THEATER REVIEW : ‘Grease’ Provides Rollicking Fun

Pass the magic wand of nostalgia over a ‘50s tale of love, betrayal, theft, rejection and unwanted pregnancy, and what do you get? What else but the old Broadway smash “Grease,” now providing a wild and rollicking good time at the Starlight Bowl.

Sure, we’re not talking depth here. All the characters are types, from the leather-jacketed toughs to their girlfriends: Frenchy, the gum-cracking beauty-school dropout; Rizzo, a girl with a chip on her shoulder the size of Mt. McKinley; ever-hungry Jan; romantic Marty, and pretty newcomer Sandy Dumbrowski, the Sandra Dee-in-transition who must change her so-sweet ways if she is to get the Fonzie-like man of her dreams, Danny Zuko.

But director Carol Culver and leads Robert Torti, Sandy Edgerton and Sharonlee McClean--as Danny Zuko, Sandy Dumbrowski and Rizzo--have done the show before. (Real husband-and-wife team Torti and Edgerton met while doing these same roles a few years back.)

Their collective expertise shows as they pull dimensions from what could have been cardboard-cutout characterizations with the ease of magicians pulling rabbits out of hats.

Then, too, there is the pleasure of seeing a whole new generation of San Diego actors coming of age, with talented high school students Betsy Malone, Robert Feeney and Karyn Overstreet stepping in as Jan, the aspiring tough Doody and eternal cheerleader Patty Simcox, respectively. Malone, Feeney and Daniel Wingard, who plays the class valedictorian/nerd Eugene, are also graduates of San Diego Junior Theatre.

This colorful mix of fresh and practiced hands adds up, in one of the many memorable songs, to “A Whole Lot of Shakin’ Going On.”

Also sparkling among the talented cast are Elmarie Wendel as the delightful, precisely speaking English teacher, Miss Lynch; Michael Berry as Rizzo’s rough main squeeze, Kenickie; Mark Sparrow as the oily-voiced announcer, Vince Fontaine, and Mark Morales as the sweet-voiced Teen Angel. The one sad note: The voices, under Milton Greene’s musical direction, are strong, but their projection suffers under technical problems with the hand-held microphones.

Ken Holamon’s flexible two-tiered set, complete with Teen Angel floating in on a cloud and a car, Kenickie’s “Greased Lightning,” tooling onto the floor, is bright, funny and romantically lit by Barbara du Bois. Tara’s costume designs pay charming homage to a time when jackets meant leather and tights meant tight.

The biggest problem with opening night was the sound system--which can be corrected--and the usual cast of planes interrupting the action while gliding above the Starlight Bowl.

Other than that, if you don’t require too much meaning to water down your fun, this show is a sock-hopping good time. “Grease” is a lot like ordering a hamburger, french fries and a malt: You know it’s not the most nutritionally sound choice, but it’s as all-American as ‘50s mythology can be, and it sure does taste good.

“GREASE”

Music, book and lyrics by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. Director and choreographer, Carol Culver. Musical direction, Milton Greene. Technical direction, Larry Kane. Costumes, Tara. Sound, Bill Lewis. Sets, Ken Holamon. Lighting, Barbara Du Bois. Stage manager, John Galo. With Elmarie Wendel, Karyn Overstreet, Daniel Wingard, Betsy Malone, Heather Lee, Sharonlee McClean, Bob Feeney, Grant Taylor Feay, Michael Berry, Scott Viets, Suzanne Graf, Sandy Edgerton, Robert Torti, Mark Sparrow, Mark Morales and Laura Ware. At 8 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday, through July 31. At the Starlight Bowl, Balboa Park, San Diego.