Actors Creating Theatre’s fourth musical on Feb 8 and 9!
Why this car is automatic. It’s systematic. It’s hydromatic. Why it’s greased lightning!
Go Greased Lightning! Actors Creating Theatre return to Schaeffer Auditorium for their next musical, the beloved classic, “Grease.”
From left to right: Cooper Smith as Sonny, Mikala Hardie as Marty, Joe Graves as Doodie, Corrine Calderbank as Frenchie, Max Krug as Danny, Abby Greco as Sandy, Meghan Artley as Rizzo, Sam Myers as Kenickie, Hannah Groff as Jan and Tyler Shull as Roger
The 1972 musical that introduced the world to some of our favorite songs for nearly half a century, “Grease” tells the story of sweet, naïve Sandy Dumbrowski and Greaser, Danny Zuko. These two have a brief love affair over the summer, thinking they may never see each other again. However, Sandy—unable to get into a Catholic school on a technicality—finds herself at Rydell High School, where her summer fling also attends.
“Grease” takes place in the 50s with all our character high schoolers, and shows us a very cool, hot shot group of teens that all have crushes on one another. Our leads find themselves in a complicated relationship, as Sandy is very religious and reserved while Danny is more rebellious and outgoing.
As ACT’s fourth musical on campus, and with it being “Grease” of all things, it takes some serious skill to put on. So, when club Parliamentarian Zach Wynn, junior, and Secretary Samuel Brown, sophomore, took on the roles as director and assistant director, respectfully, they were in for a treat.
Wynn had roles in “Spring Awakening” and “Legally Blonde,” and last year was the assistant director of “Importance of Being Earnest,” 2018’s Cabaret as choreographer and stage manager for Almost, Maine. He described the transition from these roles as a member of the cast or team to the director as being a culture shock.
“The thing a lot of people don’t really understand about a director that I understand because of my major, you get to know all the roles more,” Wynn said. “With directors, they’re there to make sure everything runs smoothly; they can’t nitpick on every little detail. They designate other people to be in charge of those things for them, so it was hard to switch roles because now I have to keep track of everything and one.”
The Greasers pictured at Pop’s Malt Shoppe
Samuel Brown, a previous cabaret assistant music director, was confident they’re working very hard “Going from a low commitment show to the musical transition, we’re all doing our best. This being all of our first musical directing experience, I think we’re doing what we consider our best, and we’re pretty proud so far.”
As a first this year, a music director was hired. The previous shows were both directed by Sarah Horvath, who also taught the music. With the directors wanting more time to work with the blocking and perfecting characters, sophomore Emily Belouin was chosen. Belouin was part of nearly every show last year, including costumes and stage crew for “Importance of Being Earnest,” a Greek Chorus member and the judge in “Legally Blonde,” and Sandrine and Marci in “Almost, Maine.”
“It’s a lot of work because so much goes into making a musical,” said Belouin. “It’s constant trial and error, and a learning curve for everyone involved since every cast and show are different. But it’s been a lot of fun and the cast is so hardworking and dedicated, and that helps egregiously.”
The team even mentioned how well the cast was doing at adding in jokes, making moments more relatable. Sam Myers as Kenickie finds the absolute best ad-libs that make the crew and cast laugh so hard they sometimes have to take a pause.
There is a great team working on this show, and it shows in the hard work the cast is putting in. Joe Graves as Doodie and Corrine Calderbank as Frenchie are the cutest pair, while Hannah Groff and Tyler Shull as Jan and Roger, respectively, are dynamic during their duet and the blossoming of their relationship, especially when Shull whisks her offstage on his back. The opening notes to Shull and Groff’s “Mooning” makes your heart melt, falling in love with his voice immediately.
Even Mikala Hardie as the goofy, love-driven Marty and Cooper Smith as the lonely Sonny are absolutely adorable and have the best chemistry on stage.
The supporting leads, Meghan Artley as Pink Lady Rizzo and Sam Myers as Kenickie show you how much they truly care and how often they fight one another.
The Pink Ladies pictured at Pop’s Malt Shoppe
Abby Greco and Max Krug, longtime theatre nerds and actors are tasked with the biggest parts: Sandy and Danny, respectively.
Krug, a senior, having played Warner in “Legally Blonde,” and East, Chad, and Daniel in “Almost, Maine” last year finds it pretty incredible to play Danny his last ACT musical. “It’s been a ton of work, energy, and stress but as we come to the final couple of weeks, getting to see it come together, seeing all the hard work cast and crew are putting in, hell yes is this all worth it.”
Greco, a junior, has so many accolades for theatre before college, it’s hard to keep track. In ACT, she was on stage crew for “Spring Awakening,” director for her freshman year cabaret, assistant director for “Legally Blonde,” part of the ensemble for her sophomore year cabaret, and recently played the youngest Stockton sister, Amy, in “Of Good Stock” this past fall. So, getting Sandy for “Grease?” An absolute dream come true.
“It’s incredibly nerve-racking,” Greco mused. “I’ve wanted to be this role since I was five, so I’m putting a lot of pressure on myself because it means so much to me. I want to do it justice. It’s been really fun getting to experience it for the first time and put my own spin on such a classic role.”
You can see it in her eyes as she performs her solos, especially the reprise to “Look at Me, I’m Sandra Dee.” As Greco belts the last notes, you’ll be guaranteed to stand with thunderous applause for her outstanding performance.
Abby Greco and Max Krug as Sandy and Danny
Each character is killing it, the ensemble adding in so much energy you feel as though you’ll burst. Hardie’s “Freddy My Love” is relatable and makes you swoon to her voice, Cali Heath’s Patty Simcox impression really makes you hate her and even Sarah Horvath’s interpretation of Miss Lynch, the hardcore English teacher, gets a hard laugh with each of her lines.
“Grease is a really big open-ended sentence like Samuel said, it’s what you make of it. Our cast has done an incredible job characterizing, making jokes where there aren’t any and interacting as their characters. That’s what makes this version of Grease so good, and why it’s our favorite production of Grease,” Belouin added.
The show is Feb. 8 and 9 at 7 p.m., tickets are $10 for students and $12 for general admission. Tickets can be purchased at the MSU Information Desk or online with KU Presents. Make sure to tease your hair, wear your shiny red shoes and get ready for “Grease.”
