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PHOTO BY KAT DOLLARHIDE, COURTESY OF TACOMA MUSICAL PLAYHOUSE

MOMENT OF METAMORPHOSIS. Haley Meier (center) emerges as a “Pink Lady” in the climactic moment of TMP’s “Grease. ” Matt Posner (left) plays Danny and Megan Fox (right) plays Jan in the musical that runs through Aug. 3.

Tacoma Musical Playhouse performs slick version of ‘Grease’

By Dave R. Davison

If you think that you know all about the 1972 Broadway musical “Grease” because you saw the 1978 movie version starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton John, think again. Tacoma Musical Playhouse (TMP) is currently running a production of “Grease” that features a flawless and talented cast that is guaranteed to rekindle one’s appreciation of the original musical.

The musical tribute to the 50s is set in the year 1959 at a fictional school called Rydell High. The musical is a love story between Danny (Matt Posner) and Sandy (Haley Meier). The two met during the summer at the beach – a magical place where the two were free of the constraints of high school identity and peer pressure.

When the couple meet again in high school, however, everything has changed. Danny, a leader of a rebellious group of young men called “greasers,” is now aloof towards Sandy in front of his friends. Sandy, meanwhile, seems to be struggling to find an identity of her own and becomes caught between the cheerleaders and the “Pink Ladies”– the latter being the female counterparts of the “greasers.”

The loving couple, Danny and Sandy, must navigate a complex web of the teen politics of identity and peer pressure before they can at last come together again.

TMP’s production of “Grease” is blessed with a supremely gifted cast – all of whom put in remarkably strong performances.

Meier, as Sandy, is possessed of a honey-bright and marvelously melodic voice. Demure and cute throughout most of the production, she comes onto the stage as a stunningly beautiful presence when she has finally made the metamorphosis to princess of the “Pink Ladies” (a fitting counterpart of Danny, prince of the “greasers”).

Posner, as Danny, delivers a powerful performance – drawing upon an impressive vocal range in such numbers as “Alone at the Drive-In Movie.”

Each of the main cast members get at least one feature performance and there is not a dud in the lot. Katie Peters as Marty, Kirsten Helland as Rizzo and Patrick Harvey as Doody are particularly good in their moments, as are Megan Fox as Jan and Jon Huntsman as Roger. The latter pair does a charming duet in “Mooning.”

As Frenchie’s “Teen Angel,” Sam Pettit performs “Beauty School Drop-out” with humorous virtuosity in a near show-stealer of a moment. He expertly runs the gamut of ‘50s era vocal styles.

The costumes, set and lighting are wonderfully colorful and gaudy. During the aforementioned “Beauty School Drop-out,” an ensemble of chorus-singing angels in orange-pink beehive wigs come cascading down the two staircases that frame the centerpiece of the stage. Several of the numbers are accompanied by back-up singers that make humorous appearances stepping out of lockers or peeking suddenly out from the shower curtains in a bathroom girl-party scene.

TMP’s “Grease” is a rollicking success. Music lovers would be well advised to forget that they ever saw the Hollywood version of “Grease” and go to TMP to see this spirited musical anew.

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