With so many rival productions of “Grease” on the books — the Tony-nominated Broadway debut, the beloved film adaptation and, most recently, the Fox Live version — it’s a challenge to keep audiences from drawing comparisons to old favorites.
And perhaps many of them will during the production now showing at Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre on Indy’s north side. Still, the cast succeeds at bringing new energy to the iconic show while paying homage to the most beloved renditions of Sandy Dumbrowski and Danny Zuko’s high school romance.
50s-era “Grease” follows Sandy, a new girl in town, as she starts school at Rydell High School, where she discovers her summer fling attending school there. She’s elated to see Danny but quickly crushed; the sweet boy she remembers from those playful days on the beach has been seemingly replaced by a leather jacket-clad kid too cool to settle for just one girl.
Sarah Daniels as Sandy is the picture of innocence, exuding youthful sweetness in perfect contrast to the macho exterior Kaleb Lankford brings to Danny. (A fun side note gleaned from the program: when she isn’t acting, Daniels is a professional video game player — making a living live-streaming seven days a week.)
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Vocally, Daniels might leave you wanting a little more oomph. It was especially noticeable in the closing when the proper lady of the show’s first act shows up with teased hair and a leather jacket of her own in hopes of winning over her man. You want her to own that number, but she still comes across as sheepish. Perhaps it’s purposeful — since perhaps this done-up doll isn’t who Sandy really is.
Each of Sandy’s pals — dubbed the Pink Ladies — adds a distinct dynamic to the show. We have leader Rizzo (Casi Riegle), cool and just detached enough to have plausible deniability that she’s actually interested in anything happening around her; Frenchy (Jenny Reber), wide-eyed and always nodding along with delightful naïveté; Marty (Kristina Katrinelis), the class flirt; and straight-talking Jan (Adee David).
Reber as Frenchy stands out among them, nailing the dingy beauty school dropout act without milking what could easily be an overdone character role.
And just wait for Riegle’s “There are Worse Things I Could Do.” The number adds nuance to the character while showcasing Riegle’s impressive vocal talent.
Lankford, too, is occasionally overshadowed by talent from the T-Bird gang he rolls with — but what a nice problem to have. The voice that pops out of Andy Kear as Roger in “Mooning” is one of the show’s great surprises, and his chemistry with David is hands down the best match-up on the stage.
Simple but stylized choreography (Ron Morgan) keeps dancing clean and fun to watch, though a larger ensemble would have packed more punch for the group numbers.
Hats off as usual to the set designer (Michael Layton) for creative use of space, especially in the staging of Sandy’s entire bedroom on a small second-story platform.
Go see “Grease.” Even if the message (Not good enough for your man? Change!) would never fly in today’s world, you’ll nod along to every doo-wop song in spite of yourself.
“Grease” runs through March 31 at Beef & Boards.
