After rehearsals for over a year, four shows of the Broadway musical Grease were put on the boards on the weekend of August 24 and 25, 2013 at the National Centre for the Performing Arts. Grease is the love story of Sandy Dumbrowski, a timid American teenager in love with Danny Zuko — glib, cool ‘leader’ of the T-Birds at Rydell High School. Rizzo is the feisty but often misunderstood leader of the Pink Ladies in the same school who will not play second fiddle to any form of male bonding.
Sandy was played by Tara Sutaria who is no stranger to theater in Bombay and is often sought to entertain Parsi audiences with her singing and dancing skills (see "Trills and twirls,” Parsiana, March 7, 2013). Khurshed Mogrelia, making his debut as Danny, worked hard to attain the professionalism he displayed. Dilnaz Irani was made-to-order as the brash Rizzo. Another major character, the artless Frenchy, a good-hearted school drop-out, served as a contrast to New York’s "greased” slickers. Shayaan Oshidar played Frenchy with a well-delivered lisp. She was advised not to drop out of school by Cyrus Broacha, the Teen Angel, at his baritone best. Actors for all the lead characters were chosen by director Advait Hazrat under the banner of Ace Productions of Raell Padamsee, who produced the show. Kainaz Master Unwalla as Cha Cha DiGregario and Shahzad Bhiwandiwala portraying Sonny La Tierri were two other Parsis in this stage musical. The choreography and dances were well executed by Pearl Tirandaz, with her troupe of 10 professional dancers enlivening the stage. The sets, in all their splendor, were created by Fali Unwalla.
(Left): Tara Sutaria and Khurshed Mogrelia; Shayaan Oshidar with Cyrus Broacha
Shahriyar Atai played Vince Fontaine and Mr Dastur to "Indianize” the all-American musical, perpetuating the stereotyped portrayal of Parsis in theater and films as foolish. The lack of relevance of this bumbling biology teacher in Parsi gear in a school in New York seemed to undermine the stellar performance of five of the seven main actors who were Parsis, as stated in the internet coverage.
There were no understudies, with most of the actors honing their roles on their own — sometimes taking private lessons in acting and singing. Associate director Karla Singh contributed to polishing the show through her expertise in dancing and acting. One of the insiders revealed that "her contribution was invaluable due to her expertise, experience and commitment.” Similarly, Marianne D’Cruz and her assistant Abigail Fonseca worked through details of voice during the last few months. Padamsee is known to offer a platform to nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and this time too she involved eight NGOs working with physically handicapped and mentally challenged performers.
Audiences will have to wait until December to assess the excellence of this 1970s musical from New York, as it is slated for a second run at that time.