Historic Savannah Theatre brings ‘Grease’ to the stage with 24 shows of Summer Lovin’

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - The Historic Savannah Theatre is staging “Grease” this summer, bringing the iconic musical to life with the film score and a cast dedicated to the movie version.

The production opened earlier this month after a rigorous rehearsal schedule in May. Cast members spent two weeks before opening night running the show every night to prepare for audiences.

The company has the rights to the film score, bringing movie touches to the stage. Cast member JP Decubellis, who plays Danny, said the show’s iconic status requires high energy.

“It’s so iconic, but it can fall flat if you don’t bring that energy, and this cast is willing to bring it every night and just keep getting better and getting better,” Decubellis said.

Cast returns to Historic Savannah Theatre

Many cast members are returning to the Historic Savannah Theatre stage. Addison Stelzer, who plays Sandy, said the community keeps performers coming back.

“While it’s still professional and everyone puts their heart and soul into it, I think at the end of the day it’s one of the most fun theaters to work at. One of the most fulfilling,” Stelzer said.

Stelzer said the rehearsal process was demanding but necessary.

“It was definitely rigorous but it was what we needed because by the time we had an audience, we needed them there, because it was the last piece of the puzzle,” Stelzer said.

She described the theater as a safe space for performers to grow and try new things.

Audience reception

After each show, cast members hold a meet and greet with the audience. Decubellis said the cast can feel when the audience is engaged.

“We see it, we feel it, you can feel when the audience is quiet and just receiving a line, or when their engaged,” Decubellis said. “We’re having so much fun and we want to just give this performance to them as much as we want to do it.”

Audience members have shown up in Pink Lady and T-Bird outfits. Silas Johnson, who plays Kenickie, said the reception has been enthusiastic.

“They’ll come up and shake our hands and they’re so excited, their like, ‘you took me back’, that’s great, I wasn’t even alive so, I’m just guessing,” Johnson said.

Stelzer said the connection with audiences after performances is meaningful.

“There’s a really nice human connection that we have with the audience afterwards where we kind of thank them for watching and they thank us for performing,” Stelzer said.

The cast and crew are putting on 24 shows. The last performance is Aug. 1. Decubellis said cast members work from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., with some days running until 1 a.m. for this production.

Ticket information is available on the Historic Savannah Theatre website.