By MARIA SCIULLO
Pittsburgh Musical Theater’s Grease” was practically an interactive experience with its Byham Theater audience on opening weekend. And really, who could blame anyone for clapping and singing along?
It’s Grease! Like that flaming-red, hot rod car, it has only high gears.
From the moment clueless teacher Miss Lynch (a reliably hilarious Christine Laitta) admonishes everyone to “Sit up! Feet on the floor!” and give the cast a drumroll, please, we’re off and running.
Grease debuted on Broadway in 1972 when a “period” musical set in the late 1950s was more relatable than in 2024. To modern-day teens, this Rydell High—of the black motorcycle jackets, Pink Ladies, and dates at the drive-in movies—probably seems more like quaint sci-fi than your grandma’s junior year of school.
There’s also that problematic theme of changing to meet the needs of your boyfriend, but, OK, 1972 or 1959, it was all a different time, wasn’t it?
Grease has never been high art; it is light on narrative but heavy on the camp and the fun. Co-directors Danny Herman and Rocker Verastique embrace this with a dance-tastic production spotlighting a revolving cast of friends, frenemies, and the occasional entertaining geek (Gabriel Shoop as Eugene moves around the stage like a nervous little bird).
Maya Santiago as good-girl Sandy and Davis Wayne as bad-boy Danny are solid performers with impressive resumes, including On Your Feet’s national tour (Santiago) and Broadway’s Hadestown (Wayne).
The popular 1978 movie version of Grease with Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta was a bit more about its two stars, box office reality being what it was. Herman and Verastique give the others a better chance to shine, especially the hard-bitten Rizzo (Zanny Laird).
She’s a black widow in a Pink Lady world: dressed in reds and blacks, with a slash of red lipstick and dark hair. Her pain is palpable when she sings to Sandy, “There Are Worse Things I Could Do.”
Others sparkle in their solos, including Brecken Newton Farrell as Kenickie in a raucous ode from a man to his car, “Greased Lightning.” The souped-up vehicle, incidentally, is a wonderfully rendered prop amid scenic designer Tucker Topel‘s symmetric staging.
Credit Ben Johnson in the Elvis-inspired “Those Magic Changes” and Michael Zak for bringing the falsetto for “Mooning,” with Maddie Young in accompaniment.
The statuesque Mia Schmidtetter has fun showing off gifts from her long-distance boyfriend in “Freddie My Love.”
As the Teen Angel, David Toole shows lovely range as he instructs a very confused Frenchy (Emily Palmer), the “most mixed up non-delinquent on the block.” It’s the show’s funniest piece.
The biggest cheers from an especially cheerful audience went to Act I’s closer, “Born to Hand-Jive.” A high school dance should always have a big finish, and the choreography joyfully used everyone in the cast. The fiery Cha-Cha DiGregorio (Hailey Rose Kasky), Johnny Casino (Damon Oliver Jr.), DJ Vince Fontaine (Toole, again), goody girl Patty Simcox (Anya Epstein), and even Miss Lynch got into the wild act.
With musical direction by Francesca Tortorello, costume design by Jeremy Eiben, and that ducktail hair and makeup design by Christopher Patrick, Grease runs through March 17 at the Byham Theater.
Read Sharon Eberson’s feature story on Danny Herman and Rocker Verastique co-directing Grease here.
TiCKETS AND DETAILS
Info at PittsburghMusicals.com and tickets at https://pmt.culturaldistrict.org/production/89669/grease
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