Picture this: The year is 1959. A senior class at an American high school is behaving mutinously. While a greaser group who calls themselves “Burger Palace Boys” are partaking in gangster activity, the “Pink Ladies,” clothed in tight pedal pushers, are popping their gum and smoking. During lunchtime one day, the cliques of the school are informed of a secret romance that occurred over summer break. The class is completely transfixed by the news. After all, it involved the “too pure” new girl and a too-cool-for-school dude. Elements of high school such as peer pressure and the “status quo” begin to embroil their relationship. See SUMMER NIGHTS Page 2 Summer Nights From Page 1

The boy wants to stay with his girl and remain atop the social hierarchy. However, accomplishing both of these things will deem tough.

Sounds intriguing, right? Well, locals will not have to simply visualize this scenario for much longer. Grease is coming to The Loft Stage at East Ridge High School! The musical will show at 8:30pm on June 10, 11, 12, 17, 18, and 19. Performances will occur in the ERHS parking lot that is situated in Woodbury MN. To purchase tickets, one can navigate to www.showtix4u.com/ event-details/51947.

According to Kajsa Jones, Grease is produced more than any other musical in the world. Even so, the Musical Director, alongside her fellow directors at The Loft Stage, saw it as a contender for ERHS’s Spring Musical of 2021. Then, the team understood that a spring show would need to unfold outdoors in order to prevent COVID-19 infections. This fact “solidified” their decision to present Grease in June. In an interview with The Journal, Jones revealed, “…we’d sort of been thinking about it before it would be an outdoor show.

But then, we really thought this was the right choice when we knew we were going to do it outdoors because we thought it blended itself well into an outdoor product.”

Among the other interpretations of Grease that have been pieced together since 1971, The Loft Stage’s will deem extraordinary. One reason for this is that it will not play in an indoor theater. Alexa Grace LaFontaine-Larson, a sophomore and actress at ERHS, stated, “..we built an outdoor stage, so that’s something that I don’t think East Ridge has ever done before…It’s brought some different challenges to it, but I think it’s going to be really cool to do something new.”

The series of platforms that LaFontaine-Larson was referring to is termed, “The Loft Stage Outside.” Community volunteers constructed it in the ERHS parking lot. The Loft Stage Outside was strategically established near the Merrill Community Arts Center entrance. This location allows for convenient access to electrical outlets. In addition, it makes the transportation of set pieces from inside to outside and outside to inside less demanding.

The Loft Stage Outside was necessary to fabricate because the COVID-19 Pandemic proceeds to be a disturbance. Lauren Nelson is a twelfth grader and an actress at ERHS. She taught The Journal the purpose of The Loft Stage Outside: “We wanted to add accessibility…even though there are like, a lot of things lifting. We just want to make that everyone is comfortable…” A second way in which ERHS’s version of Grease could be labeled, “distinctive,” is through its intentions to accentuate female characters. “I’d say that we put emphasis on the female characters finding their voice and finding their empowerment,” Nelson declared, “…We want them perceived as differently than they have been in the past.”

Nelson will portray Rizzo in The Loft Stage’s production of Grease. To her, this character has been viewed as “the trashy one” too often. Therefore, Nelson wants to exhibit that Rizzo has “depth” and a “sensitive side.” She voiced, “We’re kind of trying to see the background stories of these characters and why, you know, they’re kind of graded and tough.”

Thirdly, The Loft Stage’s take on Grease will contain updated dialogue. Although homophobic and racist remarks are printed in the authentic script, they will not be verbalized in ERHS’s performances. Nelson expressed, “[Derogatory terms were not] acceptable back then, and [they’re] not acceptable now…in our social climate right now, change is needed and we want to show that we are a show that loves everybody equally and is open to everyone.”

Jones elaborated on the topic of editing Grease’s text: “Some of [modernization] is changing language like that, some of it is just like the context…so building a context that feels like it’s more intentional and informed because it’s 2021 and we know better now.”

Because The Loft Stage has an upcoming presentation, they are preparing diligently. First of all, cast members are preparing to tell their characters’ stories. LaFontaine-Larson happens to be one of them. She brought the Journal up to speed on her journey: “I play Cha-Cha and it’s mainly a dancing role, so that’s been something-I haven’t danced in a while because of COVID…so, I’ve definitely had to…relearn how to dance in a way.”

Next to the actors who are studying and rehearsing the script, there is a band that is refining the instrumental elements of Grease. Also, costumes are being assembled and a crew is working on set pieces. During The Journal’s exchange with Jones on Friday, May 21, she especially noted the labor being invested into lighting. “Because it’s outside, we have to get an entirely new lighting set up. So, we’re using some of our own lights, but of course you can’t use them in the theater. So, today actually, they’re constructing that whole thing inside and testing out. And then tomorrow, and the rest of the couple weeks, they’ll practice putting it up outside. And we’ll put it up and take it down every night for the show,” outlined Jones.

The Loft Stage is encouraging the public to buy tickets for Grease-and soon. In Jones’ words, the performances are “selling pretty quickly”. There is no need to panic, though. Katie Carlson, the Musical Assistant Director, revealed that they may maximize the audience’s occupancy limit.

Before claiming tickets, it is important to comprehend how The Loft Stage will accommodate the COVID-19 Pandemic. Carlson mentioned, “[Wearing masks] is encouraged but not required…We should have under 500 people in the house…under the Governor’s orders…if we decide to add seats, that could change things. But, we would let you know…we’ll follow all local guidelines.”

Readers may be left wondering, “Why should I see Grease at ERHS?” Nelson acknowledged this question when she insisted, “One of the big reasons that people should see it is to hopefully change their minds about some of the characters and see it in a different light. As well as, we just hope that it brings some joy and happiness right now because live performances have been so rare and stalled…We really want to bring the happiness to people that get to watch our show and see us perform because we love it so much and…we hope that other people love it.”

ERHS students are teaming up to perform Grease in an outdoor setting.Photo by: Sadie Jones.

Because they are seniors at ERHS, Lauren Nelson and Ethan Kalafatich will be taking The Loft Stage for the final time in Grease. Photo by: Katie Carlson.

This summer, Carter Bannwarth and Victoria Pommalath will portray Danny and Sandy. Photo by: Katie Carlson