GREASE Is The Word As Seniors Take Center Stage In Connecticut Production

The high school seniors of the fictional Rydell High will be brought to life by actual seniors in an upcoming Connecticut production of the hit musical Grease.

Golden Years Theater Company will present the musical, helmed by Bob Tansley, a local director who has worked on 52 kids' shows over 30 years.

Tansley, a recent retiree, established the company to provide himself and other elders in the community an outlet for creativity.

"I've been retired for three years, and it's making me crazy not having something to do," Bob Tansley told News 8.

"It doesn't need to be perfect," he said. "We'll try to get as close as we can, but it's about having fun."

The production will run for six performances from June 16 through June 25 at the Catholic Academy of Waterbury.

78-year-old Peggy Taylor, a performer in the ensemble told News 8 that the production has afforded her the ability "to have a good time and enjoy myself and do the things you love to do."

Director Tansley said of the program, "It's just good for the heart and soul."

Meet Rydell High's senior class of 1959, the hot-rodding "Burger Palace Boys" and the gum-snapping "Pink Ladies." Relive those "Summer Nights" with Danny and Sandy as they rediscover their summer romance.

Inspired by the look and sound of music legends Buddy Holly, Little Richard, and Elvis Presley, Grease became the soundtrack of a generation and one of the world's most popular musicals.