Theater students add diversity to Grease cast

By Raegan Scharfetter

Aaron LeDay, who plays Danny Zuko; Jamie Reneau, who plays Rizzo; and Johnathan Ramos, who plays Eugene, rehearse a scene from Grease, opening April 19 on SE.
Peter Matthews/The Collegian

The SE musical theater program is back this spring with Rydell High’s senior class of 1959 in the production of Grease.

Director Steve Morris said Grease is one of the stories mostly everyone is familiar with. However, the musical version has its differences.

“The Broadway version of Grease that we are doing is much different than the movie version,” he said. “The most notable difference from the film will be that there are no retakes. The students have to do the show live and in person.”

SE student Jamie Reneau, who plays Rizzo, said even though she doesn’t relate much to her character, she still learns through her by her strong and tough persona.

“A lot of people can learn from who she is, about strength and how to stay tough in certain situations,” Reneau said.

SE student Aaron LeDay, who plays lead character Danny Zuko, said portraying such a well-known character is nerve-wracking.

“They are big shoes to fill,” he said. “You have to give 100 percent to do these characters justice.”

SE student Carly Nunn, who plays the other lead Sandy, believes people should attend their version of Grease because of the diverse group of students portraying the characters and the way they make it their own.

“As a community college, there’s a lot of diverse people who come from different walks of life,” she said. “We don’t want to portray Olivia Newton-John or John Travolta — we want to be ourselves.”

Grease performances will be at 7:30 p.m. April 19-22 with a 1:30 p.m. matinee performance April 21 in the C.A. Roberson Theatre.

General admission is $6, children under 17 and seniors over 65 are $3 and TCC students, faculty and staff are free. For reservations, call the box office at 817-515-3599.

For more information, contact SE administrative assistant Veronica Hernandez at veronica.hernandez@tccd.edu or 817-515-3725.