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Kettle Run's 'Grease' brings 50s to the stage
What could be more fun for high school thespians than to portray high schoolers in a time when the reference to “grease” was as the main ingredient to slick hair, fast food and cool cars? Freshman Jonathan Hall, playing the "imaginary" character of Teen Angel, admitted the student actors had to get a mini-lesson in history before taking on their roles.
Hall compared the “cultural norms” of the 50s and today. He said, “We think 'cool' is different today. Back then it was who could get the most popular girl.”
The 15-year-old had theatrical experience before attending KRHS, but he is excited to be in this particular musical. “I really like how I get to play a role of authority.” Smiling, he explained, “It is different from past roles where I got pushed around.”
Student Josh Moore also has previous experience. “I've been acting since I was very little,” said Moore, a junior transfer from Fauquier High. Moore really likes his character, too. He is playing Johnny Casino, a character in the original Broadway play.
“[The role] is so much fun,” said Moore. “It's like my personality.”
The cast of over 20 members and chorus include Haider Ali as Danny; Meyrem Baer as Sandy; Mary Heather Fakoury as Rizzo; and Matt Booth as Kenickie.
Along with KRHS students taking charge of much of the responsibility for sound, lights and costumes, over a half dozen, led by school band director Matt Yonkey, are playing the musical score in the pit orchestra.
The production, first performed on stage in the early 70s, was later adapted into a popular film starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. There are a few differences between the two, with some changes in songs, dialogue and characters. According to Jeanne Dillon, teacher and director of the school's first musical, the KRHS version is a shortened one.
In the story, the main characters, Danny and Sandy, had met during the summer and instantly liked each other. When school starts, they find they are now attending the same high school. Danny, wanting to remain "cool," was reluctant to show his fondness for Sandy in front of his rebellious friends.
At the same time, Sandy, as a newcomer to the school, was having a hard time "fitting in" with the other students. By the end of the show, she had changed her conservative appearance, and perhaps her attitude, to attract Danny.
The storyline of Grease has undergone a lot of past scrutiny by theater-goers. Some have found the role of Sandy as one who changes who she really is just to be accepted. Dillon, however, is unconvinced that Sandy changes at all. She notes, “...the play can be seen as less a story about conforming to counter-culture, popular culture, or anyone's culture, and more as a story about enjoying each day, cherishing the people with whom you came of age, and not taking life too seriously."
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