Review: Grease at Maryville College

April 19th, 2026 @ Clayton Center for the Arts, Maryville TN.

Here is the description of the play that was on Facebook:

Grease is the word for young people exploring lust, loss, the realities of growing up, cosmetology and hot-rod repair. The timeless musical will be brought to vivid life by the students, staff, faculty, and community of Maryville College. A celebration of freedom, falling in love, and the friendships that form us, do not miss out on Grease!

Now, a little bit about me when it comes to Grease: I am a Grease snob. The play, the movie (there is only one movie; G2 doesn't exist in my world), the songs, the culture, the characters, the decade... and the really, really dumb ending of the movie... I bring a lot of melomediaphile baggage to any media production of this play. So, a performance of Grease has a high bar to jump over to satisfy me.

The Maryville College Theater Department jumped and cleared the bar.

The performance took place at the Clayton Center for the Arts’ Ronald and Lynda Nutt Theatre. It was a much bigger theater than where I saw Murder on the Orient Express, but for this production, the bigger stage was definitely needed.

What wasn't needed were three (yes, I said three) sign language interpreters on the stage. I was seated in the Orchestra Box Left, and the three of them were standing stage right, and one of them kept blocking part of the stage.

Yeah, it was annoying...

They moved her to the corner of stage right after the intermission... maybe because I mentioned it on Facebook, maybe not... but they could have managed with two translators...

But I digress...

So, the cast...

(Quick comment: I don't know the cast members preferred pronouns; I am going by my visual, so apologies if I misgender anyone...)

Kalli Wilson as Sandy: Wow. She is an amazing singer who could have given ONJ a run for her money. She played the sweet, naive Sandy very well and was a great contrast to the Pink Ladies.

Ian Bailey as Danny: He was good as Danny, but he didn't stand out from the rest of the cast the way Danny should as the main character. Even though Grease has an ensemble cast - more so in the play than in the movie - Danny and Sandy are the main characters. There were times during the play that I confused Danny with Sonny, because they looked very similar. That shouldn't happen with Danny.

Final scene of the play, with Sandy in the skintight body suit.

Jenny Ribble as Rizzo: Now, those that know me know that I am the toughest critic when it comes to this role. This is my favorite character. She is very nuanced, multi-layered, and has the healthiest relationship out of everyone (especially in the movie). Most of all, Rizzo has to have a presence that says volumes without saying a word. Jenny achieved that.

"There are worse things I can do..."

Tristan Hall as Kenickie: Kenickie has a bigger role in the play than in the movie, but in both cases, he has to keep up with the actor playing Danny and the actress playing Rizzo, and show he's the one in charge of the T-birds, but not take over the spotlight completely. Tristan managed this balancing act very well!

In the play, Greased Lightning is Kenickie's song.

The cast was a great ensemble of performers who were engaging and funny and held the audience's attention. Talented singers, dancers and actors. Even the supporting cast was wonderful to watch and you really felt like you were truly watching high schoolers living their best life (most of the time!).

Wa-ooo, yeah!

Two more shout outs, cast-wise...

Sasha Hoenie as Doodie: It took me a little while to figure out why Sasha seemed familiar, and then I realized that she played Poirot on Orient Express. Talk about extremes in characters. She has a great voice, is funny, and made her presence known in a smaller role amongst a group of similarly-dressed performers.

"F, F, F, F, F, F, G, G, G, G7..."

John Lee as Teen Angel: John stole the show by stepping out on stage to sing "Beauty School Dropout" dressed like a 1950s Ziggy Stardust in high-heeled boots, a silver-lamé and sequined outfit, pink hair, and a magnetic personality that the audience fell in love with. One song, under ten minutes on stage, tremendous stage presence!

Singing with Kathryn Bornhoeft as Marty

I was there for the Maryville College Theater Department's last performance of Grease, so if you didn't see it this past weekend, you missed out.

But, they have more events coming, and if you have the opportunity, you should definitely catch one of their performances!

Grease gets 5 Spiders, of course!