Grease is the word…is the word…is the word… is the word… it’s on stage… it’s here now…
At Tidewater Players for two weekends only (and be careful to pick your Grease very carefully when you make your ticket selections because Tidewater is offering Grease-OG and Grease-Elite, where the Elite production cast is comprised of performers age 55+ so if you’re hoping to see someone you know, double check your ticketing dates to make sure you have the right Grease!) Directed by Richard Mahoney with Musical Direction by Suzette Burgess, and Choreography by Sammi Flickinger, Tidewater Players is taking you back to the 50’s at Rydell High— and giving you all the summer lovin’ calamity that you can handle just as real summer comes to an end.
Part of the struggle with any production of Grease is that the audiences at large are coming in jonesing for the John Travolta and Olivia Newton John film. And while there are some numbers from the film in the licensed production, they don’t necessarily happen in order (or at all) the way they do in the film. If you can open you mind and accept the fact that the stage production of Grease is not the film (so don’t listen too carefully to the lyrics for “Greased Lightning” either) then you’ll have a much better theatrical experience.
The production itself is energetic and fun, if at times a bit sluggish in both its pacing and its scenic transitions. It’s a boon to Tidewater Players to have a live, four-person pit playing right at the foot of the stage’s apron. These pit musicians (Brian Willmore on keys, Hele Schlaich on reeds, Mark Leppo on percussion, James Stewart on guitar) cover some of the longer scenic changes with vamps and are able to adjust tempo as needed for the musical numbers as they come, though for the most part, all of the more upbeat numbers rolled quickly and the more ballad-esque numbers felt appropriately slow. The other major issue for this production of Grease is the show’s overall sound balance (Sound Design Dickson Teel.) Having the pit open and exposed, while useful for the aforementioned reasons, creates challenges with balancing them against the overall microphone system. There were times when the ensemble could be heard clearly but not the principals when singing in those ensemble numbers. This was particularly true for “Summer Loving” and “Greased Lightning.” When the various principals were singing their solos the microphone balance was equalized, but the inconsistencies throughout with the overall levels creates some auditory issues for those in the house.
Grease being the word conjures up a whole host of nostalgia and memories, not the least of which is “The Hand Jive.” Choreographer Sammi Flickinger keeps the choreography simple, neat, and cleanly executed. The hand gestures for “The Hand Jive” are crisp, the 50’s fling-kicks are simple but effective and used in several of the larger numbers. It’s a hill to die on, but simple, clean choreography can easily spin circles around complex, less-than-effectively-executed dance moves any day of the week. This production takes the clean-n-simple approach and it does wonders for the overall enthusiasm and enjoyment of both the performers on stage and those in the audience clapping, bouncing, and bopping along. There are moments during the dance (again mostly “The Hand Jive”) where Dance Captain Erin Acerno, who plays Cha-Cha DiGregorio, gets to showcase some more complex choreography as she dances around with Danny Zuko and it adds to the thrilling vibe of that overall scene. Acerno is serving pure face during that routine and the audience readily falls in love with both the persona she’s bringing to the table, the dance moves she’s putting on, and her fabulous red-and-black rose-print dress, which is the perfect fit for all the fun moves she gets to execute throughout that dance.
Director Richard Mahoney wrangles his cast back into the 1950’s— for the most part— with great consistency. Nearly everyone of those ‘high school kids’ has the cadence and patois that so fondly harkens back to that era when they speak, particularly Marty and Frenchie. There are some noticeable inconsistencies with Rizzo (Jordan Burch) who often has a more modern sound to her textual delivery giving her the feel of someone who is still with the audience in present-day time while the rest of the actors are living their most fun-lovin’, free-wheeling 50’s lives. This isn’t to say Burch isn’t suited for the role, she serves up a great deal of attitude— as is expected from the Betty Rizzo character— and has very animated facial expressions, particularly when her character is being biting toward Sandy. Burch has an impressive vocal range, which is well suited for both “Look At Me, I’m Sandra Dee” and “There Are Worse Things I Could Do”, but again the modern sound for both of these numbers pulls you out of the 50’s atmosphere.
There are other little moments where attention to detail gets glossed over, which ordinarily wouldn’t catch the eye, but between the intimate space of The Opera House and some of the less than greased-lightning pacing, these things get noticed— Rizzo’s tattoos (even for the ‘bad-ass leader of the Pink Ladies’ they look far too modern and out of place) and Kenickie not being clean shaven— but for every little hiccup, Mahoney and his design team seems to balance it with something dazzling— like that silvered-up hot-rod car that is the focal piece of “Greased Lighting.” (If that’s a ‘prop’ then mad props to Mahoney, Mark Briner, and Becky Flickinger on the Prop Design Team and if that falls under the auspices of set design, again props to Mahoney.) Mahoney and team decorate the walls of the house with records, which helps prepare the audience for the “20 Year Reunion” vibe that is set at the top of the show (this is the stage musical, not the movie, remember?) and Patrick Yarrington’s Lighting Design is a nice touch for the various musical numbers. Cooler blues for “Hopelessly Devoted To You” and more party-warm-light for numbers like “We Go Together.” And Mahoney, who seems to wear every hat you can think of in production, does a solid job of fabricating period appropriate costumes for the performance, many of which resemble or pay homage to those we love so fondly from the movie. The silvery beauty-shop drapes and hair rollers for “Beauty School Drop Out” along with the matching silver-shine outfit for Teen Angel are two of the most awesome costume designs featured in the show.
It should also be noted that this production is performed without an ensemble, which is a curious but not unappreciated move on both Mahoney and Musical Director Suzette Burgess’ part. To their credit, having just principals/support characters in play keeps the stage from looking overcrowded and allows for Sammi Flickinger’s clean-cut choreography to unfold more naturally, and despite the sound balancing issues, Burgess’ manages to get full sounds during “We Go Together” and other big, splashy company numbers that would ordinarily be dominated by two dozen voices or so. The smaller cast size works well for the production, all things considered, and allows for a fun sense of camaraderie to develop easily among the cast.
Mahoney also makes a really smart move in doubling up Teen Angel and Johnny Casino, both played admirably by Nathan Cooney. His voice is glorious and when he sings his way through “Beauty School Dropout” you get those lovely high-end/falsetto options that are just swoon-worthy near the end of the number. And Cooney serves up some seriously judgmental attitude towards Frenchy in that song as well, which is hysterical and well-received by the audience. Cooney appears as Johnny Casino at the dance, where we also meet Vince Fontaine (Mark Briner) in his sparkle suit as he attempts to host the dance contest and chat up Marty (Emily Machovec.) And we get a delightful taste of Machovec’s voice earlier in the performance when she sings “Freddy, My Love” with the other gals of the Pink Ladies— Frenchy (Anna Odell), Jan (Alana Guardipee), and Rizzo (Jordan Burch.) Machovec brings the sound of the 50’s both singing and speaking and when she’s flouncing around in her robe it’s just delightful. You get similar vibes from Guardipee’s Jan, only in the vein of being silly and eating twinkies; both Machovec and Guardipee do a fine job of flirting with their ‘Greaser Boys’ too, making for some extra hilarious laughs. Odell’s Frenchy isn’t really given a song in which to shine, but her vocal affectation pays excellent homage to her movie-character’s namesake.
As for the fellas, Doody (Zachary Dodson), Roger (Chris Williams), Sonny (Thomas Knox) and Kenickie (Jacob Albert Gross) they’re giving Greaser vibes from jump street, particularly when they put on “Greased Lightning.” You get a clean sound out of Dodson, again with some high-tenor options, when he sings “What’s That Playing on the Radio” and a great deal of comic shenanigans from Williams’ Roger, aka RUMP as he attempts to go about mooning everything in sight. Thomas Knox as Sonny is all attitude, and it’s hilarious when he bristles up against Miss Lynch (Dawn Sinclair, whose character like much Vince Fontaine floats in the periphery of the action though Sinclair, along with the performers playing Eugene and Patty kickoff the show with the “Alma Mater” and that trio of voices comes together sublimely.) And you get some real ‘draggin’ wagon’ attitude out of Gross’ Kenickie when he leads the fellas in “Greased Lighting.”
Patty Simcox (Lindsay Serio) and Eugene Florczyk (Benjamin Marsh) are their own little scenery-chewing background-filling, scene-stealing duo, who are actually rarely featured together but in their moments with the various others on stage are a complete scream. Marsh fills out the role of nerd extraordinaire divinely while Serio will pluck your every last nerve as the peppy, drippy, whiny leader of the cheer team. Watching her fawn and fall all over herself, and by proximity poor Danny Zuko, is one of the hilarious highlights of the dance scene. Both Serio and Marsh are great in these character roles and their voices blend well when the full cast is singing group numbers.
They go together…Sandra Dee (Jennifer Biglen) and Danny Zuko (Stanley Evans) like Ramma-lamma-lamma-ka-dingity-da-dinga-dong! Even before they re-meet one another, Biglen and Evans have this adorable chemistry that infuses its way into “Summer Nights” which is the iconic— ‘two-sides-of-the-same-coin’ song, where Biglen’s Danny is enthusiastically gushing about this sweet boy she met over summer holiday and Evans’ Zuko is boasting and bragging about this easy lay he found on the beach. The pair spend most of show not actually interacting but when they do it’s simply smashing. Biglen has a beautiful sound, full of emotion for “It’s Raining on Prom Night”, (and The Props Team has pulled a hilarious sneaky-pete by having her hold a certain photograph of a certain iconic couple that you don’t see until the end of the number and it’s just absolutely priceless when it’s revealed!) and when she sings “Hopelessly Devoted to You” you get both her own spin on the number and a hint of some Olivia Newton John. Evans, who outside of the duet of “Summer Nights” only gets “Sandy” as a solo to showcase his vocal versatility and capabilities, uses that one number to really press the wow-factor into the audience. It’s his overall attitude, which reverberates into his body language and facial expressions that really sells us on his Danny Zuko portrayal.
So you’re the one that they want— oooh—ooh—ooh, honey! The ones that they want! To come and see them for this two-weekend, limited engagement of Grease before it slides right off The Opera House stage.
Running Time: Approximately 2 hours with one intermission
Grease plays through September 28th 2024 with Tidewater Players in residence at the Cultural Center at The Havre de Grace Opera House— 121 N. Union Street in historic downtown Havre de Grace, MD. For tickets call the box office at 667-225-8433 or purchase them online.
