Grease at SVHS this Weekend

students will take a trip back to the 50s this weekend as they stage the popular musical “Grease.”

The production is the school drama department’s spring musical and boasts a cast of 47and a crew of over 25, one of the largest ever to put on a show at the school.

“This is one of the largest casts I have ever directed and it has been a challenge, but a really good challenge,” drama teacher Naomi Rollins said. “It’s a sight to see all of the kids up there singing and dancing their hearts out. It’s awesome and makes for a really good show.”

Rollins, who is a first-year drama teacher and is directing on her own for the first time after assisting in the past, said it was her idea to stage  “Grease” but the students jumped on board really quickly.

“’Grease’ was always my favorite musical when I was a kid so I really wanted to do it when I began as director,” Rollins said. “I thought it would be fun and the kids would really enjoy it, and I got such a great response from them when I told them. I also thought it would be a great draw for the community. It is such a fun show.”

Students auditioned for the show at the beginning of February and have been rehearsing four to five days a week since then to get the show ready for opening night. They also had three weekends spent solely on building
the set that Rollins said could not have been completed without the help of
many of the students’ parents, who also showed up to build.

“It’s a pretty intricate set with a lot of changes,” Rollins said. “It’s pretty rocking.”

Rollins said that the show also came together with the help of musical director Arindam Krishna Daf and choreographer Shannon Marie Kerr.

“The three of us working together have been a real force,” Rollins said. “I couldn’t have done the directing without them. It’s been a real team effort.”

“Grease” written in 1971 by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey is set at fictional Rydell High School in 1959 and is a coming of age story about a group of “Greaser” and “Pink Ladies.” As the group sings and dances its way through the ups and downs of high school life, head greaser Danny Zuko (played by Zach Gorski) and good-girl transfer student Sandy Dumbrowski (played by Blaire Ward) try to relive a summer romance.

The songs, including favorites “Greased Lightnin,’” “Summer Nights,” “Born to Hand Jive,” and “We Go Together,” will have most people dancing in their seats as they recall the songs that helped define a generation.

“The dance numbers and the music is all what everybody is used to with ‘Grease,’” Rollins said. “It’s 50s, rock and roll and high energy. The songs are timeless ones that you never get tired of listening to. It’s awesome nostalgia.”

The Scotts Valley High School production of “Grease” runs through May 6. Shows are Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. in the Student Union, 555 Glenwood Dr. Tickets are $12 general admission and $10 students, and are available at the door or online at www.showtix4u.com.