Spend long enough in any karaoke bar and you are bound to hear Summer Nights or You’re the One that I Want – the songs are undeniable classics. On both the screen and stage, Grease has been entertaining audiences for decades; now the ANU Musical Theatre Collective presents their version of the beloved classic at Kambri Drama Theatre, from 30 August to 3 September.

With colourful outfits, big hair, catchy tunes, fast cars and a teen romance, the production is a dream come true for all lovers of camp. Following the students in the Rydell High Class of 1959, we get to know the T-Birds and Pink Ladies in their final year of high school.

“It’s just like pure fun and relatable to everybody. I mean, it’s American high school, and it’s like old, but everyone’s been to high school so everyone can relate to it,” says the production’s co-director, Katerina Radovanic.

First taking the stage in 1971, the Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey production has some themes which are slightly dated or problematic. The directors tried to make it more palatable for a modern audience; in some scenes they removed dialogue, particularly when the teens take in a movie at the drive-in.

“Danny and Sandy are sort of establishing boundaries in their relationship and there’s a few lines there which show Danny absolutely not respecting any of the boundaries that Sandy’s trying to set. We don’t want to really be portraying that relationship, that’s not a healthy thing,” says Ned Swann, co-director.

They also changed the context in other scenes; Ms Radovanic says it was about being mindful of the themes, how the characters are constructed and how they develop throughout the show. One of the biggest storylines sees Sandy completely transform herself to be compatible with the T-Birds, however, the directors felt this wasn’t the message they wanted to send and chose to try and have Danny meet her halfway.

The rest of the T-Bird crew are also portrayed in a different light. The directors say they take the mickey out of misogyny and the people who act like that. While the boys are getting silly, Sandy is being taken more seriously.

“We kind of tried to make her more assertive and have her own sense of power within the relationship with Danny … We talked a lot about power levels and how they interact with each other and we just wanted to make sure that the way the relationship develops is equal,” says Ms Radovanic.

While altering beloved and classic works may not be for everyone, Mr Swann says they discussed at the beginning on how much can be changed while still staying true to the piece. Ultimately, they believe it is a decision that will be made with each new production, and wouldn’t be surprised to see the trend continue.

“A production is going to be impacted by modern circumstances, your perspective on different social issues, every interpretation of a production is always going to be impacted by the times. Whether or not you change lines, or you change the structure of a show the way you put it on, it’s going to be reflective of that,” says Ms Radovanic.

Although the female roles have been double-cast, they didn’t have enough actors to do the same with their male counterparts. All actors take the stage each night, sometimes in a female role, sometimes as an extra. The directors say they have worked together with the cast to really bring the characters to life.

“We’ve seen with the Rizzos, they get really excited about the character and they work together and they bring a lot of dimension to her,” says Ms Radovanic.

While the romance between Danny and Sandy may have driven the movie, it is actually the Rizzo and Sandy relationship that shapes the stage production. Ms Radovanic says that the relationship between the two women and the T-Birds is a huge and interesting part of the show.

“Rizzo relies on her leadership in the Pink Ladies as a sense of self-esteem and Sandy coming in is a threat to that because we see Sandy as someone who is actually quite sure of herself, but she is new and not established within the friend group. Whereas Rizzo is quite established in the friend group and is quite insecure in some way and relies on it, so they’re like opposite versions of themselves which is why the conflict comes to a head.”

People who only know Grease from the film might be surprised to find out how much it differs from the original source material.

“That was the thing that most surprised me; in the script there were a lot of changes that the movie made from the musical script, particularly a lot of songs,” says Mr Swann.

“Those songs are in different spots and they mean different things in the musical, which has been fun to play with,” says Ms Radovanic.

Don’t stress. Grease Lightning will still make an appearance as Mr Swann has taken on creating the iconic car for the stage.

“When I first heard that MTC was doing Grease, before I even decided to apply for directing, my first thought was how they’re going to do the car in the theatre,” he says.

See Grease at Kambri Drama Theatre, ANU, 30 August-2 September; musicaltheatreco.anu.edu.au

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