BY CHRISTINA TASCON

The appeal of the musical Grease is more than knowing the lyrics to sing along to most of the songs from the popular 1978 movie.

Riverside Theatre will bring this highly popular Broadway musical co-written by Warren Casey and Jim Jacobs to the main stage to finish out its enormously successful season of shows.

The 50’s was one of the most reproduced and recognizable eras in dress, style of music and attitude in pop culture America has ever known.

It is also one that parents and grandparents can still recall in their memories which they can feel comfortable enough to share with the next generation.

That may because the 50’s was the last generation of clearly defined morals which make for many of the dilemma’s dealt with in the play.

When Rizzo (played by Kate Fahrner) thinks she may have gotten pregnant by her on-the-sly boyfriend Kenicki (Michael Warrell), she had to deal with the intense gossip and drama which went along with the times.

Even the two lead characters, Sandy (Laura Giknis) and Danny (Matthew Ragas) had clearly defined roles as the “good girl” and the “bad boy” which are less definite in today’s society.

Not that the “bad” in Danny’s character even remotely mirrors the real bad boys in this millennium which makes the love struggle between the two characters very light and fun.

Grease deals with the tamer side of what was considered on the edge lifestyle of the greaser and poodle skirt generation.  It was a time when mischievous pranks, off color jokes about the opposite sex and staying out after curfew were some of the worst teen misbehavior a parent had to worry over.

The show is set in a time when Rock ‘n Roll was king and second base was a far as a girl could go without being ruined for life.

Riverside Theatre’s Bruce Lumpkin will direct the musical in collaborating effort with Philadelphia’s renowned Walnut Street Theatre to share expenses and creative talent.

The cast is filled with well heeled performers from the Broadway stage such as Kate Fahrner in Wicked and Eric Kunze (Vince Fontaine) who played Marius in Les Miserables and on television in Showtime’s Reefer Madness by Matthew Rossoff (Sonny).

Grease at the Riverside Theatre promises to be a wonderful “Greased Lightning” cruise on the Rydell highway filled with leather jackets, greased back hairstyles, white t-shirts, pony tails and tight sweaters.

For more information on show times and tickets, call the box office at 231-6990 or visit RiversideTheatre.com.