 ’50S AGAIN: Brian Brigham and Michelle London, at center, play Danny Zuko and Sandy Dumbrowski, the sweethearts in “Grease,” in the Fullerton Civic Light Opera production of the 1972 musical.
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Theater: 'Grease' is slick in Fullerton
Review: The production focuses on the show's strengths, its song and dance.
Anyone over the age of 35 can remember with special fondness the roots of rock 'n' roll music, though it might precede their birth by a generation. "Shake, Rattle and Roll" set the tone for the new music; "Rock Around the Clock" made it a craze.
When Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey wrote the musical "Grease," they captured lightning in a bottle. The 1972 show is admittedly weak on story line and pretty skimpy when it comes to its characters. What makes "Grease" work - what propelled the show to a lengthy Broadway run and has made it a perennial favorite of theater companies - is its score.
At Fullerton Civic Light Opera, director and choreographer Roger Castellano and musical director Todd Helm make the most of that score, which captures the energetic sound and feel of the earliest rock while helping conceal the show's soft foundation.
The story revolves around Danny Zuko and Sandy Dumbrowski. Danny is head of the Burger Palace Boys, a gang of wanna-be toughs whose biggest crimes are sneaking cigs and boosting hubcaps - the Jets these guys ain't. Looking cool is a priority, which is why Danny tones down his love for Sandy, the object of his summer fling, when she transfers to Rydell High in fall '59.
Sandy's virginal purity makes her a misfit with the Pink Ladies, the Boys' girl-gang counterparts - and "Grease" simply amounts to a series of mostly comedic vignettes that focus on Danny, Sandy and their pals while highlighting the many ballads and doo-wop numbers.
At its best, "Grease" is about the innocence of youth and our eternal nostalgia for our teen years, a feeling that bubbles to the surface in a staging where Castellano, Helm and company show a flair for this paean to the rock of the late '50s.
As Danny and Sandy, Brian Brigham and Michelle London are sympathetic from the start. Unlike other Dannys, Brigham is youthful-looking and projects sincerity. The petite, blond London has more going for her than her resemblance to Olivia Newton-John (the film version's Sandy): She's no pushover, more serious than square. The actress uses the character's songs ("It's Raining on Prom Night," "Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee") to express Sandy's sadness and vulnerability.
Bets Malone also deftly sketches her character, the Pink Ladies' tough leader, Rizzo. Instead of turning her portrayal into a caricature of gum-chewing world-weariness, Malone invests it with undercurrents of defeatism and a fiery defiance of society's expectations. Like London, she uses her songs to vent the role's most powerful emotions.
Lowe Taylor plays Marty, the only Pink Lady tough enough to stand up to Rizzo, as Rizzo's attractive, poised lieutenant, a softer version of her leader. Like her, Robert Pieranunzi's Kenickie is Danny's second, one of the show's raft of lovable losers - one standout of which is Danny Stiles' Joe Pesci-like Roger, the school's champion mooner.
Castellano's smoothly professional staging seamlessly meshes dance steps with stage action - a good example being the kinetic, athletic dancing and comedic business of the "Born to Hand Jive" dance contest scene. From a vocal or musical standpoint, there's not a weak link, making the production - like any good staging of "Grease" - a nostalgia trip for lovers of early rock.
Contact the writer: emarchesewriter@gmail.com
