Review: GREASE at Village Theatre
Village Theatre dusts off an audience favorite
Photo by Nikki Womac (2026)
Dear Readers, “Grease” may be the word at Village Theatre right now, but don’t expect to hear that song from the movie, as the movie does stray from the original stage show from Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. But we’ll get into that in a bit.
It’s the Burger Palace Boys (not the T-Birds. Another departure from the movie) and the Pink Ladies at Rydell High School in 1959 and they’re in their Senior year. But when new girl, Sandy Dumbrowski (Maya McQueen) moves to town and captures the heart of Burger Palace Boys leader Danny Zuko (Daniel Velasquez), things may never be the same.
I won’t dwell on the story. You know it and it’s not different from the movie. But there are some notable differences that some people may not be aware of. That name change for one. But mostly it’s the songs. Hits like “Hopelessly Devoted to You”, “You’re the One That I Want”, and the titular “Grease” are not in the stage show originally. They were written for the movie. Originally Sandy’s big lament is “It’s Raining on Prom Night” (still in this version of the show) and the big closer is “All Choked Up”. But never fear, Village managed to get the rights for “Hopelessly” and “You’re the One That I Want” so it should sound somewhat the same for those that may only know the movie. I’ll admit the movie was my first exposure to the show as well and I knew that album backwards and forwards, but I’ve come to love the original as well.
Photo by Nikki Womac (2026)
But beyond those wonderful songs (old and new), this show lives or dies on the characters. And while many of the performers nailed their characters, there was one downfall for me. Velasquez has a stunner of a voice and completely looks the part, but whenever he sang, I tended to lose the character in favor of the technical superiority of his voice. And without a super strong Danny, you’re show is missing something. Furthermore, I want to comment on some of the pacing from director and choreographer Lisa Shriver. It’s a show with a ton of scene changes and she has those staged well. But when in those scenes, I felt the pacing and vignettes could have been tighter. That may come in time, but on opening, it wasn’t always there.
That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy the show. There’s plenty to be said in favor of the production. McQueen delivers a wonderful Sandy and has some insane pipes to back it up. And I must give kudos to her fellow Greasers, Ben Dow, Tori Gresham, Chad Marge, Cherisse Martinelli, Nick McCarthy, Pilar O’Connell, Jasmine Jean Sim, and Jeffery Wallace for keeping those characters rich and fun. Not to mention Teri Lee Thomas as the strict Miss Lynch, the oh so perky Alegra Batara as Patty Simcox, Brandon O’Neill as the somewhat smarmy Vince Fontaine, the overly nerdy Eugene played by Connor Russell, the swoon worthy Teen Angel and Johnny Casino from Dane Stokinger, and some killer dance moves from Shelby Willis as the irrepressible Cha Cha.
Pilar O’Connell, Tori Gresham, and Ben Dow
in Grease at Village Theatre.
Photo by Nikki Womac (2026)
But I would be remiss if I didn’t mention a few stand outs. Gresham as Frenchie may not have a song of her own (which is a crime) but she was killing me with her fantastic facial expressions and comedic chops making Frenchie completely pop, and not just because of that pink hair. Dow as the adorable Doody brought the house down with his ode to learning the guitar, “Those Magic Changes” and his harmonies later in the show with McCarthy as Roger were stunners. Stokinger made everyone fall for his brilliant Teen Angel and his “Beauty School Dropout” with those swiveling hips of his. And of course, Sim stole the show as the hard-edged Rizzo as she blew everyone away with her achingly expressive 11 o’clock, “There Are Worse Things I Could Do”. But then I’m already the self-appointed president of her fan club as she never fails to wow.
So, being picky (as is in my nature), there were a few qualms with this production. Nothing could ever surpass the one I saw back in 1994 at the Paramount before it went on to Broadway. But this is still “Grease” and it’s still very much “the word” and still fun. And so, with my three-letter rating system, I give Village Theatre’s production of “Grease” a blissful “Summer Night” of a YAY-. You could do far worse than to ask them to “tell me more”.
“Grease” performs at Village Theatre in Issaquah through May 3rd before moving on to their Everett location running May 9th through June 7th. For tickets or information visit them online at www.villagetheatre.org.
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