Born to Hand-Jive: drama performs “Grease”

From Nov. 16 to Nov. 19, Aragon Drama performed “Grease the Musical.”

The musical is set in 1959, after bad boy Danny Zuko’s summer romance with sweet girl Sandy Dumbrowski. In their senior year, Sandy moves to Rydell High School, not knowing Danny also attends. While navigating peer-pressure, Danny struggles to maintain his bad boy reputation while being in love.

“It’s a classic,” Aragon Drama director Shane Smuin said. “We haven’t really done a classic since ‘Sweeney Todd,’ which was years ago.”

The musical evokes high-energy and liveliness through its funky rock music style. 

“It’s definitely more of a coming-of-age [musical],” said sophomore and ensemble member Sophie Rayes. “[While there are] some happy moments, there’s [also] some heated moments.”

The set included a red car with flames, nicknamed ‘Greased Lightning,” built by the tech theater class. 

“My favorite part of the [performance] was the ‘Greased Lightning’ [scene],” said freshman and audience member Anjalika Khare. “I thought that the song was really nice and the whole dance was very cute too.”

For the last few weeks before the performance, the tech theater class often worked on Saturdays for four hours to add finishing touches to the set.

“It’s really fun and you can see how the creativity [is] expressed in the set,” said tech theater student and freshman Madeline Fong. “It was very hard [to build because] everything needed to be precise and clean-looking,”

To match the high school setting, cast members wore an array of clothing reflective of typical cliches: black leather jackets for the popular boys, letterman jackets for the jocks, cheer uniforms for the cheerleaders, and bright pink dresses for the girly girls. Costumes were arranged by the costume designer, Margaux Mansfield.

To prepare for the show, Aragon Drama spent up to 24 hours a week rehearsing. According to Smuin, for the first weeks, the cast learned all the music. For the next few weeks, they learned the dance choreography. Lastly, when the show date is close, the cast put all the singing and choreography together with lights, props, costumes, and music.

However, because rehearsals are so time-consuming, some cast members struggle to find time for homework.

“It’s really hard, especially with my English homework because I get so much,” said junior Katya Kleinhenz, who played Betty Rizzo. “I’m up till 11 and 12 at night just trying to do schoolwork afterwards. When you’re in the school show, it’s really hard to do another extracurricular activity besides the show because it takes up so much of your life.”

Although the show required a lot of commitment, the rehearsals brought the cast closer and strengthened their bond.

“Everyone’s super close [and it’s a] great community,” Rayes said. “For me, going to rehearsal every day and being around all of my friends doesn’t feel like as much of a chore anymore,”

Senior Leo Levitt, who played Danny Zuko, commented on the strong connection the cast has developed.

“We show a lot of love for each other,” Levitt said. “Just by watching, you can tell how much we care about each other and how much fun we have as a group, [which] bleeds into the audience,”

While there was success, the cast also faced challenges regarding the choreography and a big cast. Kleinhenz reflected on her difficulty to play her role.

I really enjoyed the humor and [it] resonated with the high school teen audience

“It is so hard to get her character down because [Rizzo is] so complex [and] I am different from her,” Kleinhenz said. “I don’t want to play her as a mean person because she’s actually a vulnerable and loving person on the inside.”

The audience members offered their reflections.

“All the music was really great and expressive to me,” Khare said. “I really enjoyed the humor and [it] resonated with the high school teen audience. Everybody seemed [to] click [and] the actors lived up to the roles. You can see that [by] the way they conveyed the characters through their voice and [acting].”

To some, the story of “Grease” related to them deeply. 

“‘Grease’ is so close to what we are today,” Rayes said. “You [don’t] really act [because] it’s so realistic and you’re also experiencing [it] in real life.”

Levitt offers his interpretation of the central theme.

“[It’s] about how far [someone] should change [themselves for] their relationships and friendships,” Levitt said. “It’s [also about] tensions around being who you are versus being what other people [want you to be].”

In the spring, Aragon Drama will perform the play “Murder on the Orient Express.”