‘Grease’ comes to Manila

MANILA, Philippines - I never was one of those cool, classy old souls who had a strong affinity for music, movies, and stars of a distant era. Being around such people usually made me feel like uncultured swine, as I was usually naturally drawn to whatever was current and perhaps still in that stage of coming under fire and being labeled as trash. Needless to say, the canonized and iconic usually meant next to nothing to me. I’d most probably be aware of who and what they were, but I wouldn’t really get it. And I wouldn’t be enticed to go out of my way to get it because there’s always so much going on in the present.

Grease follows the story of Danny Zuko, who is recounting to his boys the Summer Nights he spent with a girl at the beach, only to find out that that very same girl, Sandy Dumbrowski, is the new girl at Rydell High. Grease is also one of those cultural phenomena that I considered far removed. As far as I was concerned, John Travolta with his slicked-up hair and leather jacket were mere proof of why fashion and notions of beauty had to keep reinventing themselves.

But that’s exactly why it’s good to have people take the stage and resurrect the past with a passion. It’s good to constantly be reminded that what once was was just as vivid, fun, dynamic, and heartbreaking as the current.

T-Bird Attitude

Watching Gian Magdangal break out the moves and T-Bird attitude as he channels Danny Zuko gives you a glimpse of how exactly guys with greasy hair and leather jackets were hot — and kind of sorry that that’s no longer the world we’re living in. Listening to Iya Villania and Jennifer Blair-Bianco sing There are Worse Things I Could Do, alternating as the sarcastic and outspoken leader of the Pink Ladies, Betty Rizzo, you find yourself indulging in the angst that you don’t often put on display.

The lively cast, production team, and directors of 9 Works Theatrical’s Grease effectively convey to a modern audience that now and then are one and the same. And having re-realized that, you’re suddenly interested in all the ways it was different — from the rock n’ roll, to the pedal pushers, the bonfires, prom nights, and make-out sessions at drive-in movies. Suddenly you find the flirtatious dynamic between Zuko and Frencheska Farr’s Dumbrowski to be both familiar and absurdly interesting at the same time. Another thing that is easily forgotten when it comes to many classics such as Grease is how rebellious and groundbreaking they were during their time. And that yes, disturbing as it may seem, our parents were once very inspired to break out of the box as well.

Sexual Revolution

According to executive producer, Santi Santamaria, “It changed the way musicals were done at that time, veering away from the usual Rodgers and Hammerstein, since the story was set in a pivotal time in American cultural history, when rock n’ roll was giving birth to sexual revolution.”

“I really want to stick to the very purpose of the material, which was to reflect the time of the ’50s on that rebel attitude that the youth gave because of their experience after the war,” said artistic director, Robbie Guevara on how they intend to stage the musical here.

Guevara continued, “They woke up one day and realized their immortality, and they said it’s time to have fun. Why stick to the norms that the ’20s and the ’30s and the ’40s were dictating on their lives? So rock n’ roll got formed, the use of electric guitars and electric pianos, and eventually organs were born. And with rock n’ roll, the lifestyle came — the clothing, the attitudes, smoking at a young age, drinking, making fun of teachers — the rebel attitude, if you will. That’s going to be very apparent in our production. You’re not just going to see it. You’re hopefully going to realize why they’re doing that, and how much they continued embracing all these new things that they discovered, which made them enjoy life.”

Sense of fun

At the forefront of all this is the uncomplicated, unbridled sense of fun. “I wanted to show how fun can be had in the simplest ways possible, through music and dancing.” Not the numbing tugs tugs kind that we have today, Guevara clarified, but partners having a go at the boogie woosh, which he nostalgically described as “a great way to get to know your friends, and to get closer.”

Now, Danny, Sandy, Rizzo, Kenickie, and the rest of the Rydell gang are back to show us how explosive dance parties ought to be done at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium all weekends from November 9 to December 1. Presented by 9 Works Theatrical, Grease will have Friday, Saturday, and Sunday galas at 8 p.m., Saturday matinees at 3:30 p.m., and Sunday matinees at 4 pm.

* * *

For tickets and other inquiries, call 586.7105 or 0917.554.5560 or email info@9works theatrical.com. Facebook: 9workstheatrical. Twitter: @9WTonline.

* * *

Tweet the author @catedeleon.