Cast Set For VAPE! THE GREASE PARODY in Chicago
Performances will run through January 3.
Click for Tickets
Vape! The Grease Parody, has announced its cast for the production's run at The Apollo Theater, 2550 N. Lincoln Ave. which began on Thursday, Aug. 20. Following a critically acclaimed Off-Broadway engagement, the hilariously unhinged spoof of the beloved stage and film musical Grease, will make its Chicago debut and runs through Jan. 3.
The Chicago Cast of Vape! The Grease Parody features Will Leonard (Danny), Jenna Smith (Sandy), Shea Hopkins (Kenickie & Others), Suzanne Sole (Rizzo & Others), Corey Barlow (Sonny & Others), Emma Dunlop (Jan & Others), Sophia Brazda (Marty & Others) and Mai Hartwich (Frenchy & Others). Melissa Crabtree and Ben Harmon are swings.
Written by Catie Hogan and Sketchworks Comedy, Vape! features lyrics and additional book by Billy Recce (A Musical About Star Wars, FIVE: The Musical Parody) and Danny Salles (TV’s Joan and Melissa, Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D List). Produced by Sketchworks Comedy, with Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley Jackson serving as creative consultants, Vape! is directed by Jack Plotnick (Broadway’s Disaster!), with choreography by Ashley Marinelli (Stranger Sings! The Parody Musical), and features music supervision and arrangements by Lena Gabrielle (Emojiland). Visceral Entertainment is the executive producer and general manager.
Vape! lovingly pokes fun at all of the wonderful moments, sexual innuendos, outrageous characters, rivalries and secret romances from the original musical. The hair products may have changed, but the drama and the thirst for hallway clout remain timeless. It's the musical you know and love, but dragged through a cloud of strawberry-scented vapor and a TikTok filter... It's the show that you want (“…Ooh! Ooh! Ooh, honey!”).
“I am so thrilled to be returning to this wonderfully silly, in the best way, parody of one of my absolute favorite movies,” said Plotnick. “After a fantastic Off-Broadway run in New York, I’m especially excited to bring Vape! to a great comedy town like Chicago, in the wonderfully intimate Apollo Theater. The space will allow us to create a really fun and totally unique experience for audiences, welcoming them right into the campus of Rydell High.”
Originally premiering in Atlanta in 2018, Vape! was scheduled to premiere in New York in August 2019. Ten days before the first performance, the rightsholders of Grease served Sketchworks Comedy a cease-and-desist letter, claiming Vape! violated their copyright. As a result, Sketchworks Comedy filed a lawsuit against Grease, believing that they were protected under fair use law. After a two-and-a-half-year legal battle, Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain of the Southern District of New York ruled that Vape! is, indeed, a parody. Vape! Went on to make its triumphant debut in a celebrity packed benefit concert at NYC’s Town Hall in 2025, followed by an extended run Off-Broadway.
Scenic design is by David Goldstein; costume design is by Matthew Solomon; lighting design is by Zach Pizza; sound design is by Daniel Lundberg, and props are by Brendan McCann. Casting is by Cindi Rush, and will be announced at a future date.
|
Fleetwood Max Raue Center For The Arts (10/03-10/03) |
|
Love Story: A Tribute to Taylor Swift Raue Center For The Arts (11/07-11/07) |
|
Rotary Rocks The Raue: James Garner's Tribute to Johnny Cash Raue Center For The Arts (10/24-10/24) |
|
The Dave Matthews Tribute Band Raue Center For The Arts (9/25-9/25) |
|
Blond Ambition: A Tribute to Madonna Raue Center For The Arts (11/07-11/07) |
|
Memphis The Musical Studebaker Theater at the Fine Arts Building (10/24-10/25) |
|
The Beautiful Game In Concert Athenaeum Center for Thought and Culture (8/31-8/31) |
|
for colored girls who considered suicide when the rainbow is enuf eta Creative Arts Foundation (8/01-8/30) |
|
Witch Idle Muse Theatre Company (9/10-10/10) |
|
A Revolution of Her Own!™ Deborah Sampson Bishop Hill Park Gazebo (8/22-8/22) |