Grease is the Word

Something new and exciting for One Life Photography. Performance photos for promotion of a local High Schools production of Grease the musical.

The teachers and students astounded me with how much preparation and effort had obviously gone into this show and how professional it was in every sense of the word. The costumes, sets, lighting, live music and not to mention the young talent was first class.

Firstly, I have to admit to being a Grease tragic from way back. I absolutely loved everything about it and and yes I used my hairbrush as a microphone in my bedroom pretending to be Olivia newton John. We didn't have DVD's so the music and photos were all we had.

Well the memories came flooding back and taking photos with tears in your eyes is a little challenging. This stage production is slightly different from the movie to make it more family friendly but I honestly didn't miss anything. All the crucial songs and characters were just as authentic as I remember. I recalled how I felt watching John Travolta and Olivia singing Greased Lightnin', Your the One That I Want and Hopelessly Devoted to You and I was swept back in time.

Fabulous lighting created unique moods for each set change which were simple but effective and a great deal of research was evident in the choice of costumes, hair do's, and makeup which helped the audience to recognize the characters.

Memorable characters like Sandy, Danny, Rizzo, Kenicky, Marty, Jan and Frenchy were all played by senior school students who had worked so hard to make their character true to the originals. Facial expressions, accents, hand gestures and body language were clearly studied in great detail by the students and brought to life with expert coaching from their teachers.

Speaking of teachers, there were even teachers who dared to perform and their enthusiasm albeit a little 'tongue in cheek ' and over acted was hilarious. I hope they had as much fun as I did being involved.