MANSFIELD — It’s got groove, it’s got meaning, it’s “Grease the Musical.”
The time is this weekend and next. The place is the Renaissance Theatre. The motion comes from a local cast of approximately 30 actors bringing the cult classic to life.
One of the longest-running Broadway shows of all time, “Grease” tells the story of “greaser” Danny and the “good girl” he’s fallen in love with, Sandy. The musical is also one of the highest-grossing films of all time with a hilarious script, incredible dancing, and a host of hit songs.
Leading the cast in these iconic roles is 22-year-old Noah Sgambellone as Danny and 19-year-old Zuri Clarno as Sandy, in her Renaissance debut.
The role of Sandy has special significance to Clarno.
“It’s my mom’s 50th birthday this year, so this is my birthday present to her,” Clarno said. “She’s one of my biggest supporters, and she was the one who said go and pursue musical theatre in college.”
“I am not what people may envision Sandy to be, so I said to myself, I’m Zuri and this is Zuri as Sandy. I can bring my life experiences and my humanity to this character.”
— Zuri Clarno
Clarno said the character of Sandy is a strong, self-assured woman who holds Danny accountable. She wanted her performance to be fun and bubbly, but also stand her ground and be authentically who she is.
“I think a lot of people look to the end as this iconic moment of changing who you are to win the affections of someone else, but I feel like changing your clothes isn’t always changing who you are inside,” Clarno said.
“If you listen to the lyrics, she’s telling him, ‘You better shape up.’ Maybe it provided her with some confidence or helped her speak up in a way she hadn’t felt she was able to, but she’s still the same person.”
Sgambellone described Danny as a cocky high school “bad boy” who is the ultimate outcast.
“The whole ‘Grease’ thing is he’s not a jock, he’s not class president, he’s just the bad boy that everyone sees,” Sgambellone said.
“There are certain aspects of Danny that I think some people won’t see on stage,” he said. “Like, he’s an introvert but he’s not. He’s selfish and arrogant, but it’s for his own benefit, to feed his ego.”
Sgambellone played one of three “teen angel” roles in a production of “Grease” at Lexington High School in 2016. He said he has seen the movie multiple times and will do his best to emulate the iconic John Travolta role.
“I’m gonna try to do him justice,” he said. “Maybe not so much in the dancing part; I’m not necessarily a dancer, so that’s definitely the most intimidating part. But I’m gonna try my best.”
Erin Wolford of Richland Academy of the Arts joined the creative team for “Grease” for the first time as choreographer. She said it took the cast about a week to learn all the steps.
“Being the choreographer means you do a lot of research,” she said. “You watch the movie and look at past productions, and what they did and how well that worked.
“But in a show like Grease, because it’s so iconic and people know it, you can’t change a lot,” she added. “But it’s about finding the styles of dance that were popular at the time and putting those Easter eggs into the choreography, which is something I really enjoy.”
Co-dance captains for “Grease” are Jamie Mayfield and Zak Ramos, a 14-year-old incoming freshman at Ontario High School who said he was honored to take on the responsibility of dance captain.
“After Erin finished choreographing, Jamie and I whipped them into shape,” Ramos said with a laugh. “Our job is to clean it up and make it look pretty, like adding the sprinkles to the cupcake.”
Ramos, who also plays the role of “Doody,” said the dancing has been intense but “Grease” will rank high on his list of favorite shows he’s performed in at the Renaissance because of the dancing elements.
“Dance is the main thing I do, so it’s a lot of fun to be able to show off the dancing I’ve learned and get to do this with everybody that I enjoy hanging out with,” he said.
Rounding out the cast of talented performers are the “Burger Palace Boys”: Kenickie played by Noah Estep, Jacob Poiner as Roger, and Jimmy Lancaster as Sonny. The famous “Pink Ladies” are played by Leah Gesouras as Rizzo, Kristin Kaufman as Jan, Emily Bare as Marty, and Samantha Woodill as Frenchie.
Additional roles are played by Jamie Mayfield (Cha Cha), Grayden Pierce (Eugene), Haley Bedocs (Patty), Drew Traxler (Teen Angel), Scott Smith (Vince Fontaine), and Jacque Workman (Miss Lynch). The Ensemble features the talented Madison Kearney, Nate Cress, Kadelyn Becker, Lily Casey, Carter King, Alex Trolian, Milo McDonald, Drew Anderson, Jackie Metz, Andy Roblin, Wyatt Bechstein, Nate Roblin, and Tia Wightman.
“Grease” is directed by Michael Thomas, with music direction by Kelly Knowlton.
“Grease the Musical” premieres Saturday, July 29 at 7:30 p.m. with additional performances Sunday, July 30 at 2:30 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 5 at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, Aug. 6 at 2:30 p.m. at the Renaissance Theatre. Tickets can be purchased in person at the Renaissance box office, by phone at 419-522-2726, or by visiting the Ren’s website: rentickets.org.
“You’re going to get to immerse yourself in the world of ‘Grease’ — I mean, there’s a real car on stage, if that’s not enough to pull you into the theater,” Clarno said. “It’s just a really great time.”