GREASE to be Presented at Center Drama Community Theater

“Grease” will be presented by Center Drama at the Axelrod Performing Arts Center in Deal Park for five performances only – August 13-23.

Picture it: Rydell High School, 1959: the senior class is filled with duck-tailed, hot-rodding Burger Palace Boys and their gum-snapping, hip-shaking Pink Ladies in bobby sox and pedal pushers. It’s “Grease,” where head “greaser” Danny Zuko and good girl Sandy Dumbrowski try to relive the high romance of their “Summer Nights” as the rest of the gang sings and dances its way through such songs as “Greased Lightnin’,” “Hopelessly Devoted,” “Beauty School Dropout” and “You’re the One that I Want.”
 
For nearly a century, Center Drama brought affordable community theater to Monmouth County at the JCC of the Jersey Shore in Deal Park.  The theater company went on hiatus for several years but is now back, launching a new chapter while honoring its long-standing tradition.

The musical will star Kelly Fuller as Danny; Janie Hornstein as Sandy; Kennedy Christensen as Rizzo; Bobby Shaw as Kenickie; Daniella Macolino as Frenchy; Jill Gindi as Marty; Henry Fischer as Doody; Jess Vincello as Jan; Julian Baro as Roger; Josh Ferro as Sonny; Christine Jay as Miss Lynch; Julia Kovacs as Patti; Elana Ades as Cha Cha; Gabe Delima as Eugene; Alex Dubinsky as Vince Fontaine; Chris Stypa as Johnny Casino and Steve Cherra as Teen Angel.
 
The ensemble includes Stephanie Beda, Jill Costa, CJ Evans, Grace Gill, Jack Glassman, Quinn Grace, Adalie Hall, Emma Hoffman, Alexa Jensen-Toma, Matt Kovar, Emma Lightbody-McAllen, Merrick Lyons, Joey Nesser and Aja Perez.
 
Center Drama was founded at the Long Branch YMHA in 1929 by a group of local theater lovers. In 1971, Center Drama moved to the Jewish Community Center in Deal Park. The theater company flourished there and became a pillar of Jewish cultural life in Monmouth County, presenting beloved musicals such as “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Funny Girl,” “Man of La Mancha” and “The Wedding Singer.” It later evolved into a professional theater at the newly-built Axelrod Performing Arts Center, located in the same building as the JCC.
 
Now the JCC has decided to reinvest in Center Drama, so the organization is returning to the community it served for nearly a century. From first-time performers to returning alumni, Center Drama welcomes all who share a passion for live theater and the arts in Monmouth County. It’s where “High School Musical” star Ashley Tisdale and NJ101.5 host Judi Franco got their start. The company is led by Ruthie Levy, the house manager at Axelrod PAC, and Perry Award-nominated director Deborah Murad Nesser, longtime friends who met in a production of “Follies.” They share a passion for community theater, bringing bold artistic vision and professional expertise to the program.
  
It is also a shomer shabbat space, so the group does not have rehearsals or shows from sundown Friday to Saturday night, enabling shabbat observers to participate. For many religious Jews, this makes theater more accessible.

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