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Friday, August 15, 2014

8/15/14: Grease is the Word at the North Shore Music Theatre

There are some movies that I have fond memories of as a kid and Grease is one of them.  When I heard it was coming to the North Shore Music Theatre (NSMT) I was very excited with the songs going through my head.  We were able to go see it on opening night and took the kids.
 All show photos by Paul Lyden provided by the North Shore Music Theatre
I thought it was a fantastic show and so well done.  The dancing, the singing and acting were all wonderful and really made me feel immersed in Rydell High!  I really liked the two leads Ephie Aardema (Sandy) and Matthew Ragas (Danny).  Let's face it Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta are some big shoes to fill.  These two did an awesome job with the parts and had fantastic voices.
There is a warning on the show saying that there is Crude humor and that children four and under were not allowed.  I knew that my kids had seen most of the movie and I was okay taking them.  I did see many children there donning leather jackets that had T-Birds on the back complete with slicked back hair.  My opinion on bringing children to the show is that it depends on what the parents feel comfortable with.  Evan and Lauren are 9 and 7 respectively and honestly most of the terms and references they did not pick up.  Think about the song "Greased Lightning".  I really wasn't aware of the lyrics until I was sitting next to my child.  One line specifically "You know that ain't no shit, we'll be getting lots of tit in Grease Lightning" and that she is a "pussy wagon".  
Honestly though my kids were more just looking at the dancing and the car and not picking up on the words.  There is also a reference to Rizzo getting her friend.  Again not sure the kids picked up on this.  Overall I was not overly uncomfortable with any of it for my kids to watch.  It was still done very tastefully.
Gerianne Perez played Rizzo and I really liked her a lot.  She embodied the role and her voice was booming and fantastic for songs like "There Are Worse Things I Could Do".
Lilly Tobin played Frenchy and had the perfect squeaky voice for the role.  I love Beauty School Dropout.  Here she is with Tony Lawson who played Teen Angel.
The guys and ladies were awesome.  They really embodied the characters and even the inflections in their voices were perfect.

They have already added 2 shows due to the popularity.  The show runs until August 24th so get your tickets now.   Kids get 50% tickets on August 15th and 22nd.  Here is a video preview of the show:  

More About the Show:

Get out your leather jackets, pull on your bobby socks and take a trip to the fabulous fifties with the original rock ‘n roll high school musical, GREASE! Bad boy Danny and good girl Sandy meet and fall in love in this all-new production featuring the irresistible songs from the Broadway show and hit movie! So get ready to hand-jive the night away with this ‘electrifyin,’ high-energy musical that will make you want to stand up and shout, “A-wop-bop-a-loo-bop A-wop-bam-boom!” North Shore Music Theatre’s production of GREASE will be led by Ephie Aardema as Sandy Dombrowski, Matthew Ragas as Danny Zuko, Gerianne Perez as Betty Rizzo and Miguel Jarquin-Moreland as Kenickie. 
GREASE is produced for North Shore Music Theatre by Bill Hanney (Owner/Producer), Tony Parise (Interim Artistic Director), and Beth Vasta (Associate Producer). Tickets for the GREASE are priced from $50 - $75. For tickets and information call (978) 232-7200, visit www.nsmt.org, or visit the box office in person at 62 Dunham Rd., Beverly, MA. The 2014 musical season continues with Chicago (September 23 – October 5), Les Misérables, (October 28 – November 9), and concludes with the return of New England's brightest holiday tradition A Christmas Carol (December 5 – 21), starring David Coffee as Ebenezer Scrooge.
There are also other kids shows during the summer.


Go get your bobby socks, poodle skirts and leather jackets, grease up your hair and go see Grease!
Disclosure:  I received 4 tickets to attend a performance of Grease.  No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

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