Grease Rocks at Harvey

There was a whole lot of rockin’ going on this past weekend in the Lasdon Theater of The Harvey School as a talented cast of upper school students wowed the audience with a rousing production of Grease. Danny, Sonny, Kenickie and all the boys along with Sandy, Frenchy, Cha- Cha and all the girls made the packed house forget the winter woes of 2013-14 and take them back to the frolicking ‘50s.

Director Vinny Alexander and his production staff can be proud of the performances of the cast despite the constant interruptions to their rehearsal schedule from a rough stretch of winter weather. Alexander, the school’s performing arts chair, said he was grateful for everyone’s hard work and participation. “Our production of 'Grease' was a huge success because of a very talented group of students and the collaborative efforts of a professional staff of arts educators,” said Alexander.

The choreography of Melanie Gambino and the music under the direction of Christin Cooper lent a great deal to the energy on stage. The spectacle was dazzling thanks to the outstanding work of Marcie Hajem with costumes, Marcus Gregio and his lighting design and the set’s scenic artists Coulter Young and Brittany Merola.

A number of students working behind the scenes deserve a lot of credit: Emily Silk, the stage manager, Arianna Pilla, Morgan Smyth, Sophia Nahon and Ryan Gross, as assistant stage managers, running crew, and assistants in set and costumes. Nahon, who also served as lighting assistant, joined Pilla in handling the makeup.

Student Laura Spung played the violin in a rocking band of talented musicians including Nicholas Szucs on guitar, Brendan O’Grady on bass, Cary Brown on piano and keyboards, Mislav Forrester on tenor saxophone and Glenn Rhian on drums.

Here is the list of the marvelous cast:

The Girls                                                                  

Ms. Lynch – Anna Robertson                                    

Patty – Julia Kravitz                                                  

Jan – Charlotte Wittmann                                          

Marty – Erica Cheyne                                                

Rizzo – Carolyn Stark                                               

Frenchy – Aliya Mayers                                             

Sandy – Julia Chatzky                                                        

Cha-Cha – Anderson Greenwood                            

Teen Angel – Alex Pennella

The Boys

Eugene – Joe Bakas

Doody – Tristan Watson                                            

Roger – Taylor Robinson

Kenickie – Taylor Grodin

Sonny – Jacob Flemister

Danny – Brendan Kneitz

Vince Fontaine – Chris Hard

Johnny Casino – Ben Rubin

Freddy My Love Singers                                          

Julia Slater                                                                

Sara Shiffman                                                            

Emily Walsh                                                               

Gemma Tebbutt 

Hopelessly Devoted Singers

Sage Myers

Ariana Weaver

Sami Feuerstein

Lily Alexander                                     

Beauty School Back Singers                                    

Kiersten Wittmann                                                     

Alex Wiener                                                               

Eve O’Brien                                                           

Janice Cai                                                                   

Macy Drude                                                              

Lily Alexander 

Students at Rydell

Angelique Santiago

Louise McManus

Grace Mahony

Claudia Ziser

Ashley McKenzie

Alexander said it was a great weekend of song and dance. “Our audiences embraced our presentation of this iconic celebration of rock and roll, young love and 1950s pop culture.  'Grease' is a fun musical to work on, perform and see.”