony Awards. But it is the 1978 movie version, starring John Travolta and the late Olivia Newton-John that cemented Grease as a cultural icon.

The musical has, over the years, been toned down and trimmed. It is about teenagers at fictional Rydell High School. This production was directed and choreographed by Piper Byrne and assistant-directed and stage-managed by Stacy Bachman. Musical direction was credited to Dana Gayner. 

There was an excellent, five piece band with music by: Will Powell (Piano/Conductor),  Gary Schneider (Tenor Saxophone), John Burns (Drums), Skyler Kern (Guitar), and Brandon Zukovsky (Bass). I always appreciate musical productions that provide a live orchestra, and this band really brought the energy.

The set was designed and painted by Amber Baratz, with assistance from Brittany Hester, Adrianna Green, Lewie Homan, Chayce Headley, Alyssa Ault, Ben Tatam, Megan Tatam, Wyatt Johnson, Robin Griffith, Allison Cheesemen. The set was simple enough to allow for mostly smooth scene changes and was nicely detailed. Some of the locations brought to life were a burger restaurant, the high school gym, and a drive-in movie for example.

The two groups are The Pink Ladies, played by Abby Williams (Betty Rizzo), Ava Santiago (Marty), Adrianna Green (Jan), and Brittany Hester (Frenchy) . The Pink ladies had nice stage chemistry and the friendships read as natural and authentic. All of the Pink Ladies brought good energy. I would like to single out the performance of Abby Williams, playing Rizzo, whose renditions of “Look at Me, I’m Sandra Dee” and “There Are Worse Things I Could Do” were outstanding. Her dancing was particularly spirited and lively.

The T-Birds were played by Jordan Maldonado (Doody), Thomas Santiago (Roger), Lawrence Baylock (Sonny), and Zach Taglioli (Kenicke). These actors did a nice job of playing the “Greasers”. Zach Taglioli got to shine with his rendition of “Greased Lightning”, as well being the Teen Angel in the song “Beauty School Dropout” (along with Frenchy and select ensemble). This number was one of the highlights of the evening.

There were two full, quite full, ensembles. The student ensemble, comprised of: Maddy Grodzienlanek, Margaret Wood, Drake Todd, Cameron Tatam, Tyler Tatam, Danielle Hannah, Amber Baratz, Zander Smith, Cody Higginbotham, Alyssa Ault, Emily Ault, Erica Brewer, Alyssa Donnelly, Chayce Headley, Gabriella Maldonado, Sophia Palmer, Nora Daniels, and Lewie Homan. Lauren MacAllister played perky cheerleader Patty Simcox, and got to shine during the number “Rydell Fight Song” with Sandy.

Several members of the student ensemble were featured in named roles, such as: Brody Wiggins in the comedic portrayal of nerdy Eugene, Lewie Homan played an energetic TV dance host Vince Fontaine, Lauren Altman portrayed Miss Lynch, Drake Todd played the bandleader Johnny Casino, and Maddy Grodzienlanek played Cha Cha. Grodzienlanek showed very impressive dancing with castmate Ben Tatam (Danny Zuko) in the big dance-off at the high school. The Rydell High School Faculty ensemble consisted of Heather Ault, Anna Donnelly, Erica Palmer, and Megan Tatam. 

The lead roles of Danny Zuko and Sandy Dumbrowski were played by Ben Tatam and Marie Altmann, respectively. The two had good stage chemistry and turned in quality performances. Altmann’s singing of “Hopelessly Devoted to You” was another highlight of the evening. Altmann’s vocal performance was very beautifully performed. Ben Tatum was entertaining as “Greaser”turned-jock turned “Greaser” Danny. 

Technical crew consisted of Kara Beardsley (lighting tech), Ben Wentzell (sound tech), Adianna Green (props manager). Scene changes were mostly quick, with stage crew members Hayden Evans, R.J. Berry, Stevie Woods, Catherine Cronin, and Jay Daniels.

The program does not list costuming credits. The costuming of the lead actors was detailed with poodle skirts, neck scarves, bobby socks, rolled-up jeans cuffs. There were some anachronisms, mostly ensemble members (one of whom was costumed in very modern “distressed” jeans and a baggy t-shirt). Another wore a striped sweater, which looked quite modern.

While acknowledging this is a community theater production, my only critiques would be that the ensembles were, perhaps, too large. During the bigger dance numbers the stage appeared cluttered. It appeared to hamper the ability of the dancers to move about the stage freely, forcing the dance moves to seem more repetitive.  

Congratulations to Oakwood Summer Theater on their production. Grease wrapped on Sunday, August 16^th.