It occurred to me that while having a dual cast is great on paper, the resultant doubling of all duties associated with producing a successful production is a nightmare. And Christy Burbank–her Rizzo is so prickly yet her rendition of "There Are Worse Things I Could Do" is ultimately heartbreaking. The actor who plays Doody is a prime example: Xavier Visage has a wonderful voice, put to very good use on stage. We are very fortunate to have such an abundance of natural abilities available to entertain us. Excellent job, Lindsey, and well done everyone.īeing so familiar with the music makes for an enjoyable evening at almost any event, but it is the talent of the individual vocalists that make so much of this evening extra special. You would never guess she was new to the team. Playing Frenchie in the Danny cast, she stepped in (due to illness of the original actor) to being Frenchie in the Sandy cast. However, I must give a shout out to Lindsey Meek. It's difficult to believe there are only 15 people in the entire cast, all of whom deserve a mention. The testosterone-filled rendition of "Greased Lightening" (how did I not know all these years that it wasn't actually about the car?) performed atop an actual 1953 Studebaker Champion, was balanced later by Sandy's poignant "Hopelessly Devoted to You" solo. This is the first musical here in more than two years, and the amount of talent, both raw and refined, is astounding. It really is a lovely story, and so well told on Albuquerque Little Theatre's stage. Interestingly, Asbury and Krupiak were cast as Sandy and Danny seven years ago in another production of Grease and have been "going steady" ever since. When he realizes the new girl in class is "his" Sandy, and she in turn sees the persona he wears when around his peers, it takes patience and more than a couple of misunderstandings, but it all works out the end.
The boy, Danny, played by Kelvin Krupiak, continues with his life, going back to high school and hanging out with his friends. This holiday romance ends when the girl, Sandy (Virginia Asbury), must go home to another state. Boy meets girl during the summer vacation and, as their best selves, fall for each other. Lando Ruiz does yet another stellar job in the role of Kenickie–the multi-talented actor is as at ease on stage as he is designing lighting, sound, and taking care of myriad other theatrical responsibilities. Sandy is not as sweet, Danny is not as uncivilized, and as for Kenickie, well, there's only so much one can do with Kenickie, the big lovable dope and least complicated of them all. The Burger Palace Boys aren't as bad as they could have been, and The Pink Ladies, though still edgy, are not nearly as merciless as they could be. This Grease is a trip down memory lane, but with softer edges. Almost everyone in the cast was born after 1978, yet Grease continues to span generations.
Naming them, very appropriately, "The Danny Cast" and "The Sandy Cast," and staging each on alternate weeks, it is the "Sandy Cast" which I reviewed on opening night.Īs the opening titular number brought the entire troupe onstage, sudden nostalgia surprised me, and I felt a twinge of sadness at the passage of time.
Such was the response to the audition announcement, the quality and talent so high, that he bravely elected to field two entirely separate casts for this production.
#Albuquerque little theatre movie#
It didn't matter the actors were in their mid to late twenties (Newton-John was 28 when the movie was filmed) or that it was set sometime in the 1950s, the Grease movie was an instant success, and is, as Brian Clifton, director of this production of the original stage musical now at Albuquerque Little Theatre, states in his thoughtful program note, iconic, instantly recognizable, influencing millions of teenagers for more than four decades.Īs always COVID-aware, Clifton resolved to have a small cast, opting to keep only the main players for this production. All the girls were wild for John Travolta, the boys likewise for Olivia Newton-John. Rydell High represented the quintessential American high school, at least to everyone I knew in Ireland. Barely in my teens when it hit the big screen, the influence it had on me was far overshadowed by the impact it had on those just a few years older and further along nature's foreordained path. The film version of Grease burst into our lives in 1978, an amazing 44 years ago.
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