The musical — running through July 27 — features several songs from the acclaimed 1978 film. Theatregoers can expect to hear “Sandy,” “Hopelessly Devoted to You,” “You’re the One That I Want” and “Grease,” which were all written for the film that starred John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John and broke all box-office records of its time.
About adding the film songs to the musical’s score, Paper Mill associate producer Roy Miller recently said, “When we decided to produce the show, we wanted to make an event of it and offer our audiences something new and exciting. With the motion picture growing in popularity since its release in 1978, it seemed an obvious choice to incorporate these hit songs into our production.” This is also a family-friendly Grease; no four-letter words will be heard in the production.
Directed by Mark S. Hoebee and choreographed by Jeff Amsden, the cast of Grease includes Jennifer Hope Wills as Sandy, Andy Karl as Danny, Leslie Kritzer as Rizzo, Justin Bohon as Doody, John Jeffrey Martin as Kenicke with Enrique Acevedo (Johnny Casino), Steven Bogard (Teen Angel/Vince Fonatine), Clyde Alves (Sonny), Jordan Ballard (Marty), Colin Cunliffe (Mickey), Brenda Cummings (Miss Lynch), Jenn Goodson (Dot), Becky Gulsvig (Patty Simcox), Stacey Harris (Cha Cha), Benjie Randall (Roger), Heather Jane Rolff (Jan), Sarah Stiles (Frenchy) and Noah Weisberg (Eugene).
The creative team comprises Greg Zane (assistant director), Vickie Carter (music director), James Fouchard (set design), Gregory A. Poplyk (costume design), F. Mitchell Dana (lighting design), Duncan Robert Edwards and David F. Shapiro (sound design), Jim Belcher (hair), Kevin Frederick (production stage manager) and Alison Franck (casting director).
Featuring a book and score by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey, Grease features such tunes as “We Go Together,” “Summer Nights,” “Greased Lightning,” “Look at Me, I’m Sandra Dee,” “Beauty School Dropout” and “There Are Worse Things I Could Do.” Tickets for the Paper Mill Grease! — priced between $30 and $62 — are now on sale by calling (973) 376-4343. Paper Mill: State Theatre of New Jersey is located on Brookside Drive in Millburn, NJ. For more information, go to www.papermill.org.
