The Selkirk Drama and Music students will be showcasing their performance of Grease at the McKim Theatre next week. The show will run from June 2nd to 5th nightly at 7 p.m. with an extra matinee on Saturday at 1 pm. Excitement abounds for the talented cast of the upcoming performance in recreating one of the most incredible musicals of all time.

The cast is made up of one of the most diligent, music-worshiping, and talented gangs ever to attend Selkirk. The characters of Roger, Doody and Sonny will be played by three hilarious students: Blake Sharpe, Brody Gawryletz, and Curtis Boudreau. The character of Kenickie will be played by the energetic Daniel Witten, and the extremely artistically inclined Jeremy Van Delft will be playing Danny Zuko. The female leads of the cast will be played by the talented and gorgeous Rea Jacques as Marty, Sarah Amy as Jan, and Gina Martin as Frenchy. The spunky character of Rizzo will be played by our very own rising star Sofia Hagland. As for myself, Kaity Brown, I will be playing Sandy Dumbrowski.

We also have a number of amazing people working behind the scenes. Our costume designer is Haleen Johnston. Mrs. Johnston is truly a master of her craft, paying careful attention to the smallest details. We also have a number of students volunteering their time to create the sets for each scene and as stage hands. The “Greased Lightning” car featured in the play is being restored by Selkirk’s Mechanics classes. It was found by our producer Sven Heyde, who is also our music teacher at Selkirk. The car was in terrible shape, but was the correct model. The idea is to create a “good half” and a “bad half” of the vehicle in order to recreate both the rust-bucket that Kenickie actually drives, and the fantasy of what the car could be like.

The musical aspect of the play has been challenging and a new experience for many of us. Mr. Heyde has dedicated a lot of time to improving everyone’s voices, and the music is sounding great as a result. Our production will feature a live band composed of some of the most skilled musicians in our area. These are Tim Plait on piano, Mike Hepher and Joel Kroeker on guitar, Dave Philippe on bass, Keon Chung playing drums, Bernie Primbs on tenor saxophone, and Laurel Ralston playing the trumpet.

The cast, band, and volunteer workers of Selkirk’s Grease is an inspiring and wonderful group of people. We have come a long way and have learned so much while working hard together. We are especially grateful to Emilio Regina, our director, for his vision and execution in staging this show. It has been an amazing experience for everyone involved and I’m sure one that we will treasure always. We have developed a special rapport among the cast. I can’t help but smile when, while walking to my next class, some cheery student waves to me and calls out “Hey Sandy!” Our experience in re-creating Grease has been incredible and I can’t wait to see you there!