![]() Before two movies and three Broadway productions, summer lovin' happened on Lake Michigan and the Pink Ladies were a group of working class outsiders living on Chicago's Northwest Side. Here's how ATC bills the restored show: "Chicago. Read 's recent feature about this "new-old" Grease. The Rydell High 50th Reunion Alumni are Susan Fay (Patricia Simcox Honeywell), Alan Barinholtz (Eugene Florczyk), Tom Lally (Kenickie), Mark Shallow (Doody), Anthony Dale Kolton (Roger), Judi Schindler (Frenchy) and Danon Dastugue (Jan). After that experience, Jim and I crafted a new ending where the alumni have a moment with their younger selves. I was struck by the emotion in the room, in particular around the classmates that were no longer with us. Also, Jim invited me to his 50th-year high school reunion, where I met many of the actual greasers who inspired the characters in the play. ![]() "In order to maintain that conceit 40 years later, we needed to double cast the roles with an age-appropriate cast. The conceit was that the audience were actually at the reunion and not in the theatre. Of the class-reunion angle, Paparelli told, "The 1971 original Chicago production started with a ten year reunion where the cast played themselves, aged ten years. The company also includes Tony Clarno (Kenickie), Jessica Diaz (Rizzo), Bubba Weiler (Doody), Robert Colletti (Roger), Patrick De Nicola (Sonny), Tyler Ravelson (Miller), Jessie Fisher (Frenchy), Carol Rose (Marty), Sadieh Rifai (Jan), Hannah Gomez (Cha-Cha Degregorio), Adam Shalzi (Eugene Florczyk), Michael Accardo (Vince Fontaine, Officer Maiale, Coach Grabowski), Bryan Connor (Johnny Casino, Teen Angel), Peggy Roeder (Miss Mildred Lynch), Alaina Mills (Patty Simcox) and Tom Lally (The Old Bum, Jan's father). I think this Grease celebrates all that." But it's also a time of great joy and freedom. In addition to nostalgia, I want people to draw an emotional connection to their own adolescence, in particular the teens of today. Grease was their identity on the outside, while inside, they were a tight-knit community, brought together by ethnicity, family, and geography." Paparelli added, "I think people will be surprised by the amount of emotion in this Grease. These kids identified with rock 'n' roll, greasy hair, greasy food, and grease from under the hood of a car. "Jim and I have focused the revisions on capturing an authentic voice and world of working-class Italian and Polish teens and their search for their identity. In many ways, we have approached it as a documentary about Chicago's Northwest side in 1959. While there are over 20 musical moments, you won't find traditional musical theatre staging but rather musical extensions of the scenes. It is an ensemble musical theatre piece with an extensive book and songs that stem right out of the action. It features Adrian Aguilar as Danny Zuko and Kelly Davis Wilson as Sandy Dumbroski in a cast of 26.ĭirector Paparelli told, "What is unique about The Original Grease is its form. The production, directed by ATC artistic director PJ Paparelli and choreographed by Jim Corti, is billed as "the restored, revised, R-rated" original Grease. There is also a new "frame" to the show that features older actors playing the senior selves the greasers, attending a high school reunion. This production of the first version of the modern American classic by Jim Jacobs and the late Warren Casey marks the first time this text has been seen since the early 1970s. Before it was a Broadway hit and film sensation, Grease was a gritty Chicago-set play with music that reflected the lives, language and tensions of Windy City teens in the 1950s.
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