reviewvancouver: Grease

It’s hard to imagine that a piece of musical theatre written in the early seventies that paid homage to the Rock ‘n Roll generation of the fifties can still manage to fill theatres in 2010. Perhaps Grease’s enigma is that it blatantly refuses to take itself seriously and asks audiences to accept it only as harmless fun.

There can’t be many out there who don’t know about Danny Zuko and Sandy Dumbrowski, who after having a summer fling, suddenly discover they are classmates at Rydell High – Danny has been there all along, Sandy is the new girl. Naive and uncomplicated, Sandy can’t understand why everything abruptly changes when her arrival puts Danny’s macho image in jeopardy. His feelings for Sandy are in conflict with his perceived reputation and standing with his peer group. The rest: relationships, break-ups, rumbles and teenage self doubt is just an excuse for some great singing and dancing.

Director David John O'Brien obviously, and perhaps reasonably, decided to go with experience in casting the main roles. Of course, that does mean that a number of the performers look like some years have passed since they were at high school, but overall, this is a minor distraction - they certainly don’t lack the enthusiasm of high school kids.

New Yorker Matt Nolan, a finalist on the reality show "Grease: You're the One That I Want" and Alyssa Herrera as Danny and Sandy lead an energetic cast. Nolan in particular acquits himself well as a blue-collar hero, though he doesn't possess the swagger shown by John Travolta in the film version. Herrera certainly looks the part of an out-of-place teenager and performs her showpiece song Hopelessly Devoted to You delightfully. Alicia Kelly and Lauren Elaine Taylor as, respectively, the coquettish, Marilyn (Monroe, of course) look-alike Marty and the tough-talking Betty Rizzo offer stand-out performances. Taylor shows us both sides of Rizzo’s personality, first, with a playful, tongue-in-cheek rendition of Look at me, I’m Sandra Dee and the more poignant There are Worse Thing I Could Do.

Eddie Mekka, who was nominated for a Tony award some 35 years ago, gives up nothing in terms of energy and verve to his younger co-stars. He clearly still has the vocal chops, however, his caricature-like hamming in the role of radio DJ Vince Fontaine is far too over the top – less of Eddie would be more.

Joyce Chittick’s choreography is robust and athletic without complex vocabulary. The dance competition scene that kicks off the second act is an entertaining highlight. So too is the Greased Lightnin sequence featuring Patrick Cragin (as Kenickie) and his buddies transforming his clunker to a potent hot-rod.

Derek McLane’s original set design is hardly typical of a production of this size and quality; mostly consisting of colourfully painted boards providing simple backdrops that give a conspicuous economy ‘look and feel.’

Future revivals of Grease will undoubtedly come and go, and there are some who will see mixed messages in it. However, the show’s only real message is that the Rock ‘n Roll generation will live forever and as Eddie Mekka exhorted in his mildly entertaining pre-show shtick, ‘Grease is still the word.’

An Interview with Lauren Elaine Taylor

Interviewer John Jane

Lauren Elaine Taylor

When the cast and crew of the ‘Broadway Across Canada’ touring production of Grease^TM rolls into Vancouver next week for eight shows at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, no one will more excited than Lauren Elaine Taylor.

Lauren is from Hoffman Estates, a suburb of Chicago, Illinois; not too far from the Kingston Mines Theatre were Grease^TM made its premiere performance back in 1971. She attended Millikin University where she met husband Garrett Taylor, this new production’s associate musical director.

When she spoke to me from Denver, Colorado where the show had just launched a nine month tour at Buell Theatre, she was ebullient about playing Betty Rizzo, the show’s most complex character. She mentioned that she had grown up watching 1978 film adaptation whenever it appeared on television. The film, which featured a 33 year-old Stockard Channing in the role of Rizzo, enkindled a fervent desire to eventually perform in a stage production of Grease.^TM

Lauren also acknowledged the support and camaraderie among the production’s entire cast and crew. “We’re all having lots of fun” she enthused. She has already developed a solid professional chemistry with co-star Patrick Cragin who plays her character’s wayward boyfriend Kenickie.

I asked if there were any similarities between herself and her character. “We’re not really very much alike.” “Betty Rizzo is kind of tough and prickly on the outside, but vulnerable and insecure on the inside.” “It’s this dichotomy that I can identify with and I’m working hard to show this in my performance.”

Lauren marvelled at meeting, and ultimately talking with co-creator Jim Jacobs, who has been part of the creative process of this show. He with Warren Casey wrote a play about high school life during the 1950s that eventually became Grease.^TM The original version, by comparison, was pretty hard-hitting. It dealt with some real issues of the blue-collar kids in America. When asked if the show has undergone any revision to make it au courant, Lauren responded with: “The current production has retained much of what has made it great entertainment, however, (director) David O'Brien has gone for a more grittier feel (in keeping with the original concept).”

When asked what has been the highlight of her stage career so far, she was unhesitant in favouring her role in Grease.^TM “The part gives me the opportunity to dance, sing and act - playing an outsider like Rizzo presents the additional challenge of balancing the performance.”

What’s next for Lauren Elaine Taylor? She’s going to be touring with the company until next spring. So, her future is eight months away and that is a long time in musical theatre.