Grease

Take a trip back in time to Rydell High and get ready for some summer loving and greased lightning this July. The Art in Motion Theatre Company is presenting the ever-popular musical Grease at the Don Russell Performing Arts Centre, directed by Lys Tickner.

Set in 1959, Grease follows the senior year of 10 teenagers as they navigate the complexities of peer pressure, politics, personal core values and love. At the heart of the story is the romance between gangster Danny Zuko and sweet new girl Sandy Dumbrowski—after a secret summer affair, their chance of continuing love is more complicated now they’re back at school.

"Most people will have, at some point, in their lives seen the 1978 movie based on the musical," Lys said.

"The main difference with the musical is that Sandy is not from Australia—but it still has all the popular tunes that everyone can bop along to.

"The challenge with this show is to do something different while maintaining the integrity of the original script and score.

"Grease has been done many times so you don’t want to just end up with another version of the same thing.

"When people come to see Grease, they often have the movie front of mind so it’s important to maintain a relevance to the film while having one or two moments in the show that are completely unique to this production."

A member of Roleystone Theatre since 1989, Lys directed her first play—The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe—as a 20-year-old in 1993. She has gone on to direct Alice in Wonderland, Little Women, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Little Shop of Horrors, High School Musical and The Snow Queen and has been involved in a plethora of productions, either singing, dancing, acting or stage-managing.

In 2018, Lys established the Art in Motion Theatre Company with a group of like-minded people who wanted to put the fun back into theatre.

"I was actually in the 1995 production of Grease produced by Roleystone Theatre, playing Patty," she said.

"Like the rest of the world, I just love the show."

The 2pm performance on July 6 is a fancy dress sing-a-long show with audience members encouraged to dress up in their favourite Grease outfits and join in with the popular songs.