Altadena Music Theatre returns after devastating
loss with Rydell High, right on schedule

Ruby Lewis and cast of Grease by Altadena Music Theatre

The year is 1959. Rock and roll is reshaping American culture, the Sexual Revolution is just around the corner, and Grease captures a generation on the cusp of change. In its original incarnation, the musical was a far raunchier, more rebellious work than the toothless but entertaining 1978 teen-idol film version most audiences know today. Altadena Music Theatre’s production, directed by Oliver Azcarate, doesn’t try to reclaim that edge. Instead, it embraces the show’s enduring appeal as an affectionate celebration of teenage friendship, first love, and the exuberance of youth. The licensed version of the endearing High-School parody currently playing at AMT may not have the revolutionary zeal of its original source material, but it is an entertaining night of musical comedy.

The Company

This production also carries emotional weight beyond the material itself. After the Eaton Fire destroyed AMT’s longtime amphitheater in January 2025, the company built a new stage from scratch at Mountain View Mausoleum. Grease marks its first full production since that devastating loss, making the evening as much a testament to resilience as to nostalgia.

Burger Palace Boys

The basic, late 1950s-set plot about the Rydell High School romance between greaser Danny Zuko and nice new girl Sandy Dumbrowski has always been the heart of the show, but there have been many changes in its many iterations since it opened in Chicago in 1971, with book, music and lyrics by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. And although the romance between Danny and Sandy remains the show’s centerpiece, the stage version is truly an ensemble piece, giving nearly every principal an opportunity to make an impression.

Eric Stanton Betts as Danny

With his dance moves a real highlight, Eric Stanton Betts exudes a sexy scoundrel charisma as Danny, the leader of the Burger Palace Boys, a group of hormonal, bad-boy greasers. Danny’s posse includes James Byous as smart-aleck Kenickie, Eugene Boyd as Roger, the school streaker nicknamed Rump, and Justin Anthony Long as the guitar-playing Doody.

Ruby Lewis as Sandy

Ruby Lewis, who also sits on AMT’s creative team, plays virginal nice girl Sandy, torn between her budding hormones and her conservative upbringing. Her lyric soprano voice suits the role, though at 42 she’s less convincing as a teenager. The same is true of Byous as Kenickie, but his energetic singing and dancing more than compensate.

Chelsea Maker and Eugene Boyd

Cheyenne Isabel is delightful as the flirtatious class beauty Marty, displaying a real gift for comedy, while Romy Evans gives the seemingly tough bad girl Rizzo a swagger that recalls Stockard Channing but with vocals that surpass the film performance.

Silken-voiced Jalen Friday, flamboyantly dressed and coiffed as Teen Angel, opens the show belting the title number, backed by a couple of flashily dressed backup singers. When regular cast member Bryce Ryness was absent as Vince Fontaine, director Azcarate—a natural—stepped into the role with ease.

Cheyenne Isabel and The Pink Ladies

The entire cast sings beautifully, backed by Chris Wade‘s rocking band, with Wade himself doubling as Johnny Casino, the leader of the band at the school dance. The 1950s-inspired choreography by Melissa Schade is spot-on in numbers like “You’re the One That I Want,” which knowingly echoes the beloved film choreography that many of us remember. A 1963 Mercury convertible rolls onto the Rydell High lawn at one point, although period purists may notice it’s a few years too late for Rydell High.

Ruby Lewis and cast

The sets by Andrew Hull held up well for an outdoor performance. A central design of school lockers—flanked by double doors and the front of Rydell High and the bleachers on either side—includes a second-floor window exposing the band. Michael Mullen‘s vast array of 50s costumes and Melissa Dupont‘s well-fitted wigs complete the period look. Only Toby Title‘s sound design was uneven the night we saw it, with a few glitches.

Ruby Lewis and Eric Stanton Bette

The production can’t entirely overcome the weaknesses built into Grease itself. Rather than a tightly wound narrative arc, the stage book often feels like a series of disconnected vignettes, high school tableaus, and transitional filler scenes designed mostly to accommodate set changes. Sandy’s final transformation from prude to sexy lacks solid book-driven motivation, making her sudden embrace of greaser culture feel like an unearned flip rather than an organic character evolution.

Bryce Ryness and Cheyenne Isabel

Still, there are worse things you could do than revisiting Rydell High. While Jacobs and Casey may never take their place in the musical theatre canon alongside Rodgers & Hammerstein or Kander & Ebb, AMT’s production of Grease is proof enough of this show’s evergreen popularity. More importantly, it celebrates the resilience of a company that refuses to let tragedy bring down the curtain.

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photos by Abel Armas Photography

Grease
Altadena Music Theatre
Mountain View Mausoleum, 2300 Marengo Ave. in Altadena
Thurs-Sun at 8
ends on August 16, 2026
for tickets ($40–$107), visit Altadena Music Theatre

for more shows, visit Theater in LA

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