Grease is still the word. Vail Mountain School production is a lighter-hearted version the movie
If You Go
What: Grease, Vail Mountain School middle school production
When: 6:30 p.m., Thursday May 3 through Saturday May
Where: Vail Mountain School, 3000 Booth Falls Road, Vail
Tickets: $15 each available at http://www.vms.edu/tickets or at the door
CAST
• Danny Zuko: Henry Falk
• Sandy Dumbrowski: Kate Henry
• Patty Simcox – Cloe Cunningham
• Cha-Cha DeGregorio – Kaitlin Keane
• Eugene Florczyk – Alejandro Meza
• Miss Lynch – Rachel Snyder
• Teen Angel – Beck Sapp
• Vince Fontaine – Drew Bolster
• Glamorous Radio Star- Stella Addis
• Johnny Casino – Brendan Archer
The Pink Ladies
o Rizzo: Skye Karsh
o Frenchy: Sarah Katherine Baumer
o Marty: Eva Thomas
o Jan: Camila Braun
The Burger Palace Boys
o Kenickie: Ryan Stockton
o Doody: Erik Jaerbyn
o Roger: Diego Braun
o Sonny: Max Frank
Johnny Casino’s Band
o Elliot Dyroff
o Emily Gish
o Alison McCalley
o Javi Braun
o Travis Mills
Letterman and Cheerleader Athletes
o Tegan Sharfstein/Travis Mills
o Connor Provencher/Hannah Serbinski
o Mack Dork/Wells Gillette
o Drew Bloster/Bella Shay
o Zoe Harrison/Beck Sapp
o Javi Braun/Stella Addis
• Greasers and their Gals
o Jake Stavisky/Emily Francoise
o Simon Chantler/Frankie Marston
o Ross Bradbury/Cate Counselman
o Ethan Tellor
Greasers’ Gals/Dancers
o Gracie Johnson
o Ellie Drescher
o Lily Thomas
o Jordan Biggers
o Kaitlin Keane
Greasers’ Gals
o Elliot Dyroff
o Emily Gish
o Alison McCalley
o Stella Addis
VAIL — “Grease is the word, but it’s not the movie,” says Vail Mountain School theater director Tony Bender.
The story remains the same, but some of the stronger themes have been removed so that audiences of all ages will enjoy the show.
“Grease” is set in 1959, but it’s a timeless tale of boy meets girl — Danny and Sandy — and, of course, the boy screws up. Danny is trying to fit into a mold he perceives as prescribed by society, but his bad boy peers don’t exactly set the bar high. And while the story is rife with messages espousing conformity and outdated gender stereotypes, the VMS middle schoolers are putting a bit of their own spin on the show.
‘Lighthearted and fun show’
“At face value, the moral of the story is to change yourself to satisfy society, but I wanted to focus on the message of standing your ground and being who you are,” Bender said. “We worked from the start on the emotion behind the character’s actions, and in particular on showing that the changes in one’s character needs to come from their own personal choice, not because someone else wants you too.”
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All the songs you know and love are included in the VMS production, and when all 41 middle schoolers take the stage and sing, it’s incredibly powerful. There’s the “Grease” theme song, “Beauty School Dropout,” “Greased Lightning,” “Sandy” and “Mooning.”
“This is very lighthearted and fun show,” Bender said. “I think the audience will be particularly blown away by the the numbers that feature the entire cast. It all comes together with a classic happy ending and life lessons about character that involve learning about oneself, society and the power of forgiveness.”