Huntsville High School presents ambitious production at the Algonquin Theatre Feb. 13 to 16

Grease takes the Algonquin Theatre stage on Wednesday, Feb. 13 at 7:30 p.m. and runs to Saturday, Feb. 16.

This is an ambitious project for HHS. With a cast of some 40 students and an eight-piece band, this will be the first musical undertaken by the school.

“We’ve done small things before, but this is the first time we have done a full-scale production,” said the show’s producer Ian McTavish.

The idea to produce a musical was floated last spring, said McTavish.

“Jen Creasor (French teacher)  came and talked to me about the need to put on a play, so we organized a meeting of staff to see if there was any interest.”

There was. “We had incredible support from the teaching staff,” McTavish said. “The biggest thing is how many parts of the school are involved. The school body department is producing the Grease Lightning car, the tech design and construction class are building the sets and the art classes are painting the backdrops and doing the stage design. Twenty teachers have been involved in some way.”

The next step was to choose a production. “We looked at a lot of plays and we chose Grease because it is recognizable, people love the music, it features teenagers and it’s high energy and a lot of fun,” said McTavish.

Auditions were held in September and rehearsals got underway in October. The cast rehearses in the school cafeteria from 6:30 to 9:30 one evening a week.

The cost of staging a show such as Grease is sizeable, given the royalties (in this instance $6,000) that have to be paid.

“Samuel French are the publishers who we pay royalties to, and from them we get the scripts, the music and the rights to do the show,” McTavish explained.

HHS vice principal Rosemary Mantha is co-ordinating all the costumes. “We are getting the costumes donated. People go to Toronto and pick  things up for us.”

The call for costumes did create one amusing moment for McTavish. “Derek Shelly, who is the Trinity United Church minister, called me up to say he had a poodle skirt hanging in his closet that we could use. It turned out that his daughter was in Grease in her high school and he hasn’t had much of an opportunity to wear it.”

While there are more than enough leather jackets to go around, other 50s-style clothing would be gratefully accepted. Anyone who is willing to donate should call Mantha at the school, 789-5594.

HHS vice-principal Allison Turnbull is dealing with all other donations. Cash donations to help offset production costs would also be very much appreciated for which a tax receipt can be issued. She too can be reached through the high school.

The show is being directed by Creasor and drama teacher Kim Russell-Brooks. Musical director and conductor is music teacher Louis Tusz, who is being assisted by Huntsville Youth Choir director Sherisse Stevens.

For many of the students having a part in a musical is a first-time experience. Some are finding they have hidden talents. One such student is Jae Won Cheong, who plays Teen Angel.

“He came here three years ago in Grade 10 as an exchange student and decided to finish high school here and then go to university in the States,” said McTavish. “He is from South Korea and heads home every summer.”

Won Cheong has a great voice and comes by it honestly. His mother is a professional opera singer, both sisters are opera singers and his dad plays the flute.

Most people are familiar with the Grease storyline. It’s 1959 and Rydell High School is filled with rebellious, thrill-loving students. Sandy Dumbrowski   (Taryn Christie)  is the new girl in school. It turns out that she and the leader of the Burger Palace Boys gang, Danny Zuko, (Ryan Robinson-Hatton) have had a brief love affair the summer before. While Sandy stresses to her new classmates the emotional attachment she and Danny had, Danny stresses the physical aspects of their relationship. As the show goes on, the students at Rydell have to deal with love, gang violence, teen pregnancy, and friendship.   

Memorable songs from Grease include Summer Nights, Beauty School Drop-out, Hopelessly Devoted To You, Sandy, Look At Me I’m Sandra Dee  and Greased Lightnin.’

Tickets for Grease are $15 and available  at the Algonquin Theatre box office on Main Street, by calling 789-4975, or online at www.algonquintheatre.ca.