Before there was Glee, High School Musical, Hairspray – or even the Travolta/Newton-John blockbuster – there was a scrappy, angsty indie musical that opened in a 120-seat Chicago theatre in 1971. It was called Grease then, too, but it was about the working class teens of Chigaco's northwest side in 1959 – and it included songs and scenes that went on to be cut before the musical debuted on Broadway.
For their first production for 2016, local indie musical theatre company Squabbalogic are dusting off the original Grease, with artistic director Jay James-Moody (Man of La Mancha) taking the helm, musical direction by Benjamin Kiehne (Hair) and choreography by Simone Sallé.
WAAPA grad Emily Hart will play Sandra Dee, and Brendan Xavier will play Danny Zuko.