It's Got Groove, It's Got Meaning

by David Anthony Fox

So who has the last laugh now? Last week, a planned production of Grease, by the combined forces of Brat Productions and Tapestry Theatre, was closed before it opened under threat of legal action from its licensing agent, Samuel French, Inc. [See Arts, "Greased, Frightening," Brian Howard, May 12, 2005]. Allegedly, the sticking point was the all-female cast (male roles were to be done in drag). Details remain cloudy, and the future of that show even more so.

But enterprising director Madi Distefano wasn't ready to throw in the towel. Overnight (almost literally), she and music director Jim Ryan created an original musical called Grease and Desist. The characters follow roughly the same archetypes as those in Grease, and — for those familiar with both the Grease plot and the backstory of this production — there are many familiar references.

Great idea — but really, how much can we expect from a show written in hours and hardly rehearsed at all?

Expect a lot, because you'll have a great time. G&D is undeniably chaotic (that's part of the charm), but several things are clear. One is the short-sightedness of the Samuel French people, because this ensemble is extraordinary. Everybody is good, but there's amazing work from Lee Etzold in a drag performance as a Fonzie-like greaser, and from Amanda Schoonover as the ditzy '50s girl to end all such. (When will Schoonover, who turns in one superlative performance after another, get a Haas Emerging Artist Award?)

It's also fair to say that G&D, unpolished as it is, has some advantages over Grease. It's slyer and more knowing, and the racy plot (young guys trying to trick their dates into giving up urine samples, so they — the guys — can make the boxing team) gives Distefano and company another layer to work with. Jim Ryan's musical score is spotty, but the best of the songs, including a funky summer number called "Down, Down, Down the Shore," can legitimately be called showstoppers.

In a perfect world, the following things would all happen: 1) Grease creator Jim Jacobs and the Samuel French people would see G&D, realize what a fabulous company is available to them, fall on their knees and offer the Brat/Tapestry forces the opportunity to do their show free of any licensing fees. 2) Distefano and company would graciously accept above offer, while at the same time 3) continuing work on Grease and Desist, an idea good enough — and a start so promising — that it should really be turned into a full-fledged show. 4) Ultimately, Grease and Grease and Desist would be performed together in repertoire.

Meanwhile, enjoy the current incarnation of Grease and Desist, which I can say unhesitatingly is the best musical written in two days under threat of legal action that I've ever seen.

GREASE AND DESIST Through May 28, Brat Productions and Tapestry Theatre at the Marian Anderson Recreation Center, 17th and Fitzwater sts., 215-413-0975