Brooks Secondary School students are currently hard at work rehearsing for their upcoming production of what may be the most enduring high school musical of all time. Grease, set in the fictional world of 1959 Rydell High, transports audiences back to the time of Pink Ladies, sock hops, fast cars and upbeat, catchy tunes.
“It’s a romanticized callback to the 1950s,” said Jaxyn Oele, grade 12, who plays lead character Danny.
Although times have changed, the themes of love, rebellion and belonging are relatable to any teenager, he added.
“Kids can totally still relate to the idea of my character,” he said. “He has feelings for this girl, and he has a separate identity when he’s with her. He can be the caring, nice kid that he is, but when he’s around his friends he has to build up this aura of being tougher and more nonchalant. That kind of collides when she comes to his school.”
Lauren Huguet, grade 10, plays Sandy. She agreed that the ideas explored in the play are timeless.
“Peer pressure is a big thing that could relate between now and then,” she said. “It relates to finally finding who you are in the midst of everyone telling you who you are.”
Michael Munday plays the characters of Teen Angel and Sonny Latierri. He said the chance to perform in such an iconic musical is a treat.
“I like Grease because it’s a really upbeat, happy play,” said Munday. “It’s a lot of fun with all the music.”
A cast of 36 student performers and stage crew join Brooks’ new theatre arts teacher Jennifer Didcott, who directs and produces the show.
“It’s a student and community effort to bring this classic musical to the stage,” she said.
This includes music director Roy Carson, choreographer Sydney Spenst and costumes by Loretta Cameron.
“She has pulled together an amazing wardrobe for our cast, complete with brightly coloured poodle skirts and leather jackets,” added Didcott.“Suzanne Barclay, Leah Babcock and their team of students at VIU are working on creating vintage hairstyles worthy of James Dean and Annette Funicello.”
Grease by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey first graced the stage in 1971, and this year is the 40th anniversary of the film that starred John Travolta and Olivia Newton John.
“I found the film version glossed over the deeper relationships of the characters that are beautifully written in the original musical,” added Didcott. “I look forward to sharing these discoveries with the next generation of Grease fans.”
Didcott said she believes the popularity of the play has endured because the story resonates with people of every age.
“We all remember our first love, our gang of best friends and the struggle to define our identity,” she said. “For many of us these themes are a distant memory; for the youth of our community it’s happening now. I’ve always wanted to produce Grease and am so thrilled to work with such a dedicated and talented cast and crew of students.”
Showtime is 7 pm, Thursday to Saturday, December 13 to 15. General seating tickets are $10 and available at the Brooks office, 5400 Marine Avenue, or at the door.
Doors open at 6:15 pm.
