The Grease ensemble at the Timber Lake Playhouse
I don’t think there’s another show that I’ve seen more productions of than Grease. High-school, community-theatre, professional-theatre, film, filmed-for-TV, now summer stock … . Had you asked me a week ago what I thought of Grease, I would have told you it’s boring and overdone. But the sixth time must be the charm, because Timber Lake Playhouse’s production was a freaking blast.
If you’ve somehow managed to totally avoid one of the most popular pieces of pop culture, here’s the setup. It’s 1958, and school is about to start again at Rydell High. We’re introduced to two cliques of horny teens (though that’s probably redundant): the Pink Ladies and the Greasers. The greasers are into cars, and the Pink Ladies are into … uh … wearing pink? For whatever reason, these two cliques spend most of their free time together. New girl Sandy (Kylie Tollefson) regales the Ladies with the story of a dreamboat she met over the summer, while the leader of the greasers, Danny (Jacob Anderson), does the gender-reversed same. Turns out, they’re talking about each other!
Shocker, I know. From there, it’s high-school drama and tensions that include, but are not limited to, peer pressure, finding a date to the dance, gang fights, car restoration, mild burglary, and even a criminally boring faculty member (the hilarious Brionna Trilling). Grease won't make you ponder life’s great questions. But that’s okay: It’s not trying to. All the show wants you to do is smile and laugh, and in those goals, it overwhelmingly succeeds.
Thursday’s performance was my first time at the gorgeous Timber Lake Playhouse. And wow, what a wonderful first impression, as director/choreographer Daniel Gold found a way to keep Grease fresh through his skill and supremely talented ensemble in which everyone brought their A-games. There are so many people in the cast (21!) that it’s hard for me to single anyone out without feeling like I’m giving other great work short shrift. But the huge cast size is a windfall, because when you get to those big ensemble numbers, watch out. Seeing so many actors perfectly execute the intricate choreo by Gold is jaw-dropping, and even beyond the consistently fun musical numbers, the cast does good work in the scenes in between. In particular, all of the greaser boys have a blast on stage, and it’s downright infectious.
Standouts in the cast include Anderson’s Danny Zucko, Jaime Happel as overly enthusiastic sidekick Patti Simcox, and Olivia de Jager as Rizzo, the show's only performer who gets something remotely dramatic to do or react to. Past productions I’ve seen have had one or two actors manage to steal the show, but here, everyone rises to the occasion and turns Gold's production into a fantastic ensemble piece.
Outside of the performances, Timber Lake's technical elements got the job done and then some. Dylan Carter's lighting design hit its marks, with flourishes for big musical moments and some fun varied effects throughout. Meanwhile, designer Claire Sabaj's costumes were a delight with all the requisite white tees, jeans, and leather jackets. Dan Danielowski’s scenic design was nimble, with the vast majority of set pieces being mounted on wheels for quick entrances and exits.
And I hope it’s not a spoiler for me to say that this production features an honest-to-goodness antique car that gets rolled out on stage and “driven” around. Too many times in the past have I seen car cut-outs, or a bunch of plywood assembled into the shape of a car. There’s something special, though, about seeing the shocks of a car buckle under the weight of a finely choreographed “Greased Lightnin’,” and hearing the satisfying thunk of a car door getting slammed on stage. Another highlight of the evening was a huge set piece that I can only describe as a Hair-Dryer-Throne, employed in the appropriately show-stopping “Beauty School Dropout,” and I would be remiss to not mention the incredible six-piece band that sounded like a full pit.
On this Grease's opening night, there were still a few technical hiccups that seemed to be getting ironed out in real-time. A few scenes featured lights that were too dim, while the body mics were a sore spot throughout the performance, with some of them not being on for parts of scenes, others being turned way too loud, and others too quiet. And getting really nitpicky, I found some of the choreography a little busy, with so many cool things happening all at once that it was impossible to take them all in. But these issues were hiccups, and did nothing to hamper the fun of the evening.
Given my over-familiarity with the material, part of me was dreading this assignment. But I am so happy to have been so wrong. For those in the Quad Cities area, it’s a bit of a drive up to Timber Lake. But for my mom and I, it was a drive well spent and a wonderful night out, and regardless of your proximity to the Timber Lake Playhouse, you shouldn't miss your chance to see a Grease that’s both familiar and refreshingly new.
Grease runs at the Timber Lake Playhouse (8215 Black Oak Road, Mt. Carroll IL) through June 11, and more information and tickets are available by calling (815)244-2035 and visiting TimberLakePlayhouse.org.
