‘Grease’ rehearsals are underway

CHUCK ROGERS/The Acorn 'GREASE' IS THE WORD - Cast members listen to the guidance of director Mark Andrew Reyes, center, as they work out stage blocking for the production of "Grease" by Young Artists Ensemble. Cast members include Kellie Riganti, Adam Penman, Julia Smith, Alexis Burger, Steve Roche, Chris Nelson, Jeremiah Shoop, Sara Spiegleman among others. The play is presented at 7:30 p.m. July 21 through 29. Call (805) 381-2747 for details.

"Grease" will soon be the word for actors, singers, dancers and production crew preparing for opening night of Young Artists Ensemble’s annual teen summer musical.

But until that debut on Fri., July 21, it’s immersion in rehearsals for this group of teenagers, 13 to 19 years old.

More than 150 young men and women vied for about 25 roles, so "picking out the finalists was real tough, since a number of people were qualified for the same role," said Jeannine Marquie Reyes, assistant director and stage manager.

The nonprofit Young Artists (YAE) is well-known for tackling complicated projects and attracting cast members from Ventura to Chatsworth.

Scott Buchanan of Conejo Recreation and Park District, a YAE co-sponsor, says that "Grease" seemed a natural since the ensemble provides many parts and "we don’t do anything easy."

The man who selects the summer musical said that mounting "Grease" in such a short time means "a fair amount" of work to do and that "the group has a pretty intense schedule to keep so there’s no time to spare."

"Yes, we are going crazy and it’s going to be wonderful," said director Mark Andrew Reyes, who is married to Jeannine. "It’s such a fun play to do, and it’s YAE’s 20th annual summer musical."

The phrase "Grease is the word" hails from the landmark movie and is one of its many famous songs.

"Grease" was begun in the summer of 1971 as a five-hour amateur show, presented in a Chicago trolley barn. Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey co-wrote the book, music and lyrics, first performed at the Kingston Mines, a Chicago community theater.

History was etched when two New York producers saw the show, made the authors cut the show’s length and opened in the Eden Theatre on Valentine’s Day, 1972.

"Grease" is the perky parody of life in the ’50s. The tongue-in-check musical features the Burger Palace Boys, the Pink Ladies and other assorted inhabitants of Rydell High.

The 1978 movie produced by entrepreneur Robert Stigwood, refurbished the musical and added new material.

For Young Artists’ version, Jeannine, drama instructor at Newbury Park High School, said she’s in charge of discipline, paperwork, coordination and "making sure everyone knows where to be when."

The large cast also stars Sara Ford of Newbury Park as Sandy Dumbrowski, Danny Zuko’s innocent girlfriend; Julia Lees-Smith of Newbury Park as the worldly Betty Rizzo, a part so famous she’s known by her last name; and Michael Moshy, Camarillo as the duck-tailed Kenickie, Rizzo’s sweetheart.

There are many tangential issues to be solved such as props, costumes and stage sets. Then lighting, sound design and other technical ends, are compressed into pressure-filled days just prior to opening. Still, the lion’s share of adulation shines on those who hit the stage.

It’s no small feat, getting ready for that audience attention. Once selected, the singers and dancers met separately to get direction and be introduced to their steps or songs. Eventually, the two groups mingle for blocking (who moves where and how), then rehearsals. Then it’s rehearse, rehearse, rehearse.

Be prepared for creative license, some slightly daring for diehard "Grease" fans.

Jeremiah Shoop, who swaggered as Che in YAE’s "Evita" last year, will take on the Danny Zuko role, but not his dark hair. Shoop will show up sporting bleached-blond hair – his hair color at audition time.

The Teen Angel segment (played by Frankie Avalon in the movie) will be speeded up to "more like Little Richard," said Mark Reyes. And as a backdrop for the tune "Danny," sung at the drive-in movies, the team is making a movie of their own.

Musical director Dan Redfield has his own minefield of concerns, starting with some tunes that are as complicated to play as to sing. "Musicals have so much dramatic license and actors can vary a bit in how they sing, but I have to play the same way every single night. It’s tough."

Also, he must condition the singers to work with a musical director and band, not an easy task when some are not accustomed to such synchronicity, he explained. Another challenge for Redfield is figuring out a new faster arrangement for that slow-paced "Beauty School Dropout" song; it’s in a key a third higher than the original score.

The YAE is a cooperative effort of the Arts Council of the Conejo Valley, Gold Coast Theatre Conservatory, the city of Thousand Oaks, the Conejo Valley Unified School District and the Conejo Recreation and Park District.

"Grease" will run selected nights from July 21 through 29, 7:30 p.m. at the Sherr Forum, Civic Arts Plaza. For more information, call (805) 381-2747.