Photos by: Sue Suchyta
Shauna Rae Hazime (left) as Sandy rehearses “Summer Loving” from “Grease” March 27 at Henry Ford Community College. The musical runs for two weekends, April 13 to 22, with 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday shows and 2 p.m. Sunday matinees. Also shown are Danya Talab (second from left) as Jan, Megan Oliver as Marty, chorus members LaToya Letman, Danielle Addington, Amanda Pierce and Courtney Butterfield, Samantha York as Patty Simcox, chorus member Brittany Lowrey, Judo Manko as Frenchy, Samantha Hales as Betty Rizzo, and chorus members Andrea Wells-Preister, Ellen Neiman, Khadijah Carr and Zena Elayan.
Corey Allen (fourth from left) as Kenickie rehearses “Greased Lightning” from “Grease” March 27 at Henry Ford Community College. The musical runs for two weekends, April 13 to 22, with 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday shows and 2 p.m. Sunday matinees. Also shown are Marcellus Hogan (left) as Roger, chorus members Randall Nicholls (who also plays Teen Angel), London Johnson (who also plays Johnny Casino), VicAngelo Offutt (fifth from left) as Eugene, Raymond Filipek as Danny Zuko and chorus member Bowen Underwood.
By SUE SUCHYTA
Henry Ford Community College continues a run of “Grease” through April 22 with 8 p.m. performances on Friday and Saturday and a 2 p.m. Sunday matinee.
GREASE IS THE WORD
Highlights of the 29-member cast include strong male dancers in the “Greased Lightning” number, a fun-to-watch high school dance with the full ensemble, and strong vocals in the production numbers.
SANDY AND DANNY
Shauna Rae Hazime as Sandy and Raymond Filipek as Danny Zuko lead the cast with strong vocals and acting.
Some of the character roles provide some of the most interesting and memorable performances.
BUTTERFIELD AS LYNCH
Courtney Butterfield is entertaining as Miss Lynch, the all-knowing principal, who is wise to the tricks of Eric Vega’s Sonny, who talks a good game but can’t escape class or detention time.
YORK PLAYS PATTY
Samantha York is a natural as Patty Simcox, the perky cheerleader you love to hate, and VicAngelo Offutt makes nerdish Eugene out to be much more human than the usual simplistic stereotype.
TWINKIES AND DESSERT WINE
Danya Talab is entertaining as the always munching Jan (who wisely knows that Twinkies go well with dessert wines), while Judo Manko’s Frenchy is warm, welcoming and innocently funny.
RIZZO'S SHOW STOPPER: SAMANTHA HALE HOLDS HER OWN
Samantha Hale’s Rizzo nails her part excellently, and her number “There are Worse Things I Could Do” is one of the best in the show.
SNYDER's KENICKIE
Corey Allen Snyder, as Kenickie, is a strong dancer, and he leads a fast paced show-stopper in the first act’s “Greased Lightning.”
MARTY, DOODY AND ROGER
Megan Oliver as Marty, Joey Kulza as Doody and Marcellus Hogan as Roger are also strong in their supporting roles.
BROTHERS IN DIFFERENT SHOWS SAME NIGHTS
Talent runs in the Hogan family: while Marcellus is playing Roger in “Grease” at HFCC, his brother Tauren is playing Seaweed, one of the leads in “Hairspray” at the Bonstelle, Wayne State University’s undergraduate theatre. Both shows run for two weekends at the exact same times, so neither brother will be able to see the other perform live.
FLETCHER DIRECTS, DZUIBLINSKI TECHS
Judy Fletcher directed the show, with musical direction by G. Kevin Dewey, choreography by Barbara Selinger and technical direction and scenic design by Gerry Dzublinski.
RICH IN COLOR AND LORE
The show is rich in color, and features fun set pieces and clever costuming. It includes many authentic-looking late fifties era props, and entertaining high school dance moves.
SILVER SPRAYED SPARKLIES
The “Beauty School Drop Out” dream sequence features some fun sparkly silver hair roller headpieces cleverly created from hundreds of carefully hoarded and repurposed spray-painted cardboard tubes.
HIGHLIGHTS TO SEE
Things to watch and listen for: The “Teenage Werewolf” drive-in movie segment; Dewey’s amazing closing trumpet solo; Sandy Dumbrowski and Patty Simcox’s delightful period outfits, and Dzuiblinski’s giant high heel shoe bed.
For more information call (313) 845-9817 or go to theatre.hfcc.edu.
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