Good girl falls for bad boy who is really a good guy underneath it all. Love, friendship, high school angst, music, dancing, Ayesha Omar in a blonde wig, Sanam Saeed sassier than ever - what is there not to love about Grease, the newest western musical staged in Pakistan?
Nida Butt, the director of Greas
Originally staged in 1971 in Chicago, then Broadway in 1972, before becoming even more iconic in a film version starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, Grease has been performed throughout the world ever since. Now, thanks to Made for Stage Productions, it has become Pakistan’s first ever licensed musical theater production and is the talk of Karachi.
Grease is the story of the Pink Ladies and T-Birds, cool seniors at Rydell High School, who are exploring love, sex and violence.
This production is well worth seeing thanks to director Nida Butt’s precision-point direction and her trademark world class dancing. The cast is an average age of 21 and aside from the very gifted Sanam Saeed who plays Betty Rizzo, the ensemble cast is stronger than the leads, particularly Ayesha Omar who is simply not convincing as innocent, sweet Sandy. When saucy Sandy comes out at the end, however, she really lets loose and nails it.
“I think I enjoy saucy Sandy way more than the sweet one,” said the popular television actress. “There’s more room for performance then and it’s the only time where I really get to let my hair down and dance my heart out in the play like the rest of the characters.”
She also shared what it was like wearing a blonde wig for the part in this desi production. “Yes, I did [enjoy being a blonde], although it was very challenging to maintain innocence along with being animated onstage. Being loud yet poised and demure.”
Ali Ahmed who plays male lead Danny Zuko is better than Omar, but still lacks that extra magic that is meant to make every girl fall for his character. The chemistry between Ahmed & Omar is also lacking. As a point of reference, many people believed (wrongly) that Travolta and Newton-John were dating in real life, so intense was their chemistry in the film adaptation of the play.
Saeed gives a standout performance. The nuances in her portrayal of Rizzo are extraordinary and she has a lot of presence on stage. When she sings “There are worse things I can do,” your heart truly goes out to her.
Ayesha Omer and Ali Ahmed
“Playing Rizzo was challenging and fun,” enthuses Saeed. “She is such an intimidating cool cat, it was scary to think how I’d be able to do justice to Stockard Channing’s performance. But, with a strong team and fierce director, I wouldn’t have picked any other role.”
Among the Pink Ladies and T-Birds, there were strong performances by Marty (Sara Haider), Jan (Anum Najeem) and Roger (Hamza TJ). Haider is a stunning actress and she really nailed her rendition of “Freddy.” Najeem has a talent for physical comedy and was terrific in her part, but it was TJ’s Roger that was so strong it made one wonder if he should have had one of the more central male lead parts instead.
Kenickie (Mustafa Changazi) did a terrific job performing ‘Grease Lightning’ and the live car on stage was a lot of fun. Butt shared, at the end of the night, the difficulties they had bringing the set parts into the narrow Art Council doors and then reassembling everything.
Among the larger ensemble cast, Patty (Parishae Adnan) was simply fabulous as the goody-goody cheerleader with a crush on Zuko. Funny, charming and with a penchant for physical comedy, she turned what could have been an irritating character into a delight.
The sets were top notch, especially considering the stage with a depth of 24ft (7.3m) had to be extended at least 3 to 4ft to accommodate the cast and dance crew of about 35 performers.
A real car was used on stage
Musical direction was by Hamza Jefrey, art direction by Pomme Gohar, hair and makeup by Nabila’s N-Pro and N-Gents, female costumes by Huma Adnan and male costumes by Mariam Ami. The tumblers Dwayne, Monu, Brandon and Morris also kept the energy high and added even more fun to the show.
So is Pakistan ready for Grease and, if so, why now?
“It’s a bit of a no brainer, I would have staged Grease a long time ago, but the technical limitations and the requirements for the show were so heavy that it seemed like an impossibility to stage it,” said Director Nida Butt in an exclusive interview with The Friday Times. “With time, as we grew, the challenges became easier.
“Grease is so loved. It’s about a bunch of children who are going through teenage angst, something that is identifiable for teens worldwide,” adds Butt. “The music is fantastic, and loved and heard by millions - including Pakistanis.”
With a target audience of Westernized elite and ticket prices of PKR 2000/person, Butt does not seem worried that the themes, language and intimate moments will offend the Pakistani audience.
Considering how well received Made for Stage Productions’ Chicago and Mamma Mia were, it’s no surprise they were able to get the official license for this production.
“It took a little while before we found Theatrical Rights Worldwide - the company that deals with the licensing,” reveals Nida Butt, explaining the journey. “Thereafter, we sent an online application and then waited with bated breath. Negotiations followed, and before we knew it, it had all materialized. The licensing fees are expensive - so it put a fair amount of financial pressure on us from the start.”
Butt’s dedication to professionalism and her perfectionist ways are evident throughout the production.
For example, the dance performances by all were so strong one would have thought the entire cast had studied both song and dance. Instead, out of the cast of 15 Actors, according to Butt, “maybe 2 - 3 are natural dancers. The rest have been taught and trained and grilled for several months to get the level of perfection that was required for such a musical.”
Butt has raised the bar on Pakistani musicals with Grease. While there may be different opinions on cast performances, one thing’s for sure, Butt is ready to direct on Broadway.
Made for Stage Productions’ Grease, directed by Nida Butt, will run till the first week of February at the Arts Council in Karachi
