On Thursday, April 10, through Saturday, April 12, Leesville Road High School’s theatre program put on a production of the ’70s musical film, Grease.
Essentially, Grease is a musical about the social groups and interaction between high school teens. Set at Rydell High School, the main characters Danny (played by Matt Cesari) and Sandy (played by Tatianna Shumoski) struggle to maintain their summer romance through the school year.
The theatre department put on a successful show. The music, acting and dancing were all executed seamlessly. The orchestra included several members of the Leesville band, orchestra and even Mr. Stiles, orchestra teacher, and Ms. Dickens, chorus teacher. They did a great job of playing authentic music from Grease that everyone knows and loves.
Besides the instrumentation of the music, the singing was top-notch. Tatianna Shumoski, Matt Cesari and their supporting actors and actresses showcased their fabulous vocal talents flawlessly to the infectious music of Grease. “Greased Lightning” and “You’re the One that I Want” were my personal favorites that the group performed.
The acting was well-done, too — the characters were very believable in their roles and I truly felt like I was watching Danny and Sandy’s love story unfold. Everyone seemed to be comfortable with their character and had mastered their persona.
Besides the talents of the actual actors and actresses, the tech crew did an excellent job with the costumes, hair and makeup, set and props.
The costumes were authentic to the original story and the costume crew absolutely nailed both the pink lady costumes and Sandy’s iconic black outfit that she wore right after her transformation. The hair and makeup were also great and especially mimicked the ’50s greaser hairstyle perfectly.
The set was elaborate and used universally throughout the show. However, my favorite prop from the show was “Greased Lightning” — the car that the greasers both drove and sang about. However, the tech crew went above and beyond with the car because it not only looked authentic, but it also really drove. The cast was able to drive it around and off-stage during the course of the musical, which made it realistic for the audience members.
Overall, Grease was a huge hit. I had extremely high expectations for this musical going in because of the success and popularity of both the musical and the movie, and the Leesville theater department once again met these expectations.
