Aside from a few minor problems concerning lighting and plot development, Central’s production of “Grease” definitely did the original musical justice, predominantly because of the amount of talent on stage.

“Freddy, My Love” sung by Marty played by Jena Sugay and the Pink Ladies was fantastic. She has a very strong voice and, although it was slower, the whole performance captured the audience’s attention and was very catchy.

The “Beauty School Dropout” number was a song many audience members sang along to. The jazzy choreography and bright, shiny white costumes all made the number stand out. Teen Angel (played by Will Fischer) had a very smooth voice, and the harmonies were pleasant.

“All Choked Up” was by far one of the best performances in the play for a plethora of reasons. It encompassed Sandy’s (played by Addy Stafford) soulful voice and showed off the wide range of notes Danny played by Ryan Lowe could easily hit. Also, each one of the Pink Ladies and T-Birds harmonized nicely; their individual voices came together and made for a very funky song.

Rizzo played by Cara Jaeger excelled at being the girl everybody loved to hate. Her antagonistic character developed over time; she did a great job at evolving into the bully with a soft side after her pregnancy. Sarah Hansen also embraced her role as the “annoying, goody two shoes” so well that the audience cheered when Sandy dumped food on her character, Patty.

The incorporation of teachers and staff Mrs. Jan Hall, Mrs. Stephanie Hiffman, Mrs. Pam Kalafut, Mrs. Jan MacLeod, Ms. Diana Sekura into the musical as chaperones at the Rydell High School dance was a nice surprise. They blended very well into the hand-jive dance scene and did not seem out of place or unnatural at all. The classic black Greasers’ leather jackets of the T-Birds and feminine 60s style outfits of the Pink Ladies complimented each other.

The band was neither too quiet nor overpowering. There were a few problems with the lighting at certain points, however. At times the main characters on stage weren’t illuminated well enough, and the audience may have had trouble figuring out where to look when there were many things happening on stage. Also, a few audience members have said that the plot was difficult to follow, even after seeing the movie.

Overall, the entire cast did an exceptional job of drawing the audience in to 60s Rydell High for two hours. I would definitely give the musical four out of four stars.