"Grease" is the Word...

We were ready for a break. The Fourth of July and the weeks leading up to it were brutally busy. I was looking for something to do here in Gig Harbor that was out of the ordinary for us. Posters for  production of had caught my eye, but the shows were June 17 -July 3. We were busy every night during that time so I figured we would miss it. But then I saw another poster announcing added performances on July 8 and 9. Eureka!

I called Friday afternoon and was able to get three tickets to the 7:30 show that night. Rick couldn’t attend as he was going to the New Kids on the Block/Backstreet Boys concert at the Tacoma Dome. He was doing the pyro for the show, not going for pleasure. I thought he might appreciate me adding that disclaimer!

I have always loved theater and have a soft spot in my heart for community theater. The tiny town I grew up in (Trout Lake, WA) had a vibrant and active community theater group called the Trout Lake Art Players. I have fond memories of watching the plays they produced and attending the summer workshops for kids. It was entertaining to see our teachers, business owners, civic leaders, friends and family take on different, often very different, roles and characters.

This was Kate’s first play that wasn’t a school or child-oriented production. Matthew has seen quite a few plays but never “Grease.” He did see the movie in one of his history classes. That makes me feel old for some reason. I was about 9 when the movie came out and the action in the story takes place about 9 years before I was born (go ahead, do the math) so it seems contemporary to me. I need to have a little chat with that teacher about what he considers history!

“Grease” does deal with some adult situations and has some mildly offensive language. It’s nothing more that you would see on prime-time network TV. Now that I think about it, it’s pretty tame compared to some of that programming. I felt perfectly fine with it for our family. My 9-year-old had a few questions afterward, but I welcome these opportunities to discuss our personal feelings and morals about these issues as a family.

I found myself smiling through the entire show. All three of us thoroughly enjoyed the production and sang “Greased Lightening” and “You’re the One That I Want” the whole way home. The songs are catchy and timeless.

All the actors turned in great performances. Steven Anastasia, who played Danny Zuko, had a terrific voice and stage presence. It wasn’t until after the show that I put together who Anikka Abbott, playing Sandy Dumbrowski, was. I read about her in an article here on  She is an amazing operatic singer.

The whole cast, band, production team and staff should be commended for a job well done. I’ve been in several musicals and know first hand the amount of talent, dedication and just plain hard work that goes into a show like this. 

My family is looking forward to attending future productions at the Paradise Theatre. I hope we see you there. Our local theater community needs our support!