Vanguard University's Department Of Theatre Arts Presents GREASE

Vanguard University's highly acclaimed and award-winning department of theatre arts will present the musical, Grease, a lively and nostalgic tribute to 1950s rock 'n' roll. The production is presented in the Lyceum Theater on the Vanguard University campus, beginning October 17, 2024, and running for three weeks through November 3, 2024.

"I am thrilled to bring this iconic show with the smashing 1950s pastiche! Grease is the classic 'boy gets girl, boy loses girl, and boy gets girl back' coming of age story...which brings back an era gone by. Look for some built in and curated anachronistic props thrown in just for fun!" Director, Susan K. Berkompas

SUSAN K. BERKOMPAS, B.F.A./M.F.A. in Acting and Directing from CalRep; Professor Berkompas has served as Theatre Department Chair for twenty-seven years at VU. She is a member of SDC, SAG, and AFTRA. She is the recipient of the KCACTF Excellence in Education and Gold Medallion Awards and is an alumnus of Directors Lab West. She studied Shakespeare with Sir John Barton at the British American Drama Academy in Oxford. She is the founder and Producing Artistic Director of American Coast Theater Company, and she serves as the Theatre Arts Department Chair at Vanguard University, where she teaches acting and directing courses and directs shows. Sue has directed over one hundred shows such as Othello, The Boys Next Door, Metamorphoses, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Crucible, Kiss Me Kate, Bullshot Crummond, and Life Without Parole. She has played various roles including Gertrude (Hamlet), Eleanor (The Lion in Winter), Blanche (A Streetcar Named Desire), Kate (All My Sons), Kate (Taming of the Shrew), Joy (Shadowlands) and Edith/Edie (Gray Gardens), and Amanda in The Glass Menagerie. www.SusanBerkompas.com

Grease synopsis: Grease is a rollicking musical that is both a homage to the idealism of the fifties and a satire of high schoolers' age-old desire to be rebellious and provocative. At the heart of the story is the romance between hot-rodding gangster Danny Zuko and the sweet new girl in town, Sandy Dumbrowski. John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John starred in the iconic 1978 classic film. Get ready to be transported back to the time of poodle skirts, greasy hair, and beloved songs that make you want to get up and dance!

Music Directed by Steven Amundson; Choreographed by Hannah Simmons & Susan K. Berkompas; Set Designed by Jim Huffman; Costumes by Lia Hansen; Lighting Designed by Garrett Spady; Richard Soto (fight choreographer); Props Curated by Sarah Snow; video projections curated by Jim Huffman, Alex Norman, and Amanda Fagan.

Band includes Steven Amundson (piano); Rick Heckman (synth); David Page (drums); Traverse Such (guitar); Eby Viveros (bass); Debbie Minnichelli (tenor sax); and Bob Allen (trumpet).

Cast includes Leilani Munck, Matthew Barge, Dylan Cranford, Isaac Yescas, Robert Reed, Michael Oliva Hernandez, Kendra Barnhart, Arabella Chrastina, Julia Flores, Rylee Schmidt, Christina Rose, Nadia McGill, Nathan Kibbe, Koy Hackworth, Elijah Munck, Faith Horne, Alexander Bodziak, Isaiah Feaver, Taylor Estrada, and Saige Turney.

Crew includes Jim Huffman (Technical Director); Christina Rose (dance captain); Jenna Bolar (Stage Manager); Production Manager (Madison Melendes); Anabelle Collins & Shekinah Rainwater (Assistant Stage Managers); Nathan Gall (Master Electrician/Sound Technician); Shekinah Rainwater (Audio/Visual technician/drive-in movie actress); Ruth Gray (Green Room Manager); Gregory Dodd (Light Board Operator); (Spot Lights) Kaitlynn Gallegos & Giana Garcia; Costume/Makeup/Hair Crew: Anabelle Collins, Chase Pebelier, Bethany Thomas; Costume Construction Crew: Jackie Farr, Ruth Gray, Michal Oliva Hernandez, Faith Horne, Shekinah Rainwater & Inez Yrlas; Set Construction Crew: Alex Bodziak, Jenna Bolar, Dylan Cranford, Nathen Gall, Robert Reed, Sarah Snow & Hannah Udvarhelyi; Giana Garcia (Head Usher); Box Office (Natalia Isabel Elizalde & Hannah Udvarhelyi); Golf Cart Drivers (Alex Norman & Giana Garcia).

Lily Hinojosa (Theatre Manager); Theatre Manager Assistant (Natalia Isabel Elizalde); Greenroom Manager (Linda Isabela Rendon); Marketing Assistants (Natalia Isabel Elizalde, Amanda Fagan, Julia Flores, & Leilani Munck.

This production is suitable for ages teens and older.

All performances are presented on the campus of Vanguard University, in the Lyceum Theater. Ticket prices are $22 for general admission and $18 for seniors, children, college students and groups. Tickets may be purchased at www.vanguardtickets.com or by calling the Theatre Department box office at 714-668-6145.

Performance dates and times are October 17, 18, 19, 24, 25, 26, 31 and November 1, 2, at 7:30pm; October 19, 20, 26, 27 and November 2, 3 at 2:00pm.

For more information about Vanguard University, visit www.vanguard.edu; for additional information about the Theatre Department visit www.vanguard.edu/theatre.

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