'Grease' is the Word for Dakota Spring Musical

If the T-Birds and Pink Ladies go together like ramma lamma lamma ka dinga da dinga dong, then the cast of ’s production of Grease does too.

“The leads are all best friends in real life and we get to play best friends on stage,” said senior Dakota Ulrich (Sandy Dumbrowski). “Every year for the musical, everyone’s relationship gets so much stronger and it just progresses into this beautiful flower of friendship.”

And it is the support of that friendship upon which both Ulrich and her leading man, senior Eric Korth (Danny Zuko), rely as they tackle their first leading roles.

“I was really excited to get (a leading role). I didn’t think I would get one,” Korth said. “I had hoped. It was sort of surreal, but at the same time you have to remember that you’re all one production and no one part is more important than the other.”

The efforts of all cast and crew will come to fruition the second weekend in February, when Grease: The Musical hits the Dakota stage Feb. 9-11 at 7 p.m.

“The kids have worked very hard and if you want to be entertained, it’s about two hours of great entertainment,” said Kelly Schmidt, director, choreographer and Dakota teacher. “There’s lots of high-energy dancing, great songs that we all know and love, and the kids have put in such a great amount of time to perfect their characters.”

Characters like the nerdy Eugene, brought to life by sophomore Norris Thompson, and featuring the thick-rimmed glasses and nasal voice reminiscent of TV geek legend Steve Urkel. 

“(Being a character) becomes a part of your life and helps you get away from the problems of your real life,” said Thompson, who also plays Teen Angel. “Singing helps you spread out and tell the whole world what you want to say.”

But the story isn’t told through song alone.

“I challenge them with (choreography) all the time,” Schmidt said. “I make sure that I don’t dumb anything down. I have really high expectations of them and they’re doing really well. They’re very dedicated and it’s inspiring.”

From full-cast numbers like “Born to Hand Jive” and “We Go Together,” to audience favorites such as “Greased Lightning,” Dakota’s production combines song and dance from beginning to end.

A live rock band will provide the music and audiences will recognize songs from both the movie and musical.

“We got the rights to use songs from the movie that aren’t originally in the Broadway production and I really like that aspect of the production,” Schmidt said. “There are a few songs in the musical version that you probably won’t recognize and you are expecting to see the ones you remember from the movie, so I feel it’s important to make sure the audience has that experience, too.”

Tickets for all performances are $10 and can be purchased at the door or online at http://dakotamusical.com.

Check out a YouTube trailer of Dakota's production here.