Flash back to high school in the 1950s when Henry James Middle School presents a family-friendly version of the popular musical “Grease” from March 29-31 in the Simsbury High School auditorium.
“Grease: The School Version” will be performed four times – Thursday, March 29, at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, March 30, at 7:30 p.m.; and Saturday, March 31, at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $5 and are only available at the door before each show.
More than 90 Henry James students, both onstage and behind the scenes, will bring to life the T-Birds, the Pink Ladies and the rest of the fun-loving Rydell High School gang in a rendition of the original musical that was adapted for younger performers.
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“This is a family-friendly version, but it retains all of the fun and most of the music from the original,” said director David Addis. “The show's authors made some adjustments to the storyline and to some of the lyrics to give it a PG rating.”
Under the choreography of Melissa Feder and the musical direction of Lisa Grant and Colleen Thompson, the seventh- and eighth-graders will sing and dance to songs with a ’50s rock ‘n’ roll sound, including show favorites such as “Summer Nights,” “Greased Lightnin’,” and “We Go Together.”
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Written by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey, “Grease” was a longtime Broadway hit and later a successful film featuring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. The plot revolves around Danny Zuko and Sandy Dumbrowski as high school students struggling against social pressures to rekindle a summer romance.
All of the lead and secondary roles are double cast, with cast No. 1 performing the Thursday and Saturday afternoon shows, and cast No. 2 taking the stage for the Friday and Saturday night performances.
In cast No. 1, playing lead roles are Jacob Hallenbeck (Danny); Maia Czaikowski (Sandy); Patrick Lyman (Kenickie); Julia Pugmire (Rizzo); Kate Campolieta (Jan); Kristin Weiss (Marty); Emily Rosenberg (Frenchy); Grant Duford (Sonny); Cameron Delo (Roger); and Brian Hanshaw (Doody). Cast in secondary roles are Melissa Acheson (Cha Cha DiGregorio); Jameson Boeshans (Vince Fontaine); Gabriel Garcia (Teen Angel); Hannah Cary (Patty Simcox); Ian Braverman (Eugene Florczyk); Luke Silvers (Johnny Casino); and Jill Henrich (Miss Lynch).
In cast No. 2, the leads are Markus Visconti (Danny); Maiya Pascouche (Sandy); Kevin Kearns (Kenickie); Zoe Eisenhaure (Rizzo); Olivia Coe (Jan); Sarah Ursini (Marty); Sarah Baierwick (Frenchy); Christopher Wildman (Sonny); Sean Sinacori (Roger); and Jacob Katz (Doody). Cast in secondary roles are Kate Addis (Cha Cha DiGregorio); Juan Pablo Brambila (Vince Fontaine); Ian Braverman (Teen Angel); Victoria Davis (Patty Simcox); William Shaw (Eugene Florczyk); Gabriel Garcia (Johnny Casino); and Katelyn Paddock (Miss Lynch).
In all four shows, playing Pink Ladies are Kate Cintron, Alli May, Brenna Pellon, Christine Schiller, Meredith Starrett, and Brianna Stephens, while Jacob Lill and Damian Mackay-Morgan play Burger Boys.
The ensemble consists of Kate Angus, Rachel Aponte, Chelsea Armstrong, Ana Ashchepkova, Maxime Braun, Olivia Burrick, Emily Caliman, Sophia Calnan, Emily Candels, Amanda Chin, Julia Davis, Katherine Eckerson, Adriana Farrell, Kaleigh Gallagher, Naomi Garcia, Valerie Grosseck, Nicole Heller, Ana Jahrstorfer, Brenna Kelly, Jessica Kull, Jacob Lill, Montana McMahon, Samantha Preiser, Olivia Schwager, Pritika Seshadri, Katie Simeon, Alyze Vasquez, and Dana Winslow.
Along with the cast, more than 25 students have been enlisted to work backstage in addition to parent volunteers and students from Simsbury High School. Mary Boucher serves as the show’s production coordinator.
