I’ve seen eleven different productions of Grease, but none of them has reached the heights of Altadena Music Theatre’s thrillingly innovative under-the-stars reinvention of the 1972 Broadway smash.

Not that the students of Rydell High (Class of 1959) have changed. They’re still the same quirky, colorful, beloved bunch that audiences have been cheering for over half a century, in particular since John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John first duetted “You’re The One That I Want” back in 1978.

There’s Danny Zuko (Eric Stanton Betts), undisputed leader of the Burger Palace Boys (and the coolest, hottest hotshot at Rydell), and wholesome girl-next-door transfer student Sandy Dobrowolski (Ruby Lewis), whose recent beach romance with Danny may, it now seems, have simply been a case of “Summer Loving,” and nothing more.

 There’s also Danny’s smart-alecky sidekick Kenicke Murdoch (James Byous); Doody (Justin Anthony Long), the hero-worshiping youngest of the Burger Boys; Sonny (Kir Beaux), the gang’s resident wise guy and self-described lady-killer; and Roger (Eugene Boyd), Rydell class clown nicknamed “Rump” for his habit of “Mooning” on a Saturday night.

The girls include Betty Rizzo (Romy Evans), Rydell’s baddest bad girl, Kenicke’s steady, and the Pink Ladies’ undisputed leader; beauty school dropout Frenchy (Scarlett Sheppard), who naively assumes she got her nickname by “French inhaling” cigarette smoke; glamour girl Marty (Cheyenne Isabel), who’s got a thing for older men like slick radio DJ Vince Fontaine (Bryce Ryness); and Jan (Chelsea Maker), easily the most excitable Pink Lady at Rydell High.

Completing the cast are rah-rah cheerleader Patty Simcox (Casey Hentz) and oft hoodwinked nerd Eugene Felanic (Jake Ewan); English teacher Miss Lynch (Nancy Lantis), who’s doing what she can to keep things running at Rydell; Cha-Cha Gregorio (Monica Azcárate), the dance champ at rival Catholic high school St. Bernadette’s; and “Teen Angel” (Jalen Friday), who pops into Frenchy’s dreams to serenade her with “Beauty School Dropout.”

What’s different this time round is Oliver Azcarate’s supremely inventive direction, evident from the moment Friday’s flamboyantly dressed and coiffed Teen Angel (think Liberace meets Luther Vandross) belts out the musical’s title song backed by a couple of flashily dressed female backup singers Azcárate and Harmony Elise Jones to do any ‘50s/‘60s girl group proud.

That opening number also introduces triple-threat-tastic ensemble members Lauren Barette, Tara Carbone, Rio Elián Colino, Brennan Garcia Hilger, Jones, and Robert Mannion, whose presence throughout the show as assorted Rydell High students doubles the pizzazz of production numbers usually limited to the show’s core characters because they’re all there is in most casts.

Equally innovative is a scenic design by Andrew Hull has audience members seated smack dab in the middle of the Rydell High campus, from its imposing exterior on the left to the bleachers and scoreboard on the right, and choreographer Melissa Schade makes use of every single inch of it in one high-energy dance sequence after another, in particular a show-stopping “Born To Hand Jive.”

Not only that but this may well be the only Grease ever to have an actual (albeit slightly anachronistic) 1963 Mercury Comet convertible driven onto the Rydell High lawn as Kenicke’s beloved “Greased Lightning.”

As for Altadena Music Theatre’s all-around sensational cast, Danny Zukos don’t get any more sexy and charismatic than statuesque stunner Betts, and Lewis’s pretty-as-a-picture Sandy has glorious pipes to match (and one lollapalooza of a transformation in store for us just in time for her sizzling “You’re The One That I Want” duet with Betts).

Evans’s tantalizingly tough-talking Rizzo, Isabel’s vivacious, boy-crazy Marty, Sheppard’s sweet but bubble-brained Frenchy, and Makers’ cheerfully quirky Jan are every bit as stellar as Byous’ car-loving, uber-macho Kenicke, Beaux’s would-be lothario of a Sonny, Long’s adorably goofy Doody, and Boyd’s mischievous mooner of a Roger.

Add to that Hentz’s eagerly over-achieving Patty, Ewan’s adorably nerdy Eugene, Ryness’s slick and sleazy Vince, Azcárate’s hot-to-trot Cha-Cha DiGregorio, and Lantis’s no-nonsense Miss Lynch and you’ve got an all-around to-die-for cast.

Music director Chris Wade (who doubles as Johnny Casino) and fellow musicians Eddy Barco, David Catalan, Noelle Fabian, Dylan Gorenberg, Brian Grabin, and Max Walker) provide rocksational live band accompaniment throughout the show.

Last but not least, Michael Mullen’s vast array of Fifties and Fantasy costumes topped by Melissa Dupont’s equally terrific wigs, Rachel Gold’s potpourri of props, Bosco Flannigan’s flashy lighting, and Toby Title’s expert audio engineering all earn their own much-deserved kudos.

Mackenzie Franklin is associate choreographer. Olivia Riddle is stage manager and Elisa-Belle Tremblay is assistant stage manager. Bouquet Fingerhut is production manager and Ernie McDaniel is technical director. Ken Werther is publicist.

Left without a home when the Eaton Fire devastated Altadena in January of last year, Altadena Music Theatre has risen like a phoenix from the ashes to return with a vengeance and gift L.A. audiences with a Grease so one-of-a-kind fabulous, it’s this summer’s absolute must-see musical.

Altadena Music Theatre at Mountain View, 2300 N. Marengo Ave, Altadena. Through August 16. Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays at 8:00.
www.altadenamusictheatre.com

–Steven Stanley
August 6, 2026
Photos (all but #8 and #12): Abel Armas Photography

Tags: Altadena Music Theatre, Jim Jacobs, Los Angeles Theater Review, Warren Casey