(Previously published by The Thomasville Townie)

You are probably familiar with Grease. Just picture it now—John Travolta with his greased back hair and Olivia Newton John with her black leggings on with all the tunes that you have grown to know and love. Thomasville On Stage and Company {TOSAC} will have its very own production in the ‘Ville starting on the weekend of June 10 and continuing the following weekend.

Most of TOSAC’s summer productions, including Grease, have mostly local youth-filled casts with area children and teens playing the principle parts. Only a few parts in this production will be played by adults, including Dana King as Rizzo. “We had so many talented kids try out. There were so many high scores, so it was so hard to pick a cast,” said Pat Orr, Director of Scholarships and Board Member of TOSAC. Orr has been in charge of the summer productions at TOSAC for the last 8 years. Orr is a teacher at Washington Middle School {WMS} in Cairo as well as the drama teacher. She does three productions a year at WMS plus the summer productions at TOSAC and other productions with Syrup City Players in Cairo. She has taught language arts for 40 years but has always acted as the drama director during that time. “I was told, ‘If you put the kids on stage, they’ll love it,’” said Orr. She has found that to be true. Orr has three goals when it comes to any production. First, she wants the kids to have a good time. Second, she wants them to learn something. Third, she wants them to have a product that the community will enjoy. She describes Grease as a “fun production.” “The kids were surprised when it came to the costumes. The movie came out in the 70s, but it was set in the 50s. The girls couldn’t believe that they had to wear skirts and dresses to school back then,” Orr said. “The boys seemed happy about wearing jeans until I told them that they had to roll them up and show their white socks! I haven’t told them why Grease is called Grease yet!”

Grease has two casts that will perform in 8 different shows. There are 8:00p evening shows on Friday and Saturday, July 10-11, 17-18. There are 2:00p matinees on Saturday and Sunday, July 11-12, 18,19. Tickets are $12 per student and $15 per adult. They can be purchased online at http://www.tosac.com/tickets/. “If you don’t see a show, you’re missing out! It’s a good, fun experience,” Orr said.

– Denise P. with The Thomasville Townie