"Grease" at the Chanhassen Dinner Theatres

I'd been looking forward to the opening night of Grease at the Chanhassen Dinner Theatres for weeks, months even. It's always the best press night in town - free food and drinks, a welcoming and celebratory atmosphere, the bloggers are seated at a table together, and it's always a high quality production - and Grease is a classic and always fun show. But everything changed two days before opening when it was announced that Michael Brindisi, longtime Artistic Director and co-owner since 2010, died suddenly after a brief illness. It's a devastating loss for his family (including wife Michelle Barber, daughter Cat Brindisi, and son-in-law David Darrow, all of whom are talented and beloved members of the #TCTheater community in their own right), the people he's worked alongside of for decades, artists he's mentored and to whom he's given life-changing opportunities, and those of us in the larger community who know him mostly through his work. But it's eerily fitting that he died doing what he loved - directing a musical that meant so much to him, that started his career when he was cast in a tour in the 70s. And it also felt appropriate that while that grief and shock is fresh in all of our minds and hearts, we were able to gather in a room and be together, laugh together, cry together, celebrate his life and legacy together. Grease is scheduled to run through early October, followed by a remount of White Christmas which he directed just previous to this show, so whatever the future of Chanhassen Dinner Theatres looks like, his work will live on on that stage for the next year through these shows, and forever in the community that he created and the culture he fostered (which by all accounts is welcoming and respectful and supportive) and the artists he inspired. I can't imagine what it was like for the cast to go on and perform this show the night that they heard their leader was gone, and the next night, and the next. But rest assured that this cast is giving their whole hearts, souls, gorgeous voices, comedic chops, and hand-jiving bodies to this show to make their leader proud, and I know he is.

"Grease" at the Chanhassen Dinner Theatres

Friends, I am here to tell you that in the southwest suburb of Chanhassen, Grease is most definitely the word of the summer. And yes, it may be 20 degrees with below zero wind chills and late winter snowstorms in this upside down weather world we now live in, but Grease is here to take you into spring, through summer, and even into early fall with a super high energy, gorgeously cast, supremely fun show. There's nothing subtle about this production that goes for big performances, big high notes, and big laughs. Grease is a guaranteed crowd-pleasing seat-filler, but the Chan doesn't just rest on the easy nostalgia of the piece. Instead, they've put in every effort to make this production the best it can possibly be.* It's very likely to sell well for them for the next seven months (who doesn't love Grease?), and it deserves to because it's pretty much the most fun you can have in a theater.

"Grease" at Lyric Arts

I love the 1978 movie Grease - '50s nostalgia, an adorable pre-Scientology John Travolta, the golden voice of Olivia Newton-John, and an endlessly singable soundtrack. It's the perfect fun and mindless movie musical. But the 1971 stage musical on which it was based is something different. Wikipedia says "In its original production in Chicago, Grease was a raunchy, raw, aggressive, vulgar show. Subsequent productions sanitized it and toned it down." With their new production, Lyric Arts and director Christine Karki move closer to the original concept than the movie it ended up becoming. It's a little darker and less bubble gum look at teenagers in the '50s. The fantastic young cast breathes new life into these familiar characters to create a Grease that's still great summer fun, but with a little more weight.

On a set that looks more West Side Story than Grease, the lives of these teenagers unfold on the gritty streets of Chicago as they deal with relationships, friendships, pregnancy, gangs, and school dances. The cast is mostly made up of high school and college kids, or recent graduates, which brings some very believable teen angst and youthful energy to the show. Jordan Oxborough is a natural as Danny, with the slicked back dark hair, pretty falsetto, and charm that all the ladies fall for. With her performance as Sandy, Megan Fischer proves that little Annie is all grown up. She's sweet and naive but with an underlying feistiness. And the two of them sound gorgeous together on the Danny/Sandy duets (just don't expect to hear "You're the One That I Want," written for the movie). Jill Iverson is a standout as Rizzo - tough on the outside and tender on the inside - and her beautifully nuanced rendition of "There are Worse Things I Could Do" is a definite highlight (she's excelled at playing misunderstood teens before). As the mooning Roger and constantly eating Jan, Michael Conroy and Christine Walth are adorable and funny. And Lucas John Beach sings "Beauty School Dropout" like an angel.

oh, those summer nights! (photo by Mike Traynor)

Of course Grease isn't Grease without the car called Greased Lightning, and this version is a pretty cute little car that actually drives around the stage and threatens to upstage the actors. The cast makes good use of the multi-level set (with the onstage band sitting upstairs), hanging off the stairs and climbing around (set by Brian J. Proball). Samantha Kuhn Staneart's '50s period costumes are, like the rest of the production, less pretty and more realistic, expressing the distinct personality of each character.

The ending of the movie has always bothered me, in which Sandy changes who she is in order to "win" Danny. But this feels less like that and more like a young woman who's growing up and trying to figure out who she is and what she wants. It's a more believable transition.

While it doesn't top last year's summer hit RENT (nothing ever could in this RENThead's opinion), Grease is another fun and edgy summer musical at Lyric Arts Main Street Stage in Anoka. Due to popular demand, it has been extended through August 9 but the additional shows will sell out fast if they haven't already, so make plans soon.