Students at Cache Creek Elementary School—along with three students from Desert Sands School in Ashcroft—staged two performances of the hit musical Grease last week, under the direction of teacher Dave Dumont.
The show was the culmination of weeks of hard work, and the performers threw themselves into their roles. Before they took the stage, however, the pre-school students came on and sang the 1950s pop song “Lollipop”.
Dumont said a few words before the musical started, noting that it was all about “doing something great together”. The entire cast sang the title song, after which we were introduced to main characters Danny (Rylie Emmons Mann) and Sandy (Vanessa Michel), who had an appealing chemistry in their scenes together.
As the swaggering Kenickie, Randy Enns had charisma to spare, while Ashley Schroeder matched him as Rizzo, concealing a soft heart under a tough exterior. Madison Condin (as beauty school drop-out Frenchy) and Jasmine Adamson as Patty were two other standouts, but the entire cast tackled their roles with energy and enthusiasm.
Although the songs were lip-synched, the cast did a lot of dancing, with highlights being “Hand Jive” and the reprise of “Grease”. Mann, Michel, and Condin also brought considerable nuance and emotion to their solo songs; a difficult thing even for seasoned performers. Being alone on a stage in front of an audience can be a daunting experience, but it rarely showed.
Both performances were well attended, and Dumont has indicated that he hopes to do another musical during the next school year.