Culver City High School’s AVPA School of Theater presents Grease as their spring musical! Shows will run the second and third weekends of March (the 6-9 and 13-15) with open dress rehearsals, which any CCHS students can attend for free, the Wednesdays before those weekends, all in the Robert Frost Auditorium.
Grease opened on Broadway in 1972, but is most known for its 1978 film adaptation, starring Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta. It’s set in the 1950s (think poodle skirts and leather jackets) and centers around the lives of high-schoolers Sandy and Danny. Sandy is your classic good girl and Danny your classic bad boy. They fall in love one summer, but when Sandy transfers to Danny’s high school in the fall, their differences put their relationship to the test.
If you’ve ever seen the movie, you might know that, to put it mildly, some aspects of the plot haven’t aged well. Instances of sexual harassment and sexual coercion aren’t addressed as problematic and are at some points brushed off as comedy. Director Lee Hanson assures that she and the cast at CCHS have made adjustments and come up with some creative solutions to address these issues.
For Hanson, the show is more about the art of the time period: the 50s fashion (especially the iconic Pink Ladies) and the rock-n-roll song and dance numbers. In what is currently a difficult time in the United States, she hopes the fun, drama-filled world of the show provides an escape to the audience and the cast. Both the cast and crew are working hard to make sure the show gets done. The cast will, leading up to the show, have rehearsals for up to 20 hours every week. The crew, which is all students with the help of some adult mentors, has to put together all the sets, costumes, and lighting. Sophomore Serena Fisch, who is the student lead on costumes, has to sew one of the dresses herself! The pit orchestra for the show will also be live, consisting of students from the AVPA School of Music.
But not everything is students. There will also be surprise teacher cameos by different CCHS and CCUSD staff members at each show! Although we can’t reveal yet exactly who those teachers are, that is definitely something to look forward to.
Grease will star seniors Natalie Cayetano and Sara Herscovitz as Sandy Dumbrowski in two different casts and senior Isaiah Griffin as Danny Zuko for both. All three had roles in last year’s spring musical, Mamma Mia!, which was nominated for the Jerry Herman awards. These awards honor exceptional musical theater productions by high schools in the LA area. CCHS was nominated in particular for Best Musical Staging & Choreography and Cayetano for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Sophie Sheridan. Grease will also be up for some awards.
Grease promises to be an exciting, entertaining production. Shows are Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7 and Sundays at 2. Tickets will go on sale soon, so keep checking avpa.org to get yours!
