Danny (Bryce Morin) and Sandy (Melody McArthur) make a vow of true love in LightningCloud’s Bear Grease.
LightningCloud, a portmanteau of the wife-and-husband writing team Crystle Lightning and Henry Cloud Andrade, have rumbled into town with their touring production of Bear Grease. Inspired by a certain 1972 stage hit, and even more so by the subsequent film version starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, this Indigenous take on an old favorite asks the musical question: What if the hot boys and cool girls of high school also happen to be Enoch Cree and Huichol? However, as directed by Lightning, the more relevant query for this rambling vehicle is: What happens when a piece that began life as a one-hour parody is stretched into a two-hour variety show?
First performed at the Edmonton Fringe Festival in 2021, the show has racked up more than 200 performances during four years of touring and transforming its way across North America. Now, settling in at St. Luke's Theatre for an extended run, it finds itself overstuffed with good intentions. This begins with the pre-show music, which includes a mixtape, created by Andrade, of Black musicians who provided inspiration to Elvis Presley. Come early to catch Big Mama Thornton’s rendition of “Hound Dog.” Next comes a lengthy video that presents the origin story of Bear Grease, including a jokey look at the casting process. LightningCloud themselves then offer a welcome, with Andrade breaking out an impressive freestyle number, improvising off of phrases provided by the audience. (His Playbill credits include “former world record holder for Longest Freestyle Rap.”)
The women of Bear Grease (from left, Allyssa Trujillo, Skylene Gladue, MacArthur, Haley Robinson and Tammy Rae Lamouche) make themselves heard. Photographs by Russ Rowland.
Edging ever-closer to having something to do with Grease and the 1950s, the female cast members take the stage to perform a couple tunes from the early ’60s, “Be My Baby” and “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow.” The men follow suit with pleasant renditions of hits by The Platters, “Twilight Time” and “Only You.”
Finally the intro credits roll, in the guise of an animated video sequence that mimics the opening cartoon sequence of the Grease movie, but with its white characters replaced by a decidedly brown-skinned crew. Set “in a world where the colonization of Indigenous people never took place,” the weaving of native culture into a retro rock 'n' roll romp should offer a bounty of opportunity for both playful satire and the exploration of inspiration versus appropriation. The opening salvo is promising. Danny (Bryce Morin) and Sandy (Melody McArthur), in a spoof of “Summer Lovin” rebranded as “Summer Snaggin’” sing of finding each other, not at the beach, but at a powwow.
“The weaving of native culture into a retro rock ‘n’ roll romp should offer a bounty of opportunity for both playful satire and the exploration of inspiration versus appropriation.”
Danny: Bought her earrings, bigger than me.
Sandy: Bought him music, new Northern Cree.
Danny: Brushed my hair, it felt so nice.
Sandy: Braid his hair, barely had lice.
Two other fine moments help validate the social experiment. Morin’s rendition of “Hopeless Roundie,” a variation on “Hopelessly Devoted,” turns the ballad into a stirring Native American round dance, complete with traditional hand drum. And Tammy Rae Lamouche, as Rezzo, lends a melancholy charm to “Wichihin,” an adaptation of “Stand By Me” sung entirely in Cree. Never mind that it’s from a different film.
Unfortunately, the material surrounding these numbers often comes up short. Much of what made Grease a well-oiled machine goes missing. There is barely a spark between Danny and Sandy. No romance or birth control fears at all between Kenickie (Rodney McLeod, here renamed Canuckie) and Rezzo. No worrisome jocks or clueless adult authority figures. “Sandra Dee,” a song built to mock virginal white innocence is ripe for picking apart but receives only a fizzling poke:
Watch it Brute, I’m Betty Boop
Yes I’m cute but such a prude
Never ate stew or made Hamburger Soup
Most egregiously, there is a secondary storyline, told entirely via video segments, involving the backstage romantic tension between Bryce and Melody, the actors portraying Danny and Sandy. Not only do these segments bring the pacing of the onstage action to a dead halt, they also incredulously devolve into a full-on discussion of the Wu-Tang Clan that only hip-hop fans of a certain age will be able to appreciate. The segments are also rife with some pretty crude sex jokes which, while perhaps paying tribute to the raunchy pre-Broadway Grease, does nothing to support what could otherwise be a kid-friendly production.
Production values reflect a show that has been on the road. Actors sing to a recorded soundtrack and perform on a bare stage. Fortunately, costume designer Nipîy Iskwew is on hand with some beautifully crafted work, and a team of no fewer than eight associate choreographers finds ways to riff on everything from prairie chicken dancing to the hand jive.
Bear Grease runs through Sept. 7 at St. Luke's Theatre (308 W 46th St.). Evening performances are at 7 p.m Tuesday and Thursday, 8 p.m. Wednesday, Friday and Saturday; matinees are at 2 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday. For tickets and information, visit beargreaselive.com.
Playwrights: Crystle Lightning & Henry Cloud Andrade
Direction: Crystle Lightning
Costumes: Nipîy Iskwew
Lighting: Jeremy Echols
Sound: Up In Arms Studios
